Highly Commended Story - Soft Snowy Mountains

“Soft Snowy Mountains” by Tannaya Dinesh Nagpal, Rustomjee Cambridge International School and Junior college, India, is the Highly Commended story in the junior category of the second biannual Short Story Contest 2019.

Soft Snowy Mountains

The wind howled with the swirling storm at night. The stars were stuck to the jet black sheet of the sky. The air was stifling at night. The next morning, when I woke up, the winter’s icy grip caused me to shudder. The perfectly shaped snowflakes tumbled down the ground.

My friends and I agreed to take up the ski contest. I took a seat near the heater warming my hand and endeavoring to calm myself before the skiing contest. I was motivating myself by yapping, “I can win this contest.” As soon as I reached the white, humongous mountain peaks, I began wearing my safety guards for the climb down. We rhythmically recited; “Ready-set-go” and the race began. At every moment my speed started to increase. Finally, winning was only one step away. As a wise man had once said, “With a stout heart a mouse can also lift an elephant so will power and courage can help conquer an enormous task.” My hope and instincts helped me to conquer this challenging race. I was on top of the world by winning the ski contest. Skiing has now become my hobby.

The next morning, it was snowing heavily and watching this marvelous sight along with sipping the delicious hot chocolate we friends were planning to go for an overnight trek to the peak of the mountain. But due to some reasons we had to cancel the trek so we came out of the hotel room and stepped into the deep snow which buried half our legs into the soft snowy ground. The best moment till now was gazing up the gigantic mountain which was thoroughly stitched at a great height. Also the view was as clear as a lens. I was an eager beaver to start my trek. We climbed the peak and all of a sudden I lost my balance and fell from the mountain with god’s grace I did not end up giving up my life but got a severe fracture on my leg.

This tragedy shattered me in the initial days of my recovery. Being fortunate to live all my life around snow and the tradition of skiing with my friends would make me feel on cloud nine! My heart sank on learning that I would be unable to walk like before. To my horror, the four walls of my room got me sulking over the broken leg. My friends had always known me as a jolly person full of jokes. But this mishap reversed me. I would erupt like a volcano for petty issues. Discouragement ran through my veins, enough to get me in a black mood!

One fine gloomy evening, unwillingly being seated on the wheelchair, a lilting hawker’s voice got me steering towards the window. I scanned the front yard of my house for the hawker. My eyes couldn’t wink in amazement, on knowing the hawker was born with Tetra-Amelia syndrome. A tingling sensation ran across my body on witnessing him yet working with ease to earn his livelihood. The rain of inspiration washed the pessimism in me and gave my life a new vision – “Flaws are freckles that make you unique and beautiful. You should shine brighter each day and let the failures wash away.”

I swore to myself to be back in the game on those soft snowy mountains. The fighter in me was now alive.