The Snow Owl and Other Short Stories

The Snow Owl

The winter wind howled outside my study as I sat at my long wooden desk. The desk was empty, save for a few pieces of paper and a lit candle. I looked outside one of my windows, it was blocked by a snowy bare tree, with an owl as white as the snow laying on the branch. It was always there at this time, my wife had loved the owl, she fed it, cared for it. As I looked upon its beautiful feathers I remembered my wife,I missed her so, this owl simply a reminder of her death.
As I admired the owl I heard something. I couldn't quite make out what it was, then it got louder. A feminine voice saying "your fault"resonated around the study, it shook me to the bone. "Who's there", I yelled quietly, nothing responded for a minute or two.

"It was your fault", the mysterious voice said again. I was baffled, what could possibly be saying this? I heard it again, "it was all your fault". What was my fault? I hadn't done anything to hurt another.
"Show yourself coward!", I took up my candle and shone its light into the darkness. "I said show yourself!", nothing came, nothing responded to my demand.
"You killed her", there was a pause of silence as I grew terrified. It spoke to me of my wife. "You lacked care, compassion. You didn't save her, you let her die a terrible death". I could now start feeling a chill in the air and I saw something out of the corner of my eye. An owl, with snowy white feathers I thought for a moment, the owl I was watching. I looked to the window quickly, the owl was gone, where had it left to? I looked back to confront the visitor.
"I cared for my wife as well as I could, nothing could stop her from taking that last breath", I said bravely. An odd sound resonated through my ears, sounding almost like a laugh.

"She misses you so much. Her soul is lost without you", the voice whispered. "You failed her, now she needs you", my body froze.
"Leave me be! I shall join my wife when it's my time", the thing said nothing, but I suddenly grew drowsy. My eyes wanted to close, but I wouldn't let them. The drowsiness grew stronger quickly,I could no longer fight the sleep. My eyes began to close. Yet before they closed for a final time I saw something, my lovely wife and on her shoulder, an owl with feathers as white as snow...

The End

Gotta say, that was a very good story in my opinion. One suggestion I have is to introduce the deceased wife a bit slower. Reason being is just because the topic was about an owl, then out of nowhere the wife was introduced, don't get me wrong I really enjoyed it, (it also seems like it was partially inspired by the Raven?) but just a slower introduction would add suspense and really set the scenario. Great job!

You'd be right about the Raven. The original bird was a raven before I actually read the Raven and noticed the similarities. As for the wife I could change the pacing a bit.

I really liked this, great job writing this.

I was invited to the Writing Club earlier this week by the Writer's Craft teacher, who was impressed by Vrakroth. So since I can't read all of that, save for a few pages maybe, I'll reading this here, The Snow Owl. I also presented it to the Book Club yesterday, who called it "A combination of the Telltale Heart and The Raven", which I was aiming for.

Anyways, if anybody else would like to offer a hand on making it slightly better before tomorrow, I'd be glad to listen.

Well, now that I'm the Writing Club, I was given my first task. That task is to write a story for the writing competition that happens every year in my school board. The winners get their stories published in the competitions yearly magazine. So since I enjoying sharing my writings with you, this will become my short story thread, I'll have it renamed later.

As for the competition, the theme is The Fork in the Road. For this I'll be writing a short story about a man lost in The Black Forest (a mountainous forest located in Germany), til a strange animal makes a deal with him. Anyways wish me luck!

The Light in the Woods

I had set out into those dreaded woods before dusk in hopes of making it to the next village. Before I knew it, the woods had become enshrouded in darkness and I was lost. The path was lost before my eyes, yet out of the corner of my eye I saw an almost ethereal light deeper into the woods. For a moment I thought it to be someone who could aid me in finding my way, or it could be a thief stalking the night. I was willing to take any risk if it meant leaving these woods.

