unknown_gifted
03-04-2004, 07:02 AM
The Story of the Element: Snow
My Story:
The Story of the Element- Snow
I looked at the snow, falling down in thin flakes, drifting, spinning, and then finally lying motionless on the ground. I opened my mouth and stuck my tongue out. One snowflake drifted onto my tongue. I let it melt on my taste buds, the tiny droplets of water running down my tongue.
How nice it is to be out here in the snow, alone by myself without anything to disturb the peace and quiet of loneliness, I thought.
I observed the quiet landscape around me, at my surroundings that were causing this feel of loneliness. My eyes settled upon the frozen valley in which I was standing right next to, at the slick surface of the frozen water, at the long running stream of ice continuing down towards the flat ground. To my left, there was an icy mountain, standing tall and proud, with the icecaps on the ridges on the sides of it. I sighed. If only Alex and Sam were here! But I had lost them in the forest when we were playing hide and seek in the ghostly forest white that I had come out from nearly an hour ago. ‘Where the hell are they?’ I asked myself the question that I had been asking for the last few hours. I swore under my breath and wondered about where they were and what they were doing. I smiled, despite of myself. Suddenly I realized that the snow had tasted sweet. Then I was left with the second question that I was going to think about for the next hour. What is snow?
*******
Alex groaned. Where the hell could Nick be? They had been searching for him the last two hours and they still had no clue to their friend’s location. He kicked hard at a nearby tree that reacted by felling its snow, the snow that had been resting undisturbed until the frustrated boy had given it a kick. The mass of snow completely fell Alex to the ground and covered him. Sam laughed so hard that no sound came out from his mouth, but he was shaking like someone who was getting electrified in a voltage system. Sam pulled Alex from under the mass of thick snow, and Sam was still laughing as Alex brushed off the snow off from his Timberland jacket. Sam lay on the ground as he took air in gasping breaths and finally gave a very urgent message, one that could not be delayed; ‘I need to go for a walk to the John.’
*******
What is snow? I asked myself another time. How can it be a mere plaything for children, while it claims the lives of the fools who dare face it unprepared? I knelt down to the ground and closed my fingers around a handful of snow, and stood up. I looked at the snow, holding it level before my eyes. But all that I saw was a plain, white substance; nothing more.
What is snow?
I grinded the snow in my fist and let the powdered snow fall free of my hands, allowing the harsh, icy wind taking it on its errand through the forest. Of how many times has snow been the death of innocent animals?
I suddenly sensed movement to my right, and heard the pulling of something heavy over the snow-covered ground, the thick smell of blood in the air, and the growling of the killer.
I cautiously crept over to the bushes and peered through the leaves. I gasped as I saw a fully-grown white fox, tearing shreds of meat from its recent kill.
‘Oh my god.’ I whispered to myself.
The fox heard me, and raised its bloody snout from its meal, staring at the bushes that were the only things separating the fox and me. It issued a low growl, baring its teeth with the fresh blood running off the sides of his jaw. Before I knew it, I was sprinting for my life, and with the hunter of the woods not too far behind.
*******
Sam had just finished. He turned as he pulled up his zipper at the front of his thick mountain trousers. He had urinated in the middle of the road, for no other good reason than to see how far the ice melted downwards. There was now a hole in the road, a hole wide enough so that a pole could be shoved into it. Sam faced Alex now, who wore an amused expression before melting into a mischievous grin. When you saw that grin, you knew that Sam wasn’t up to doing something good. He produced a very thin piece of wood and covered the hole with it, then kicking some snow over it to make a camouflage. The boys heard sounds in the distance, the sound of the hunted and the hunter. They darted behind a thick tree and kept their laughter quiet. They were going to have some fun.
I was really tired now. Even though I was a black belt and supposed to be fit, the running was tiring. Well, it was harder to run with the knowledge that a fox was trying to have you for their main course, and wearing thick and heavy clothing for the sake of the temperature.
I was sweating really badly. I mean it. Even my trousers were soaked with perspiration.
