Final Fighting Place
A drop of red in a sea of white.
It was that time.
When the icicles leak and contaminate the ground and the snow—once white—mixed with mud looks rotten. A disease festering, spreading on the grass.
The walk was never too bad. My house was only 5 minutes by bus away, but I cherished the 20 I took home. Under the bridge, through the small batch of trees—of which there weren’t enough of them to call it a forest—spiders made their webs on their barren branches, hoping to catch their next meal. I avoided the trees fearing the bony arms of the branches might trap me too.
My shitty headphones continued to play my music, one ear louder than the other that made me feel as if I was walking off balance. Maybe I was.
I walked on the trunk of a fallen log. I didn’t fall. But when I jumped off and landed weirdly on my ankle, that’s when I saw it: a little ladybug in the snow. Its red wings frozen mid-flight. I thought how it might’ve been scared. How it was ready to leave this stitched up town—where so many had seam rippers—but was too late. The red had faded into its black spots; it was gone when the snow was once white and cold.
Now its corpse remains in the rot, thawing as the snow and mud marry to birth a mildew around it.
But then I saw red twitching, hope blossomed before it wilted. If not the snow then the web of spiders. So I made a muddy footprint on its place.
About the Creator
Harleen 🤎
just some words on a page, but they mean so much more than that✨🤎 :)
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Eye opening
Niche topic & fresh perspectives
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
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Comments (20)
Please reply me I need some help
oh...I loved it up to the end - I put spiders outside. I guess a mercy killing is okay but I would have probably picked it up and held it. Wonderful micro!
Congrats on Top Story!🥳
https://amzn.to/3OwU0Om
https://amzn.to/3OwU0Om
Kudos for your effort! Keep up the exceptional work—congratulations!
Can I ask, did you step on it? Like a mercy killing? Because I don't get that ladybug flying away. I get it twitching and then the suggestion of the spiders getting it and then your muddy footprint. I like the snapshot you give us of someone disaffected and the contrast of the ladybug in the snow gives a great visual.
💜Loved this! 💜
Your words paint a vivid tapestry of transition and loss, yet it's the delicate resilience you've captured that truly resonates—a reminder that in the midst of decay and the end of journeys, there's a beauty in acknowledging even the smallest life's struggle and fleeting hope.
Great storytelling in very few words. It always impresses me when an author can craft a compelling, self-contained narrative in a short amount of space.
Loved this bit: “I thought how it might’ve been scared. How it was ready to leave this stitched up town—where so many had seam rippers—but was too late.” The seam rippers have never been more true. This is a great story, brilliant snapshot of taking the time to notice the beauty in the world.
Magnificent work! Keep it up!
Beautiful story. Congrats on the TS.
Wonderful
This is an expression of how you play around life and how the life is treating you currently.
A story of contrasts... Excellent!
Cool
Congrats on Top Story! I love how you captured the moment with the ladybug in the snow.
Back to say congratulations
I like this, life rebirth and hope.