“And in this frozen land we gleaned the beauty of our tenuous sanity”

Isla always loved winter. She loved the quiet that seemed to settle over the frozen world, as if mother nature was finally at rest after enduring an increasingly inhospitable world. She loved the feeling of being truly isolated and blessedly alone when standing out under the cosmos. She loved the feeling of icy gusts cutting into her skin, as it was all she could do to try feel anything anymore.

This time if year truly always brought out a trickle of warmth in her ever tiring heart. So when winter didn’t stop who was she to complain?

It started slow, reporters rambling on in their dulcet tones threatening sleep to weary commuters, claiming this winter has seen yet another 2°C drop. Or maybe the first warning signs were the blankets of snow persisting until even the early spring months, winters icy hands refusing to let go of its hold on the world.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Yet, even so, people started to notice. Unfortunately, we were too late. By the time the world could grasp the severity of the situation the roads were already rendered unusable by a layer of constant ice. After the roads it was the ponds and creeks, fish imprisoned in a thick layer of ice. Then it was the lakes and rivers, vast stretches of water frozen over and blanketed in snow so thick it became indistinguishable from the lands surrounding.

The world went mad when the oceans froze.

The 7 seas respectively rendered completely solid, the continents connected once more as this eternal winter finally claimed its ultimate prize. Most lost hope, huddled underground chasing any warmth left in the earth. Many more lost their minds, ranting and raving about cold and angry gods, claiming sacrifices to try appease them.  

Yet some held out, some faced this frozen hellscape grasping onto life with the indomitable will only possessed in the spirited few.