But I would not give up that easy. No.
I was still running with the fox barely ten steps behind me, when I suddenly fell into the ground and tripped. Literally. I mean, my foot sunk into the ground and my body was still going forward, so I twisted my ankle with a sudden jerk. I slammed hard onto the ground and lay there, unable to move with the pain of my injured ankle. The wolf climbed upon me, its eyes glinting as it gave a growl of triumph. The wolf raked at my other foot, and shredded my trousers. Three of the claws got me though, and how it hurt!
I heard the cries of Sam and Alex as they yelled about something white-a snow owl!
It swooped down from a tall branch and snatched the wolf cleanly off me, taking it up with it up in the sky, squeezing the life out of it as it flew over the trees.
I took a deep breath, and lay there as I lost blood through my wound of deep raking claws. I opened my eyes and saw the heads of both Alex and Sam, their facial expressions concerned.
‘So, we found you at last,’ commented Alex, forever the wisecracker.
‘Yes, I think you did,’ is said weakly.
My two best friends pulled me up and each put an arm over their shoulder.
‘Let’s not play hide-and-seek anymore out in the woods,’ remarked Sam. I just nodded my agreement.
*******
I am once again alone on the edge of the frozen lake, the harsh, freezing cold wind blowing against my face, some reminder that I am alive. Now, I know what snow is. It can be a plaything, such as what caused Alex and Sam their amusement when the snow fell onto Alex and when Sam urinated in the middle of the road.
Snow can also be a danger that costs people their lives when they face it unprepared. When I twisted my ankle, which gave me the wound from the fox, and it nearly caused me my life. But now I know what snow truly is.
Snow is but one of the four substances that make up the earth. It is one of the elements, and one that is to be respected.
Once again I stick my tongue out. Once again a snowflake rests upon my tongue, melting on my taste buds. But now there is a difference. The water tastes not sweet anymore. The taste of sweetness was caused by my innocence. But now, I have learnt what snow is.
I have learnt my lesson well.
-Unknown_gifted
My Story:
The Story of the Element- Snow
I looked at the snow, falling down in thin flakes, drifting, spinning, and then finally lying motionless on the ground. I opened my mouth and stuck my tongue out. One snowflake drifted onto my tongue. I let it melt on my taste buds, the tiny droplets of water running down my tongue.
How nice it is to be out here in the snow, alone by myself without anything to disturb the peace and quiet of loneliness, I thought.
I observed the quiet landscape around me, at my surroundings that were causing this feel of loneliness. My eyes settled upon the frozen valley in which I was standing right next to, at the slick surface of the frozen water, at the long running stream of ice continuing down towards the flat ground. To my left, there was an icy mountain, standing tall and proud, with the icecaps on the ridges on the sides of it. I sighed. If only Alex and Sam were here! But I had lost them in the forest when we were playing hide and seek in the ghostly forest white that I had come out from nearly an hour ago. ‘Where the hell are they?’ I asked myself the question that I had been asking for the last few hours. I swore under my breath and wondered about where they were and what they were doing. I smiled, despite of myself. Suddenly I realized that the snow had tasted sweet. Then I was left with the second question that I was going to think about for the next hour. What is snow?
*******
Alex groaned. Where the hell could Nick be? They had been searching for him the last two hours and they still had no clue to their friend’s location. He kicked hard at a nearby tree that reacted by felling its snow, the snow that had been resting undisturbed until the frustrated boy had given it a kick. The mass of snow completely fell Alex to the ground and covered him. Sam laughed so hard that no sound came out from his mouth, but he was shaking like someone who was getting electrified in a voltage system. Sam pulled Alex from under the mass of thick snow, and Sam was still laughing as Alex brushed off the snow off from his Timberland jacket. Sam lay on the ground as he took air in gasping breaths and finally gave a very urgent message, one that could not be delayed; ‘I need to go for a walk to the John.’
