Winter Short Story
1 min
2025 Winter Short Story Finalist
Martha vR (8th)
Glass
My fingers touch the cool hard glass.
I squint, staring out into the world hidden behind a wall of dust.
I see the table where the family used to come and eat, the shelf holding long unread books.
I walk back to the house.
Its plastic frame and door that won't close no matter how hard you try, painted neon red.
Its plastic candycanes line the path.
There's a blanket of snow on the roof.
There's always snow on the roof.
I think again of the world beyond the glass, it exists.
Or at least I think it exists.
But it's different, for one the seasons change.
I wonder if it is also wrapped in glass.
If not, I wonder what it's like.
To be free.
Everyday I stare out of the glass waiting till the day when the dust will cover it completely.
Cover me completely.
It has not happened yet.
But someday.
I wait and wait for the darkness.
It does not come.
I wake, I streatch and walk along the neon candy cane path.
I sit on the plastic floor.
I stare out the glass now blackened with dust.
It's easier to see out today, there's a warm glow soaking in.
There is never a warm glow.
I see a family sitting at a table.
Talking.
Laughing.
I see the hand.
The ground shakes.
It snows.
It has not snowed in a long time.
I hear the scream.
I hear the shatter.
The glass breaks.
I am finally free.
2025 Winter Art/ Short Story Contest Finalists/Grand Prize Winners
We love sharing Short Stories
select a story!