“Snow Castle” by c.mcbrien

On a cool December morning, Dustin Tanglewood awoke to find bright whiteness outside his window. Overnight, his quiet suburban neighborhood had transformed into a snowy paradise. As he took a closer look, there was only one thing out of place, a perfect snow angel in the middle of undisturbed snow. As he stared down at it, Dustin noticed a little red object sitting where the angels heart would be. “This requires a closer look,” Dustin thought. He threw on some underclothes followed by the usual snow pants, and puffy jacket, the “marshmallow uniform” as he referred to it.

Once outside, Dustin trudged through three feet of snow on his way to the angel. Upon closer inspection, there were still no signs of anyone else’s footprints, but there was the red object. It turned out to be a plastic ring, with a large fake gem. Just then, Dustin heard his friend, Tucker, calling to him from across the street.

“You want to build the biggest snow castle ever?” Tucker asked.

“Sure,” Dustin said, ” I just need to grab a shovel. Dustin quickly stuck the ring in his coat pocket for safe keeping, and ran around to the garage. As he was about to open it, Dustin noticed that a shovel was already waiting for him, siting atop the snow. Again, no footprints, (again) the shovel was bright red, shinning, and new. Dustin didn’t want to leave Tucker waiting; so, he just took up the shovel, headed across the street, and began to build “The Greatest Snow Castle…Ever!”

After working for a while, the friends were approached by Harmony Caldecott, the prettiest girl in their grade (in Dustin’s opinion). She lived in the biggest house on their block.

“Does it look like a castle yet?” Tucker asked her, “You would know.”

“Almost,” Harmony said, “It just needs a woman’s touch.” She revealed a small shovel from behind her back, and detailed the windows and doors with lines and swirls. The result was magnificent. But they were soon interrupted…

“What are you doing?” came a boy’s voice from behind them. The builders turned around to see Bobby, the top bully. “What are you doing Harmony? These guys are losers.”

“No,” Harmony said, “You’re losers. You couldn’t build a castle in a million years.”

“And Harmony’s integral to our process,” Dustin said, pushing his nerves aside. He stuck his hands in his coat pockets, and held on to the ring for strength.

“I am integrally going to punch you in the face,” Bobby said, nonsensically. He rushed at the castle, and pulled Dustin down by the legs. Dustin fell into the snow, and Bobby jumped on top of him. Dustin reacted without thought, he pushed the ring on to his finger, and punched Bobby in the face.

Bobby cried out in pain.

“Attack them!” Bobby yelled, but his friends merely laughed and walked away. Bobby got to his feet and ran after them.

“That was brave of you,” Harmony said, helping Dustin up, and brushing him off, “I knew you had talent…but it turns out you have guts too. Just as I thought. You two want to come over for hot chocolate?” Dustin and Tucker nodded. Without another word, they followed Harmony to a land as uncharted as the snowy terrain they walked on. The castle remained, a landmark to their victory.

__________

This story was written by Alex Schattner (11/26/12)

Tags: nature, alex schattner, american, folktale, art, arts, beauty, belief, confidence, folktale, inspiration, lesson, moral, short story, value, wisdom, love, mystery, angels, snow, winter, wonderland, folklore, fairytale, fairy tale