Grosvenor In View Magazine 2025

45

I had just woken up. Was I dead, or was I alive? I looked around this unknown, yet somehow familiar area. It was bleak and snow-covered. My mind raced with questions. Then suddenly, the reality was a glacial strike aiming straight for my heart. The location I was lying in was full of tranquillity and peace. I tried to stand, but my legs, numb and frozen, didn’t give me permission to do so. After several failed attempts, I managed to lift my heavy, aching body off the hard, icy ground. Pain circulated through my body as bruises started to appear on my pale skin. I had noticed that the snow shimmered like stars in the night sky. My mind had a little world of its own, and that world lead me to exploration. I examined this terrain which surrounded me. I gasped. Could this possibly be a dream? It must be. How else could I have ended up here? I crawled between the igloos of frozen trees and journeyed through the snowy dunes, when out of nowhere appeared a path. The sun shone serenely onto the snowy path. I lifted my phone out of my pocket. Off. I pushed the switch but received no response in return. I was stranded here with no means of communication. I continued trudging through the fresh, crunchy snow. I didn’t know where I was heading. I was just walking where the path lead. The never-ending path wound its way through the land until it reached a hill. It seemed that the rise ahead of me was where the trail ended, but how wrong was I. As I reached the top, the landscape A Winter Wonderland Creative Writing Competition Winner Literary Contributions

below had been revealed. I was in shock. In front of me stood a wondrous winter wonderland. Excitement began to flow through my veins, warming my frigid body up from the inside. Trekking closer, I observed moving organisms. Perturbation stormed through my body. What where these organisms doing here? I decided to keep moving. Now being closer, I detected that these creatures had pointy ears and red-green outfits. They were elves. I also distinguished a large, pulchritudinous ice castle towering in the background, along with little wooden cottages for the elves to live in. I continued my journey down to the village. I had been noticed. The occupants of this location gave me obscure looks. It was clear that I wasn’t one of them and that my presence was a revelation. They were speaking to each other in a foreign language. Some attempted to communicate with me, but all of us struggled. Out of nowhere, one of the elves took my hand and dragged me into the enchanting and breath taking castle. Inside, the King was waiting for me. I was cordially welcomed by the leader of the land I had entered. The King attended me, displaying and exhibiting this paradise filled with wintry features, such as winter fairs and frozen trees. It was a winter wonderland. Then instantaneously, I woke up… Jagoda Matlawska 9R

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