This story is part of the literary competition created by In Trieste magazine “Winter in Trieste” which was open to all writers living in Trieste.
by Andrea Di Campo
Winter was sitting alone as always in his iced armchair. Everybody escaped at the sight of Winter, with its cold Bora everybody holed up in their burrows, and whenever Winter entered the other people left. He wished he could be like Summer, Autumn and Spring everybody loved them: warm, with bright colors, full of life.
Every year when it was Winter’s turn to approach, everybody tried to escape, everybody except the kids with their laughter full of happiness at the sight of snow. As the years passed by the kids grew and when Winter went to visit them they were annoyed as everybody else.
Winter even tried to visit new ones, but they too hated him, they said: “Oh, my internet, the snow, and wind are slowing it a lot! Why does Winter need to exist?”. As the years passed Winter started to get demoralized. Less and less snow came every year, the climate got warmer and the winds slower. Soon, Winter almost didn’t exist.
People weren’t bothered though, they were happy! Winter knew it was better for everyone so just stayed closed in his house, made of ice. More and more years passed, no one ever visited, no one until one day a little boy came. He went on vacation to Trieste with his family and during a walk, he got lost. He knocked on Winter’s door and asked how to get back to Trieste, but as he looked inside he was flabbergasted.
He had seen some strange white powder, it was fluffy. He had heard of it before but had never seen it. “What is that?” he asked “It is snow,” Winter depressingly answered, “Snow?” the kid asked “Yeah…” answered Winter, “but no one likes it,”. “I do!” the kid said “You do?” answered Winter lightened up! “Oh well,” he depressingly continued “nobody else likes it…”. “Well, they have never seen it as I did!” the kid said, “ you should make them see it as I do… Make it snow, make it snow, make it snow!”
“No, no, I’m too old!” Winter said, “Now follow that path which will bring you back to Trieste…”
That evening Winter thought about what the kid said, maybe people had changed, maybe now they like snow! So, he made his decision! The next day the kid woke up he saw a beautiful landscape all white, he knew. It was snow.
