"ugh. it's cold as shit."
you put on your winter coat and head out the door. the cold is biting with the fresh snowfall from last night. as you step out from your dark house, you notice the sun barely manages to warm the sky.it’s not unusual, but you know you’d never really get used to it. the cold blue hours right before the dawn breaks the sky open only is accompanied by silence.you notice how bright the moon is, though technically it should not be out. the crunchy sound of your footsteps against the freshly fallen snow is the only thing you can hear. you look down to ensure you got the proper footing and notice you stepped right on the trail of some bunny footprints.
when you look up, you suddenly find yourself in a middle of a forest. it stretches out for as far as you can see.
“what the hell?"
you look around, there’s no one in sight, and the neighborhood you once knew is gone.
what do you do?
“lower your head, idiot.”
you look down to see a bunny.
“great job stepping on my footprints on the first snowfall of the winter. you’re now lost. go find the witch if you ever wanna make it home.”“you’re talking. you’re a talking bunny.”“a talking bunny that hates repeating himself.” his little nose twitches in what you assume irritation. “scram!”before he could take off you speak up, “wait! how the hell am i supposed to find this witch you’re talking about?”
the bunny remains silent.
“please, tell me.”“do you have something to exchange?”
"hm. lucky, aren't you? i accept."
"hm. prepared, aren't you? i accept."
"tsk. typical human."
“well?”the bunny’s nose twitches again. “do humans only have eyes for decoration? follow the north star.”he bolts into the dense trees before you can ask him any more questions. you sigh in disbelief and look up at the sky.
a singular star shines the brightest among the other stars.“i don’t know shit about finding the north star,” you mumble to yourself. deciding to follow that bright star, you wonder how much time you have before the night lifts.
as you make try your best to follow the star without losing it in the leaves of the trees, you stumble upon a tree inside a ring of mushrooms. you stop before you accidentally crush one of the mushrooms under your boot.
how do you move forward?
you died in the witch’s winter.
you feel as if you made a poor choice.“NEW HUMAN, NEW HUMAN, NEW HUMAN!”you hear the manic giggles of faeries as the ground rumbles underneath you and the cold earth swallows you up.you stepped through a faerie ring, sealing your fate in death. the next time you’re reincarnated, your biggest karmic lesson will be to be more mindful of the people and places you visit.
rest.
you feel a shiver run up your spine, but you don’t pay it much attention. you had to get home and you weren't going to take any risks.
you feel less fatigued than before and the weather seems to be easing up. you swear you hear a distant celebration—cheer and warmth. you kept moving in the direction of the north star.
the sun should be rising by now, but there’s no sign of the sun anywhere. you can barely see through the dimly lit forest.
it’s eerie how silent the world is. you start thinking about what you were going to do before you managed to get lost.go to university. go to work.is that all there is? is there nothing more that you were going to do?your brain feels like it’s just out of reach of the thoughts you know are in your head.
“they’re forgetting.” you hear someone whisper. turning around sharply, your body tenses up.“who’s there?” you ask. the warmth of your breath fogs up before your eyes and nearly shimmers under the moonlight. that’s not normal.“well, that’s the human’s fault for being here. obviously, people know you should never cross the path of a bunny’s footprint on the first snowfall of the winter,” another voice says.“come out!” you yell.“i feel bad. they might be different what if they can fix everything?”a scoff. “if you want to help, fine!”
just as you decide that maybe you should get out, two chipmunks emerge into the moonlight. one dragging the other.“human, are you lost?” the first one asks.“enough of this! i refuse to get involved with a creature like this again.” the second one growls.you hesitate.
how do you respond?
the first chipmunk speaks. “i suppose we could, but how can we trust you?”“trust me?” you ask.“you humans always ruin things for us! getting trapped in our world and you never leave until your body decomposes into our soil.” the second chipmunk hisses.you take a deep breath. “please, am i at least going in the right direction?”the first chipmunk hesitates, glancing at its partner. “yes. we can’t stay, but i wish you luck human.”they disappear into the forest.
“what? you don’t want our help?” the first chipmunk asks.“i can see you two are wary of humans. i won’t bother you.” you say.the second chipmunk hums. “finally, a smart human.”“thank you.”“you’re going in the right direction, but be wary. the winter is the kindest thing around these parts.” the second chipmunk says.they disappear into the forest.
