Blue winter rose
wandering storyteller
prompts: you wake up in a diffrent place than you fell asleep + It is silent in this frozen forest, so silent even your own voice can't be heard no matter how hard you scream
wordcount: 1800
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Cold hard dirt. Sunlight reflecting off of white snow shining in her face. Branches sticking in her back uncomfortably. The smell of spring flowers and young grass. Those were the first things Jane came aware off when she woke up. That and a painful head.
She wasn’t in her bedroom. That was one thing that was clear. “Not again,” Jane groaned. As she sat upright. Judging by her painful joints and frozen limbs she must have been sleeping here for a while. Apparently, her brothers didn’t found it necessary to dress her in something warmer than her thin pyjamas. Or bothered enough to leave a blanket. Other ten-year-old girls might be panicked, but not Jane.
She stood up moving around to get her muscles warm as she glanced around. An ordinary forest in winter. The snow that covered everything came till her knees, and a layer of ice covered the bare branches of the trees. Nothing special, and still something seemed wrong. It looked the same as the forest surrounding their home, but something was off.
It wasn’t until she spotted a robin jumping up and down a branch, that she knew what was off. There was no sound. Nothing. No whistling of the wind. Not the song of the little bird that jumped up. Where was she? Jane stamped on the floor, but she couldn’t hear the stomping that should be heard. No crackling of fresh snow underneath her feet.
Jane started to panic. Had she lost her hearing? She reached for her ears, putting her fingers inside, but nothing was blocking them. Even the sound of her fingers going in her ears wasn’t hearable. Jane cursed at her brothers for making her deaf, somehow.
She screamed as loud as she could, but the only thing she achieved was a sore throat. She took a deep breath trying to calm herself, but the fact that she couldn’t hear the air going in and out her lungs scared her even more. Alright, Jane stay calm, stay calm.
First things first. Where was she? Height she needed height. Determined she started walking up the hill she spotted right behind her, cursing her brothers for not even putting shoes on her feet. The hill wasn’t that big. Not high enough to get a proper overview, at least. She needed to climb a tree. Normally she didn’t mind climbing trees, but she did prefer to have shoes on when doing so.
She jumped up grabbing a branch in her reach. Athletically she made her way to the top of the tree, her hands and feet half-frozen from. As she looked around her heart raced in her chest. There was nothing she recognized. Not the house, not the treehouse, nothing. There were some farms, but they weren’t the ones near home.
As she looked at the landscape, she spotted a deer. It looked exactly like any other dear, with a dark-brown coat with lighter speckles, but were its ears are supposed to be was nothing.
She must still be dreaming. This couldn’t be true. She wanted to wake up. She was cold and alone. Not a good dream at all. She forced herself to wake up, forcing her eyes further open, but it didn’t help.
She clammed the branch, clearly feeling the wood underneath her skin. Very realistic dream. In other dreams, she would wake when she fell, but in other dreams were never this vivid. Jane took a deep breath knowing what she had to do. She had to, or she might be stuck in this dream forever.
Jane sat down straight spreading her arms and let herself fell forward. Quickly she realized that, no it didn’t help, and yes she did feel pain in this dream. She screamed a silent scream as she grabbed her painful ankle.
Jane looked up as something or someone blocked the sunlight. She pressed herself against the tree when she looked right into the face of a boy, earless just like the dear. He had deep brown eyes and dark brown skin. Black hair peeked out from underneath a hat. He wore simple cotton clothing like he came from the past.
The boy put a hand on his chest, followed by a quick succession of smaller gestures, then he pointed at her, looking at her questioning. When Jane kept staring at him, confused, he sighed and searched in his bag and took out some herbs. He slowly reached closer to her. Jane didn’t pull back, allowing the boy to bandage her ankle. When he was done he glanced up at her, touching her ear, looking at her weirdly.
Jane frowned not sure what he was trying to achieve. Then it hit her. Her ears would have been just as weird for him, as his no ears are for her. She smirked, strange. The boy offered her his hand.
Jane reached out for it taking his hand, happy she understood that gesture at least. He helped her stand up. As she put pressure on her ankle she called out, falling back on her bump. The boy helped her back up, supporting her as he guided her to his house.
