Winter

Though she had been near exhaustion before, seeing the horrific snowman gave Miyuki more than enough incentive to continue running. She made sure to take brief glances back to make sure whoever had left the snowman was not in pursuit.

“I don’t want to die out here,” whimpered Miyuki, tears welling up in her eyes. “Please don’t let me die.” When Miyuki depleted her new-found energy, she fell to her knees.

“Miyuki,” whispered an almost angelic voice.

Hearing her name prompted Miyuki to quickly get back to her feet and begin looking for the source of the voice. In the distance, through a steady snowfall, Miyuki could make out a figure. “Hello,” she called out. “Can you help me?”

The wind grew stronger, filling the air with more snow and making it far more difficult to see. Before Miyuki knew it, the figure in the distance had disappeared.

“Was that real?” Miyuki wondered. “Or am I already dead?”

A hand came to a rest on Miyuki’s shoulder, causing her to immediately stiffen up. “Don’t be afraid, Miyuki,” said a woman’s voice. “That is your name, isn’t it? It’s a very pretty name. That’s what that man called you. Is he your husband? He doesn’t seem very nice.”

Miyuki mustered the courage to turn around but found no one.

“I think he wants to hurt you,” said the voice. “But I hurt him. I made him bleed. I made him scream. It was wonderful.”

“Is he dead?” asked Miyuki, who was far too frightened to flee.

“I let him live. After all, I can’t have fun without my playmates. Oh, it’s been so long since I’ve heard someone scream. But hearing it only made me want more. I want to hear you scream, Miyuki. Will you please scream for me?”

“The snowman?” asked Miyuki.

The woman let out a chuckle. “That was me,” she said. “But that scream doesn’t count. I want to hear you scream when you’re in pain. Those are the best screams.”

“Why are you doing this?” asked Miyuki.

“Because you sullied my pristine white with your tainted crimson,” said the woman, who now sounded angry. “You spilled innocent blood on my beautiful snow. You made a mockery of the purest of pures.”

Miyuki slowly turned around and came face-to-face with a most horrific sight. A woman dressed in radiant white was standing mere feet away. Her hair was as white as the snow and her skin was a pale blue. But the most startling thing about the woman was her eyes, which were a stunning dark blue.

Terrified, Miyuki began backing away.

The woman then let Miyuki know what the punishment was for corrupting her snow. “For what you two have done to my beautiful snow, you will die.”