“what? you don’t want our help?” the second chipmunk asks.“no. no thank you,” you respond.“hmpf. so be it, human.”they disappear into the forest.
it’s been a long night, you think. but is it time for rest? will you reach the witch any faster if you kept walking through the night? almost all at once, the exhaustion hits you. how long have you been here? you can’t tell.you find a big old tree to sit under, but it’s still freezing. if you slept now you would have to start a fire.
what do you do?
did you wear any type of metal on you today?
you start a fire with a nearby stone you found and a small pile of wood. you survive the night but wake up hungry. you must get to a warm place for food.
you barely wake the next morning. you must get to a warm place for food.
you died in the witch’s winter.
your body stiffens as the cold shows no mercy on your human body. your boots start to get caked with the snow, and you feel your body get weighed down.“maybe a little rest wouldn’t hurt.”you lay down and don’t wake up again.
rest.
when you wake, the night is still blanketing the sky. you have a bad feeling that you won’t see the sun again until you find the witch.the hunger and the cold is killing you, you think. you try your best to look for any berries or maybe other homes as you follow the north star, but so far it’s just been snow and these dense trees.
it’s so quiet that the only noise you experience is everything you’re thinking about.
if you had died right now, would you have regretted it?
everything you’ve done, was it all worth it?
if you didn’t make it back, did you say everything you’ve ever wanted to confess?
lost in your thoughts, you trip over a root of a tree. you get a face full of snow and grimace as you wipe everything off. right in front of your eyes, you see beautiful berries. it’s tiny, but you’re hungry and your stomach is going to murder you before this unforgiving cold does.
you take a handful and examine them. you can’t actually tell if it’s poisonous, but there aren’t many options. you go ahead and eat a couple.“DON’T EAT THOSE!” you hear a voice yell out before you’re unconscious.
...
...
...
did you die?
“this is the fifth human already. why won’t that witch just leave them alone?”you can hear pots and pans shuffling around, the warmth of a fireplace, and the distinct smell of soup.you pry your eyes open and look around.it’s a cave. it’s small, probably only allowing for two people maximum but it’s incredibly cozy.
the campfire is strong and steady.“these potatoes can work…” you hear someone mumble. you realize you’ve been tucked in warm, dry blankets. the ground of the cave is bumpy and uncomfortable but the attempts to make you comfortable with a makeshift futon warms your heart.you twist your body out of the blankets and try to sit up to see your savior.
“oh shit.”it’s a goddamn polar bear.“oh, hi! you’re up! uh, don’t freak out. i’m not gonna eat you.”
you...
“oh, here we go again,” the polar bear sighs. he turns back to his soup as you try to back away from him.“once you’re done with that you can have some potato soup.”“YOU’RE A BEAR?”“yeah and this soup is delicious. dip your paws in here!”
“a freezer! much better than the screamer.” the polar bear seems satisfied. “once the shock of my beariness wears off come and have a bowl of soup. you need to warm up after you threw up those berries.”“i threw up the berries?”the polar bear grimaces. “you humans are kind of gross. it was everywhere but luckily it didn’t get on your clothes or hair.”
“uhhh,” you drag out. you glance at the entrance of the cave. the winter is still strong. “s-sure. thanks for… having me?”“oh! you’re very welcome! to be honest you’re not the first human this cycle. i check that same path every once and a while to make sure there aren’t any poor humans trying to eat those berries.” the polar bear responds.“first human?”the bear turns to you with a bowl of steaming soup. “the witch keeps opening up different portals to drag humans into our winter. no one knows what they want.”
you sit down with your bowl and stop yourself from asking for a spoon. it's a bear, there’s no way that he would have a spoon. you carefully blow on the soup to cool it down and take a sip from the bowl.it’s surprisingly creamy and delicious.“oh, wow. you’re an amazing chef.”“thank you. i’ve gotten pointers from the last four humans i took in.”you’re hesitant but you decide to ask anyways.
“what’s going on, uh…”the polar bear looks over at you. “oh, right you guys love names. call me pb—short for polar bear.”“pb… right. i was on my way to…” you rack your brain for the life you had before falling into this world. “why can’t i remember?”
“you’re forgetting. humans tend to do that when they’re down here too long,” pb explains. “it’s a part of the witch’s influence, i suppose. they tend to drag you down here through old magic traditions and force you to find them through the snow.”“but why?”“well, don’t you want to go home?”you pause. “i do. but why trap us down here in the first place? just to find them?”pb shrugs. “no one has gotten that far yet. maybe you’ll be the first.”you sip your soup again.
what’s your next question?
pb hums. “yes. but it’s a rougher path than the one you were taking before and a lot more complicated.”“please, tell me.”pb looks at you deeply. “how did you land here?”“i guess i stepped through a bunny’s footprints in the snow?”“you have to find that bunny and kill it. once you do that, you set the dead body on the lake to drain the blood—”“finding that bunny in this endless forest?”pb shrugs. “like i said: complicated.”