I followed it quickly, but it was swift, so I ran faster, my heavy coat and satchel bounding off my body. Then I caught it by some fungus with a cold glow. I saw a small red fox with an unearthly glow sitting there. I looked at it with confusion, yet it seemed gleeful to see me. "Would you like out of these woods?", it asked soothingly. I thought, a talking fox? I didn't have much choice, it was rot out here with the wolves and thieves, or let this odd creature aid me. I accepted doubtfully. I was willing to take any risk if it meant leaving these woods.

The fox began to walk slowly ahead of me, always staying ahead, I followed behind. We went deeper and deeper into the woods, should have I listened to my doubts? "Where do we go?", I asked. The fox simply shot me a cheerful smile and motioned me to continue to follow. I began to wonder what this creature was truly up to, what would it want with me? It had nothing to gain from me, only I had something to gain from it, but I was willing to take any risk if it meant leaving these woods.

I grew tired from the continuous walking, my bones ached in pain. This fox was taking me nowhere, simply leading me further into these dark woods. "You take me nowhere. You're useless!" The thing then stopped for a brief moment. It sat there, its back facing me, then it began to run away into the woods. I couldn't keep up, soon its glow was nothing more than a glimmer and I was left in the dark, save for that odd glowing fungus in the trees. I was willing to take any risk if it meant leaving these woods. Now I pay the price for my foolishness.

I was left for dead with the wolves and thieves who stalked these putrid woods at night, shined upon by a fungus that glows a cold flame like that fox's cold heart, never to return back home.

The End

Night Terrors

I was starting to lose my patience, sitting in a hard plastic chair that made me uncomfortable. I played around with my mother's necklace as I waited and soon enough, the grouchy secretary at the desk told me I could go in to see Dr. Placid. A therapist I talked to when my mother died.He greeted me at the door, a smile that almost reached the bottom of his round glasses was on his wrinkled face. "Nice to meet you again Miss. Sandra, I hope you remember me," he said as he sat me down on a recliner. "You've been having nightmares again?" I nodded. "What have you been dreaming about?"
"A wolf, a wolf with black fur," I said.
"And what does this wolf do?"
"He chases me, taunts me. He keeps repeating that same phrase, you can’t run from your own mind."
"Odd, have you been thinking about your mother again?" I nodded. He then jotted some things down onto his pad quickly and looked back at me. He ripped off a piece of paper off of his pad, "here is some medicine you can take to help you sleep", I took it from him, "if it continues, come and see me again, okay?" I told him I would come back then went on my way. I don't recall being prescribed medicine by him before. I thought nothing of it, however, it felt off to me.

By the time I left, it was noon. The Toronto wind blew on my face, it felt refreshing. I looked at the prescription that Dr. Placid gave me, it prescribed me a medicine I've never heard of before. There was a drug mart nearby, I could pick it up there I thought. So I began on my way through the crowd of busy people on the street. It was filled with families with smiling children and suit clad office workers. Among the crowd however, I thought I saw a wolf with dark fur skulking about. Just my imagination I told myself.

After I completed the rest of my tedious errands. I got my pajamas on, took some of that medicine and went to bed, with hopes of sleeping well. The medicine worked, but I soon felt the side effects.

I soon grew restless, my head hurt. I quickly woke up when I heard a bang downstairs however. "What was that?" I whispered to myself. It was pitch black, I could barely see anything, so I decided to stay in bed. Yet as I pulled the sheets back over me, I heard a scratching sound from the stairwell. I fumbled around, looking for something to defend myself with, grabbing a glass cup without thinking.
I sat up, defensively holding the cup, when the door opened. "Stop right where you are!" I yelled and held up the glass, "I'm armed!" A inhuman laugh bellowed in my room.

Cont...