*******
What is snow? I asked myself another time. How can it be a mere plaything for children, while it claims the lives of the fools who dare face it unprepared? I knelt down to the ground and closed my fingers around a handful of snow, and stood up. I looked at the snow, holding it level before my eyes. But all that I saw was a plain, white substance; nothing more.
What is snow?
I grinded the snow in my fist and let the powdered snow fall free of my hands, allowing the harsh, icy wind taking it on its errand through the forest. Of how many times has snow been the death of innocent animals?
I suddenly sensed movement to my right, and heard the pulling of something heavy over the snow-covered ground, the thick smell of blood in the air, and the growling of the killer.
I cautiously crept over to the bushes and peered through the leaves. I gasped as I saw a fully-grown white fox, tearing shreds of meat from its recent kill.
‘Oh my god.’ I whispered to myself.
The fox heard me, and raised its bloody snout from its meal, staring at the bushes that were the only things separating the fox and me. It issued a low growl, baring its teeth with the fresh blood running off the sides of his jaw. Before I knew it, I was sprinting for my life, and with the hunter of the woods not too far behind.
*******
Sam had just finished. He turned as he pulled up his zipper at the front of his thick mountain trousers. He had urinated in the middle of the road, for no other good reason than to see how far the ice melted downwards. There was now a hole in the road, a hole wide enough so that a pole could be shoved into it. Sam faced Alex now, who wore an amused expression before melting into a mischievous grin. When you saw that grin, you knew that Sam wasn’t up to doing something good. He produced a very thin piece of wood and covered the hole with it, then kicking some snow over it to make a camouflage. The boys heard sounds in the distance, the sound of the hunted and the hunter. They darted behind a thick tree and kept their laughter quiet. They were going to have some fun.
I was really tired now. Even though I was a black belt and supposed to be fit, the running was tiring. Well, it was harder to run with the knowledge that a fox was trying to have you for their main course, and wearing thick and heavy clothing for the sake of the temperature.
I was sweating really badly. I mean it. Even my trousers were soaked with perspiration.
But I would not give up that easy. No.
I was still running with the fox barely ten steps behind me, when I suddenly fell into the ground and tripped. Literally. I mean, my foot sunk into the ground and my body was still going forward, so I twisted my ankle with a sudden jerk. I slammed hard onto the ground and lay there, unable to move with the pain of my injured ankle. The wolf climbed upon me, its eyes glinting as it gave a growl of triumph. The wolf raked at my other foot, and shredded my trousers. Three of the claws got me though, and how it hurt!
I heard the cries of Sam and Alex as they yelled about something white-a snow owl!
It swooped down from a tall branch and snatched the wolf cleanly off me, taking it up with it up in the sky, squeezing the life out of it as it flew over the trees.
I took a deep breath, and lay there as I lost blood through my wound of deep raking claws. I opened my eyes and saw the heads of both Alex and Sam, their facial expressions concerned.
‘So, we found you at last,’ commented Alex, forever the wisecracker.
‘Yes, I think you did,’ is said weakly.
My two best friends pulled me up and each put an arm over their shoulder.
‘Let’s not play hide-and-seek anymore out in the woods,’ remarked Sam. I just nodded my agreement.
*******
I am once again alone on the edge of the frozen lake, the harsh, freezing cold wind blowing against my face, some reminder that I am alive. Now, I know what snow is. It can be a plaything, such as what caused Alex and Sam their amusement when the snow fell onto Alex and when Sam urinated in the middle of the road.
Snow can also be a danger that costs people their lives when they face it unprepared. When I twisted my ankle, which gave me the wound from the fox, and it nearly caused me my life. But now I know what snow truly is.
Snow is but one of the four substances that make up the earth. It is one of the elements, and one that is to be respected.
Once again I stick my tongue out. Once again a snowflake rests upon my tongue, melting on my taste buds. But now there is a difference. The water tastes not sweet anymore. The taste of sweetness was caused by my innocence. But now, I have learnt what snow is.
I have learnt my lesson well.
-Unknown_gifted