Melissa’s Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge #354
https://melissalemay.wordpress.com/2026/01/05/melissas-fandango-flash-fiction-challenge-354/
What the Cold Couldn’t Take
The snow thought it would win.
It pressed down softly at first, pretending to be gentle, pretending to be kind. It buried footprints. It erased paths. It swallowed sound until the world forgot how to speak.
And still—
the flame stayed.
Small, yes.
Unarmed.
Ridiculously alive.
It trembled when the wind leaned close, bent when the cold whispered you don’t belong here, but it refused to go out. The wick remembered heat. The wax remembered purpose.
Around it, the snow melted into a shallow halo, a quiet admission:
Not everything surrenders.
The flame didn’t roar or protest. It didn’t try to conquer winter. It simply was—doing the one thing it knew how to do.
Shine.
Warm.
Persist.
Somewhere unseen, a watcher paused. Breathed. Believed again.
Because if a single candle could hold its ground in the heart of the cold,
perhaps hope could, too.
💫Maggie
The Afterlove Voice 💫
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