Long journey to success - By Sofia Rakúsová

Written By: Sofia Rakúsová

Category: Short Story

Competition: Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026

Sofia Rakúsová brings us an enchanting narrative with her short story, "Long journey to success," as part of the Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026. This tale immerses readers in the life of Carla, a remarkable young girl navigating the icy wilderness of Alaska. With a blend of vivid imagery and a captivating plot, Rakúsová's work highlights themes of resilience, bravery, and the pursuit of success against formidable odds.

About the Work

In "Long journey to success," readers are transported to the remote, snow-blanketed landscapes of Alaska, where the protagonist Carla's determination shines. Rakúsová crafts a story rich with adventure, danger, and heartwarming moments, capturing the essence of survival and personal growth. The narrative's vivid descriptions and emotional depth engage readers, drawing them into Carla's world and her incredible journey.

Long journey to success

Original Submission by Sofia Rakúsová

Long journey to success

Meet Carla, a girl who lives in the remote parts of Alaska—a place where each winter looks like something out of a fairy tale. The country is covered in a thick layer of snow most of the time, which acts like a nice and warm blanket. Upon its first appearance, the country seems cold and harsh. Due to the cold climate and weather conditions, only a small percentage of people live here year-round.

One of them is the Farmer Grens. They live on the most remote part of the island, where they have their farm, and are raising all their kids. In total, they have five children, three of whom have left the family home already for a better education. And the two youngest ones still live on the farm with their parent and loads of farm animals that need to be taken care of each morning. This is usually Carla’s job since she is the older sibling. She’s turning sixteen this year, but she is not your typical sixteen-year-old.

Because of the remoteness of the farm, she needed to acquire skills that even most of the men don’t have. The first thing that she does every morning is feed the animals and check for wildlife damage. On their farm, they have loads of animals ranging from cattle to reptiles; you name it, they have probably had it. Despite this, she loves them all.

But if she had to choose a favorite, it would be the horses; with them she always had a special relationship. Besides, she rides with them to school through the drab and frozen forest in the early mornings and returns in the late evenings.

As if this wasn’t enough, she also knows how to:

* sharpen wood,

* start a fire out of two rocks

* Check if the ice in the river is thick enough for her to cross the river safely.

Most people would not survive a day under these conditions. The extreme cold, however, is not the only thing that makes her journey to school dangerous. It is also the unpredictable weather that can change in minutes.

It can go from being above zero to minus temperatures very fast. Not to mention, when you get caught in a snowstorm, there is not really much you can do besides trying to take shelter.

By this point in her life, Clara was really good at knowing the climate. She always checked for any signs of potential environmental threat way before she ventured out.

This was all thanks to her loving parents who taught her with care and respect, and most importantly, with passion that not many people have. They knew that if the farm had any future potential, it was all in Carla's and her siblings' hands.

Her parents knew that they had done the right thing when it came to raising their children. They were concerned, though, about one thing:

“Will Carla be able to defend herself”?

This question got to them often, but this morning it was different. It was the first day of the new school year for Clara. She was super excited from the moment she got down the steep wooden stairs. As she got down, the first thing was that they all said their good mornings.

“Good morning, Mum, good morning, Dad. "

“Good morning, are you ready for your first day of school”?

“Of course I am, I have been waiting for it the whole winter break.” That’s what I wanted to hear, but now, before you go, I need you to check your list one more time, just for safety measures.

“Of course I’m on it. “The list goes:

* feed the animals, check

* check the weather; I have done that

* pack an emergency kit; I have mine since last year,

* check the gear for damage

* And last but not least, have the rough map out.

“That should be everything.”

“Wow, I’m impressed, I must say,” added Dad. Ok then, I suppose you are officially ready to go.

Mum: “Oh, Carla, when did you become such a big kid “? We are so proud of you, all of you and she pointed to a family picture hanging on the old wooden wall.

Carla: “Thanks, I love you. Now I need to go; I don’t want to be late. “See you soon.”

“See you, and be careful,” added Dad before Carla managed to close the door and step outside into the cold and harsh weather.

THE HIDDEN DANGER

Carla was on her way to jump onto Jazz, her beautiful snow-white horse. She managed to do so with such elegance that it looked like she had done it with ease. Her parents watched from the window for a minute before they waved their goodbyes.

Now Carla was on her own, just her nature and Jazz. The journey was going surprisingly well at first. Jazz was behaving amazingly; she didn't even get startled by a mouse that ran before her.

They were now about a third of the way into their journey. So far they have galloped through several frozen fields and crossed one frozen stream. This was all pretty enjoyable for both Carla and Jazz. It was only when it came to crossing the frozen river, which is one of the trickiest parts of the journey. Most people would be terrified just at the thought of this, but Carla wasn’t. She had done it on a daily basis. So she thought that this day would be no different. She made sure to do all the safety precautions:

* Check the ice depth

* Check the wind

She was all good to go, or so she thought. She slowly guided Jazz onto the slippery ice. At first, all was going according to plan. Jazz managed to make a few slippery steps.