"Your weapon is a fragile cup, I have claws sharper than steel. You can't fight your own mind girl," was this the wolf? But how? I was awake.
"Get out!" The thing walked closer until I came face to face with it. It was certainly the wolf, there was slobber dripping around his muzzle, his black fur looked bristled, he was calmer than I was.
"I can smell your fear," I was paralyzed.
"Get out," I said weakly, "I'm not afraid of you," the wolf examined me.
"You're a scared little hare, I, a large and fearsome wolf. What do you expect to do?" Then as he finished his words, my cat Sigmund walked into the room and knocked a pot off the dresser as she jumped up. The wolf growled and turned around, I took the opportunity to hit it with the cup, it shattered. The wolf, surprised by the blow, cradled his head as I ran out of the room quickly, getting outside as fast as I could.

I was breathless I hid in front of the house under the window, facing the street. Yet across the street I saw Dr. Placid, "Dr. Placid?" I yelled, "quick, call 911, somethings in there!" He simply stared and began walking over, his glasses over his eyes. "Dr. Placid? Everything okay?" I soon realized this wasn't Dr. Placid. As he walked over I could see his features change.
"You can't run from your own mind foolish little girl," I didn’t know where to go, there was nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.
"You try and run from me? This is your mind, and I am in control," he was now right in front of me,"Time to feast upon your fear," as the wolf got ready to devour whatever he could, I held my mother's necklace tightly. My eyes grew teary,then,I heard my mother's voice in my head and time felt as if it stood still.

Cont...

"Stop being afraid, fight your fears," she said to me, I thought that I couldn't, yet she kept saying those reassuring words, 'fight the wolf who feeds on fear," I heard her voice say.
With all the courage I could bolster, I stood up and hit the wolf in the muzzle while he sharpened his claws. "Leave, no longer are you in control!," he let out a raspy laugh.
"Foolish girl, I'm in control! And I always will be."
"No!" The shout shocked the wolf, "this is my mind, not yours”, the wolf began to whimper.
"Leave me alone! You feed off fear, it's weak and pathetic, I'm not afraid of you anymore and I never will be."
"This is my reality to control," he said sourly.
"This is your reality to leave, I'm afraid of you no longer! Didn’t you hear me?", I got closer to his horrendous face, he backed away.
"This isn't possible, nobody can stand against me. I am fear itself! My name holds sway in places you couldn't even fathom", he was worried, I could see it in his blood red eyes.
"Courage comes to those who believe, that is something you're just starting to learn, without my fear to feed on, you’re nothing," he began to fade, his body became a shadow with a pale wolf skull upon its head.
"No! Stop! No mortal defeats me, especially a human of all creatures!" Soon there was nothing left of him except for odd whispers in the air, a few moments later, I woke up. It was dark, just as it was during the dream. Sigmund jumped up onto my bed and began purring. As I petted Sigmund's brown and black striped fur, I began to fall back asleep. My head filled with joy and hope, I wouldn't be plagued by that wolf anymore.

In the morning, I decided to go see Dr. Placid to tell him I got over my nightmare, even if he did appear as a killer wolf in them. When I walked up to the front counter to tell that grouchy secretary that I was here to see Placid, she simply said "Who?"
"What do you mean, who?" I said, "I was talking to him yesterday."
"I'm sorry, this is Dr. Salazar's office, Dr. Placid hasn't worked here for years. Sorry for any inconvenience," I walked out confused. Maybe I never even spoke to Dr. Placid. Maybe I never even came here.