The route to his village was painfully long. She had to lean most of her weight on the boy. She didn’t like being depended on him, but he didn’t seem to be bothered. After a painfully long time, the farm came into sight. It looked normal, exactly like a farm in her world looks like. With the wood at the front, wide fields, sheds and stone square in front.
A Labrador, again without ears, came running in their direction. The dog looked so ridiculous, Jane burst into laughter. The boy frowned at her, clearly confused at her laughter while he stopped the dog with his hands, preventing it from tipping her over.
When he finished greeting the dog he led her inside into the large living kitchen. It seems like an ordinary kitchen, the only thing that stood out was a group of six square, flat lights at the wall near the door. After the boy set her down on a chair he pressed the lights in a complex pattern, the lights glowing up under his touch.
Soon a woman walked through the door, followed by two young boys, one of them was the same age as the twins, the other a little younger. Without sounds, their arrival felt too sudden like they had teleported in front of the door.
The woman pointed at her then signed something to her son. Jane glanced from one to the other as they gestured to each other. Jane bit her lip in concentration as she tried to decipher what they were telling each other. The fact that they moved their hands faster than she held possible, didn’t make it any easier.
She did pick up on the fact that the woman touched the sides of her head multiple times. Jane wanted to explain to them what happened, ask them for help. But even if they had ears she didn’t know if she had the words to explain what happened.
Finally, the woman kneeled in front of her. When she was close Jane could see the woman had small bumps on the side of her head, where her ears were supposed to be.
The woman put a hand on her own chest followed by a couple of quick hand movements, then she pointed at Jane, looking at her expectedly. Similarly, as the boy had done in the forest.
Jane looked at her confused, not sure what to do. The woman frowned, grabbed Jane's hands, glancing at them concerned. To prove there was nothing wrong with her hands Jane wiggled her fingers around.
The woman smiled brightly, releasing Jane's hands. The woman repeated the movement from before, putting her hand on her chest, the rapid movements, pointing at her.
Jane lit up, of course, she wanted to know her name. Immediately she walked against another problem. How was she going to gesture her name? Jane bit her underlip, tilting her head sidewards. Then smiled because she got an idea.
Jane drew a J in the air. Then she hit her right fist in her left hand before quickly removing it, showing her open hands to the woman. She hoped it didn’t mean anything bad, and it was long enough for a name.
The woman smiled nodding, repeating the sign Jane made. Jane nodded relieved. The woman leant in closer pulling at her ears.
“Autch!” Jane called out as she pulled away, but of course, her scream was soundless. Instead, Jane made an angry face, showing her displeasure.
One of the children put a hand on his mother shoulder. When she looked around he started vigorously gesturing jumping up and down. The mother seemed less enthusiastic about whatever her son wanted. The younger kid finally joining in as well jumping up, and down waving his arms. Even the boy who helped her joined in.
After more gesturing, they all looked back at Jane, as if they want an answer.
When Jane just looked at them weirdly, the middle son walked over the cabinet coming back with a pie mould. He pointed with it to a bowl with apples. An apple pie. Jane smiled, reminding the many times she had baked apple pies with her family. She nodded, gesturing she would be happy to help.
The youngest two jumped up, waving their hands. The boy that had helped her in the forest got knives out of the drawer and handed her one, nodding at the apples. Jane nodded, happy she understood what was expected from her. She sat down and started to cut apples. As they were baking, she managed to understand better what they meant although it still remained a challenge to communicate.
Later that night the mother put her into bed. As Jane closed her eyes she realized they were just like her family, but without ears and sounds.
“Wake up! Wake up!” screams of her brothers pulled her out of her sleep.
“Careful!” she called out as both boys jumped on top her. Mad with joy she could hear her own voice again she wrapped her arms around them. It was all just a dream. She was back with her family. Back in the world with sounds. Never left in fact. A dream after all.
