I haven’t posted anything here in a few weeks! I have been writing, but not nearly as much as I’d like! I’ve been feeling really tired and worn down, and I’ve been putting the energy I’ve got into my other job, for the most part. It feels good to get back to this! Meeting with my writers group this week really helped! Their blogs are on the right, and well worth a look (The Haunted Pen, The Enchanted Notebook, and Dianne’s Place). This story was written for the Friday Fictioneers prompt, put out each week by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields on her blog. Click on the blue InLinkz frog below to read other stories written for this prompt or to add your own!
Copyright Sandra Crook
The Killing Frosts
(100 words)
Morning dawned, and Yvette opened the door, looking into the yard. The killing frosts were beautiful. It didn’t seem fair. They never knew when one was coming. Even at summer’s peak, the deadly ice came.
Some said it was witches, blighting the earth to please the Devil. Some said the land belonged to strange creatures using cold as a weapon to reclaim it. Others thought God sent the frosts as punishment for their sins.
Yvette’s husband was meant to arrive home this morning. As she stepped on silver grass, it crunched under her feet. The tears froze on her face.
Unmapped Country within Us 
Doesn’t sound like she is very happy for her husband to come home. The images you used in your writing are beautiful.
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Maybe! I’ve realized that this story is open to more interpretations than I anticipated! I liked this prompt. Thank you for reading and your comment! : )
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My pleasure. 🙂
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That would be pretty scary, to have frosts coming at any time. Sounds like The Day After Tomorrow.
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Yes–I see what you mean! I think it would be frightening.
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Poor Yvette. The killing frosts killed more than plants I think and she can’t even cry as her tears freeze. The middle paragraph was a great description of possibilities. I enjoyed this flash.
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Thanks! Yes, those frosts are deadly!
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Unsure if she is crying because he’s coming home or because something tragic has happened due to the frost. Leaves me wondering?? 🙂
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Thanks, Susan! I had imagined him frozen on his way back, but I can see the other possibility now, too!
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The line “The killing frosts were beautiful” stood out for me – the contrast of deadly and beautiful, it made me think. I also like all the superstitions people have made up to explain the frost.
I’m wondering if she just doesn’t want her husband to come home, or maybe he’s out there frozen to death so close to home.
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Thanks! This prompt had a lot of mystery in it.
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Very spooky sad stuff. Must have happened in the past that people expected home on foot were caught by the weather. Your tale gloriously exaggerates reality. (Quite a few fairy tales/folk tales this week in different styles. I can’t get enough!)
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Thanks! Yes–this prompt was great! I feel the same way about fairy tales! Have you read any of Neil Gaiman’s short stories?
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My son gave me Neil Gaiman’s the Sleeper and the Spindle for my birthday. (Actually he phoned me from college and told me where the gift card his Aunt had given him was in his room and I walked to the bookshop and bought it myself – but, hey, it’s the thought that counts!) Nice blend of the traditional and the subversive.
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Made me shiver! Nicely written.
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Beautiful writing, Emily, with a lovely sense of mysticism. The killing frosts that come at any time of the year are intriguing. A lovely read. 🙂
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Those few words evoked so many questions. I want to know the rest of the story. Love the tears freezing on her face. Where did the frost come from? Why only at certain times? Great story!
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Thanks, Margo! : )
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Dear Emily,
This feels like a dystopian and frightening world. Well written.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Wow, this story reminded me of Snow Queen (in its more creepy less Frozen-esque tellings.) There is such a profound emotional hit in that final sentence, in that breaking of glass, with this vague hint that whatever happened, she feels like it was (maybe) her fault. It says so much in such little space.
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