The End

Duality

"You're wasting your time, they will kill each other soon enough," the malice filled voice echoed through the woods. It came from an odd creature, a raven who wore a black cloak and robe. Yet, walking with him was a dove who wore white.
"They deserve a chance," the dove responded, "You say they are full of hatred, yet I believe that there is hope for them." The raven sighed as they sat down on two thrones made of branches, one rotten, the other full of flowers. He tapped the wood of his rotten ebony seat, looking up to the dark night sky.
"They will eventually all come into my grasp through their own ignorance. You know how self-destructive those foolish creatures you love are, don't you?" The dove grew silent with thought, the sound of insects filling the air. "Nothing to say? It only proves my point, does it not?"
"You seem to lack patience, brother," she frowned at the raven, annoyed by his very presence. The raven began to yawn in anticipation. "That is your problem is it not?" The raven glared at her, "You have no patience, that's why you wish to kill them all before their time isn't it?" The raven laughed a foul laugh at the accusation, earning him more disgust from the dove.
"You see sister," the raven began, "I have lots of patience, you seem to lack foresight however. They have men who lead them down a path of conquest and hate. Can you not hear their cries for eternal sleep? Or are you simply too deaf to notice? Soon enough they will bring that time closer," the dove stood up, furious.
"You pathetic fool!" The yell echoed through the woods, "Your idiocy has killed so many. Why do you wish deaths upon millions more? Maybe you'd understand them better if I showed you the life they can save, rather than take," she began to say a few words in a peculiar language, cryptic and mystic they were. As the words flowed out of her mouth, a flame erupted out of the ground, forming a ring of bright white fire in the air. "Look upon this man and see them for what they can be, brother."

In the ring of fire that glowed in the air was an image of a man in a suit walking in the rain.He came to a corner where a woman and her child stood. The man smiled as he watched the girl dance with her stuffed dog under the comfort of her mother's umbrella, then she slipped, sending the stuffed toy flying into the traffic. The girl ran for it when a car came hurdling down the road, unable to stop. Screams pierced the air as her mother looked on in horror. The man quickly dropped his suitcase and grabbed the girl, throwing her back as the car came slipping by, it hit him instead. Lying on the ground, he was now dead.

Cont...

"This man gave himself up to you to save the life of that girl, there is still hope for them is there not?" The raven looked entertained by the matter. "Moving story sister, yet let me show you my own." The raven whisked his hand from his rotten throne and the fire's image changed.

There was an older girl with a gun in her hand now. The darkness shrouded her as she stared at a wooden door in a foreboding hall. She opened it slowly, taking care to not be heard. As she entered the room a man and woman woke up out of their bed. She took aim at them and shot both. She quickly ran off, screams of terror resonating in her mind. The girl then laid down on the ground outside, she was crying. "I'm sorry," she silently said.

The dove's eyes were now wide with grief and tears. "Who would do such a thing?" The dove said in disbelief. The raven looked to her with glee.
"That was the girl your man saved. She killed her family over anger and hate, in the end she felt regret for it, but she had already committed the act,"he then whisked his hand again and the flame became cinders. The dove was in shock, "One girl sent three to their grave, whether she liked it is not of my concern, it does please me however. Now sister, how do you feel about those foolish creatures?" The dove sat down upon her birch throne once more.

Cont...

"All I can say brother is that is merely one incident. You can show me a thousand more deaths, but I will always have faith in them," her voice began to grow silent, "there is always hope brother, you cannot change that," she then thought to herself if there truly was anymore.
"I will never die sister, but you shall and when the last breath is drawn, you shall lose yours after all these years. When that happens, I shall be there to draw it out with joy if it stops your foolishness," the raven then left to walk into the woods.
"Life finds a way, even against a sadistic creature like you brother," the dove whispered to herself. The raven stopped, a leaf crunched under one of his talons as he laid it on the forest floor.
"And there will always be death my dear sister no matter how hard you try," he then left, walking till his body became nothing but a shadow in those woods where the trees of ebony and birch stayed silently watching matters of life and death.

The End

I've been reading through these, they're nice.
I'll be quoting every mistake I come across.

Ya that happens when transferring them from word to the forums. They get attached together for some reason, thanks for the help!

While reading the first part of Duality, I sometimes didn't know at first feeling who was talking: the dove or the raven.
For example:

I thought it was the dove who said both of these things, at first. That might've been my fault, but perhaps it could be a little more obvious next time.

It was a lot clearer when I was able to do better spacing, but the forums have this thing against indents for some reason.

Yeah, true. That can be quite inconvenient.