“yes, i think so. like i said, no one’s even made it to the witch, so trying to get home without their magic might be impossible. there is no being older and wiser than the witch in this winter.”“there isn’t even an animal that’s been here when the witch first living here?”pb shakes his head. “everything begins with the witch. everyone else followed.”
“here here?” pb asks pointing to the ground of his cave. “human, sorry to break it to you, but i barely have enough space for myself.”“well, maybe not in your cave specifically, but what if i just… made my own home here? until i felt ready to properly find the witch?”pb hums. “well. if you can find a way to beat the cold and the scarce food… nothing stops you from staying here.”
what do you want to do?
“okay. let’s find that goddamn bunny and end this,” you say, getting up. “do you know where bunnies tend to live around here?”pb takes the dishes and set them outside. “if you follow the bushes of the berries you saw, you should be able to see their burrows.”“great. when do we take off?”pb sighs and shakes his head. “oh, human. i can’t go with you. i have to stay.”your shoulder slump in defeat, but knowing you cannot uproot the life of this polar bear, you nod and grab your things.pb is kind enough to share what little food and supplies he has with you and you set off.
you wander further and longer than you anticipate. the path of these berries seems to never end.soon, you find yourself with your supplies gone. the winter seems to get rougher and you rest under the big tree.
you died in the witch’s winter.
human, i think you carry a lot of regrets with you. you feel lost in the life you are living, and you are not sure where to go and what to do. before you die, let me part with you something that i have come to learn: nothing is truly within your control, though you may desperately want it to be. we try our best to make these choices that will set us on the right path, but most of us stay lost in ways that we cannot be found. call it fate or destiny, but the real comfort in all of this is other people.find the people who will walk these cold and bitter paths with you, the ones who show you the same kindness you show them. there is no greater strength we have than the ones we gain from our loved ones.thank you for playing, please visit me again.
try again?
you can’t stay here and you want to go home, so you decide that you’ll take the most straightforward path steadily.“i hope your journey ends when you’re back in your own home and bed. i only hear stories of the world beyond our winter… somewhere warm and filled with more humans.” pb sighs almost in longing.you hesitate, playing with the straps of your backpack. pb is taking time to pack you some supplies to last you a while.“how would you like to come with me?”it’s a stupid idea, a polar bear in the suburbs of your hometown, but you can’t help to at least offer.“maybe the witch is generous enough.”pb laughs. “no, no. i enjoy the winter here.”
“you enjoy the winter?”“yes. i think even when we are at the mercy of the cold and the witch, i find love and warmth in the big small things of life. for example, you.”pb bids you farewell and you only travel a few more hours before finding the only cottage you’ve seen in this endless forest.knocking on the door pushes it open.“hello?” you call.“oh. you’re not the one i’m looking for.”the witch is shrouded in darkness.“may i go home, please?”
you made it home.
the witch waves their hand and you’re back in your old neighborhood, the footprints of the bunny underneath your feet, nowhere to be found.you love home. i can tell. home is where all the love and warmth is and where you find your strength. you could survive the witch's winter without losing the kindness that you were taught by the people who raised you. human, i think you will be just fine, despite the regrets you may feel. nothing in this world is permanent and irreversible that you are meant to change.keep those people who you hold dear to your heart. fight for them, even if you feel like you cannot. i'm sure that they will do the same when you are at your worst.thank you for playing, please visit me again.
try again?
“i think i want to stay. this way i can always visit you.”pb laughs so loud, it rumbles in his chest. “the witch might have been wrong about you yet.”your eyebrows furrow. “what do you mean?”“keep following that star to the witch’s cottage. it’s only a few more hours away from here. i wish you luck, human.”pb ushers you out and when you look back, he waves you off, encouraging you to at least find the witch before telling him more about your plans.
you do exactly you are told, and find the only cottage in the endless sea of snow and tree.knocking on the door only cracks it open.“hello?” you call.the house feels alive—the fire is steady and warm, there is food on the table for you, and a raven happily hops over to you.“welcome back home, your witchiness!” the raven squeaks. “i’ve been waiting for you.”“where is the witch?”“well… they said that you would show up to take their place. don’t you want to stay in this winter with us?”
you became the witch of the winter.
sometimes the best places you’ll ever find love and warmth are places you must find and forge yourself. you make the choices that exemplify kindness without conditionality. we are not always born into the most favorable luck that plows the way for an easy life. it’s through your journey of the witch’s winter that you find yourself wanting something new for yourself—something far away from where you normally live.perhaps you’re already found a place to stay and neighbors to depend on.thank you for playing, please visit me again.
try again?