She pushed her brothers aside and stepped out of her bed as she put pressure on her ankle she called out, falling back to the bed. Their dog came running into her room. It sniffled at her legs, clearly smelling something. She wondered how the world would look like for him. She simply couldn’t begin to understand how much he could smell where they have no idea about.
wordcount: 1800
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Cold hard dirt. Sunlight reflecting off of white snow shining in her face. Branches sticking in her back uncomfortably. The smell of spring flowers and young grass. Those were the first things Jane came aware off when she woke up. That and a painful head.
She wasn’t in her bedroom. That was one thing that was clear. “Not again,” Jane groaned. As she sat upright. Judging by her painful joints and frozen limbs she must have been sleeping here for a while. Apparently, her brothers didn’t found it necessary to dress her in something warmer than her thin pyjamas. Or bothered enough to leave a blanket. Other ten-year-old girls might be panicked, but not Jane.
She stood up moving around to get her muscles warm as she glanced around. An ordinary forest in winter. The snow that covered everything came till her knees, and a layer of ice covered the bare branches of the trees. Nothing special, and still something seemed wrong. It looked the same as the forest surrounding their home, but something was off.
It wasn’t until she spotted a robin jumping up and down a branch, that she knew what was off. There was no sound. Nothing. No whistling of the wind. Not the song of the little bird that jumped up. Where was she? Jane stamped on the floor, but she couldn’t hear the stomping that should be heard. No crackling of fresh snow underneath her feet.
Jane started to panic. Had she lost her hearing? She reached for her ears, putting her fingers inside, but nothing was blocking them. Even the sound of her fingers going in her ears wasn’t hearable. Jane cursed at her brothers for making her deaf, somehow.
She screamed as loud as she could, but the only thing she achieved was a sore throat. She took a deep breath trying to calm herself, but the fact that she couldn’t hear the air going in and out her lungs scared her even more. Alright, Jane stay calm, stay calm.
First things first. Where was she? Height she needed height. Determined she started walking up the hill she spotted right behind her, cursing her brothers for not even putting shoes on her feet. The hill wasn’t that big. Not high enough to get a proper overview, at least. She needed to climb a tree. Normally she didn’t mind climbing trees, but she did prefer to have shoes on when doing so.
She jumped up grabbing a branch in her reach. Athletically she made her way to the top of the tree, her hands and feet half-frozen from. As she looked around her heart raced in her chest. There was nothing she recognized. Not the house, not the treehouse, nothing. There were some farms, but they weren’t the ones near home.
As she looked at the landscape, she spotted a deer. It looked exactly like any other dear, with a dark-brown coat with lighter speckles, but were its ears are supposed to be was nothing.
She must still be dreaming. This couldn’t be true. She wanted to wake up. She was cold and alone. Not a good dream at all. She forced herself to wake up, forcing her eyes further open, but it didn’t help.
She clammed the branch, clearly feeling the wood underneath her skin. Very realistic dream. In other dreams, she would wake when she fell, but in other dreams were never this vivid. Jane took a deep breath knowing what she had to do. She had to, or she might be stuck in this dream forever.
Jane sat down straight spreading her arms and let herself fell forward. Quickly she realized that, no it didn’t help, and yes she did feel pain in this dream. She screamed a silent scream as she grabbed her painful ankle.
Jane looked up as something or someone blocked the sunlight. She pressed herself against the tree when she looked right into the face of a boy, earless just like the dear. He had deep brown eyes and dark brown skin. Black hair peeked out from underneath a hat. He wore simple cotton clothing like he came from the past.
The boy put a hand on his chest, followed by a quick succession of smaller gestures, then he pointed at her, looking at her questioning. When Jane kept staring at him, confused, he sighed and searched in his bag and took out some herbs. He slowly reached closer to her. Jane didn’t pull back, allowing the boy to bandage her ankle. When he was done he glanced up at her, touching her ear, looking at her weirdly.
Jane frowned not sure what he was trying to achieve. Then it hit her. Her ears would have been just as weird for him, as his no ears are for her. She smirked, strange. The boy offered her his hand.
Jane reached out for it taking his hand, happy she understood that gesture at least. He helped her stand up. As she put pressure on her ankle she called out, falling back on her bump. The boy helped her back up, supporting her as he guided her to his house.
The route to his village was painfully long. She had to lean most of her weight on the boy. She didn’t like being depended on him, but he didn’t seem to be bothered. After a painfully long time, the farm came into sight. It looked normal, exactly like a farm in her world looks like. With the wood at the front, wide fields, sheds and stone square in front.
A Labrador, again without ears, came running in their direction. The dog looked so ridiculous, Jane burst into laughter. The boy frowned at her, clearly confused at her laughter while he stopped the dog with his hands, preventing it from tipping her over.
When he finished greeting the dog he led her inside into the large living kitchen. It seems like an ordinary kitchen, the only thing that stood out was a group of six square, flat lights at the wall near the door. After the boy set her down on a chair he pressed the lights in a complex pattern, the lights glowing up under his touch.
Soon a woman walked through the door, followed by two young boys, one of them was the same age as the twins, the other a little younger. Without sounds, their arrival felt too sudden like they had teleported in front of the door.
The woman pointed at her then signed something to her son. Jane glanced from one to the other as they gestured to each other. Jane bit her lip in concentration as she tried to decipher what they were telling each other. The fact that they moved their hands faster than she held possible, didn’t make it any easier.
She did pick up on the fact that the woman touched the sides of her head multiple times. Jane wanted to explain to them what happened, ask them for help. But even if they had ears she didn’t know if she had the words to explain what happened.
Finally, the woman kneeled in front of her. When she was close Jane could see the woman had small bumps on the side of her head, where her ears were supposed to be.
The woman put a hand on her own chest followed by a couple of quick hand movements, then she pointed at Jane, looking at her expectedly. Similarly, as the boy had done in the forest.
Jane looked at her confused, not sure what to do. The woman frowned, grabbed Jane's hands, glancing at them concerned. To prove there was nothing wrong with her hands Jane wiggled her fingers around.
The woman smiled brightly, releasing Jane's hands. The woman repeated the movement from before, putting her hand on her chest, the rapid movements, pointing at her.
Jane lit up, of course, she wanted to know her name. Immediately she walked against another problem. How was she going to gesture her name? Jane bit her underlip, tilting her head sidewards. Then smiled because she got an idea.
Jane drew a J in the air. Then she hit her right fist in her left hand before quickly removing it, showing her open hands to the woman. She hoped it didn’t mean anything bad, and it was long enough for a name.
The woman smiled nodding, repeating the sign Jane made. Jane nodded relieved. The woman leant in closer pulling at her ears.
“Autch!” Jane called out as she pulled away, but of course, her scream was soundless. Instead, Jane made an angry face, showing her displeasure.
One of the children put a hand on his mother shoulder. When she looked around he started vigorously gesturing jumping up and down. The mother seemed less enthusiastic about whatever her son wanted. The younger kid finally joining in as well jumping up, and down waving his arms. Even the boy who helped her joined in.
After more gesturing, they all looked back at Jane, as if they want an answer.
When Jane just looked at them weirdly, the middle son walked over the cabinet coming back with a pie mould. He pointed with it to a bowl with apples. An apple pie. Jane smiled, reminding the many times she had baked apple pies with her family. She nodded, gesturing she would be happy to help.
The youngest two jumped up, waving their hands. The boy that had helped her in the forest got knives out of the drawer and handed her one, nodding at the apples. Jane nodded, happy she understood what was expected from her. She sat down and started to cut apples. As they were baking, she managed to understand better what they meant although it still remained a challenge to communicate.
Later that night the mother put her into bed. As Jane closed her eyes she realized they were just like her family, but without ears and sounds.
“Wake up! Wake up!” screams of her brothers pulled her out of her sleep.
“Careful!” she called out as both boys jumped on top her. Mad with joy she could hear her own voice again she wrapped her arms around them. It was all just a dream. She was back with her family. Back in the world with sounds. Never left in fact. A dream after all.
She pushed her brothers aside and stepped out of her bed as she put pressure on her ankle she called out, falling back to the bed. Their dog came running into her room. It sniffled at her legs, clearly smelling something. She wondered how the world would look like for him. She simply couldn’t begin to understand how much he could smell where they have no idea about.