This got them roughly a third of the way through before they decided to take a break. Jazz got a carrot. “There you go, Jazz. You did so well; we are almost there. And Carla herself took out one of her favorite snacks, a granola bar. After a quick break, they were back to it.

Carla guided her gently across the ice; they were about to make a last step before she heard the sound that she feared the most. The ice was cracking!

,, No ………………………………..“Jazz ,, (Mumbling sound ) ,

She could feel her clothes being drenched in the ice-cold water. But despite this, she tried reaching her hands up and pulling herself to shore. But with no success. Her hand would slip on the wet ice, and she would fall down into the freezing water again and again.

After countless attempts, she looked around in hopes that she could spot Jazz. And after a minute, she finally spotted her:

“Jazz “!She shouted

The horse immediately ran up to Carla, breaking the thick layer of ice as it tried to come as close to Carla as possible. At this point, Carla was getting super tired; her fingers and limbs were getting numb from the cold. But she didn’t stop trying; instead, she thought even harder. This time she managed to see Jazz's main dangling in the water.

It took her a second to realize what Jazz was doing. She was lowering her head into the water in order for Carla to climb up.

”Of course, you smart Jazz.”

And she held on tight while Jazz tried pulling her up. It took them a few tries before they were back at shore. For a second, Carla just lay there, needing to catch her breath. Jazz, on the other hand, was in a hurry and nudged her multiple times until she got up on her back again.

“I’m on it, Jazz; be patient ”!

After a while, she managed to hop onto Jazz's back despite the heavy weight of her now soaked school uniform. No sooner had she climbed up than she immediately felt the warmth of Jazz's body.

Now that she was all settled, there was only one thing left to do, and that was heading to school in time.

Luckily, from there the journey wasn’t long; they were almost there. They just needed to walk through the small village called Dumtown. And right at the end of it stood the one and only school of the island.

From its appearance, it looked super nice; the building itself was historical, but it was preserved so well that only major changes had needed to be done. „Here we go again, Jazz .” She was both happy and nervous at the same time.

She didn’t want to say goodbye to Jazz, but at the same time she knew that she needed to get some food and drink from the provided stable, where she would be waiting for her till school was over for the day.

Finally, after a long goodbye, Carla walked towards the school's entrance, where she checked her schedule and immediately froze.

“No, why? " Why “

“I hate that teacher. I really, really don’t like her, but I don’t have a choice, do I?”

So she held her head high and walked up to the classroom she dreaded the most. Right at the entrance, she was hit with the big sign:

WHERE ELSE TO LEARN ENGLISH IF NOT HERE!

Here I go again, and she entered; no sooner had she done so than she could feel the judgmental look on Big Bertha's face.

”Well, well, who do we have here? Hey, mud girl, are you lost “

(Laughter )

“Yeah, Mud girl, what has happened to you added one of Carla's classmates. To make things only worse, the whole class started laughing, including the teacher, and repeating the words :

Mud girl, Mud girl, you are a bad girl ( laughter ).

Carla was getting sick of it, but after a while there was another thing that bothered her much more:

The windows were wide open, letting the cold air fill the room.

Normally it didn’t bother her as much, but since she was all soaking wet, the cold air just hit different. At first, she just stood by the teacher's desk, but as time passed and Big Bertha just laughed with the others, she knew she had to act. So she spoke:

”Could I please close the window ?”

The whole class went silent and turned their eyes on Carla, as if she had just asked some bizarre question.

Big Bertha: “Pardon me, did you just ask me if you could CLOSE the window?”

“Yes, I did.”

Well, I suppose go ahead, but don’t you think that it would stay like that for the rest of the lecture and keep one half of it open so that we would still have some air.

Carla: “Sure, that’s fine,” and she slowly walked towards the window at the very back of the classroom.

As she reached to close the window, she dropped her hair clip onto the ground. She bent to pick it up. But she couldn’t find it. “Hmm, how odd. Where could it be?” “I’m sure I saw it fall right here; I guess I’m gonna need to buy a new one.”But before she stood up, she looked one more time; this time something caught her eye.

It was this small blue light flashing on the heater's thermostat; not only that, but there was the number five flashing next to it, with a white snowflake.

How odd, she thought. But she decided that she should probably just get back to her seat before it would be too late, so she slowly turned around.

But before she could even do that, she heard Big Bertha yelling :

WHAT DID YOU SEE!

“What? I didn’t see anything unusual, except the squirrel that ran up an icy tree this morning. answered Carla.

Hm, grunted Big Bertha as she continued with the dialogue:

“I don’t believe you!”

“Carla, that’s ok you don’t have to believe me, and she looked at her in the most intriguing way.

Big Bertha: “You think you can lie to me “?

“Who said I was lying “?

Big Bertha: “I have had enough of this nonsense. “What were you doing by the heater anyways “?

Carla, “ I was closing the window as you said, and then I dropped my hair clip, but I couldn’t seem to find it.”

Big Bertha, “Her voice shaking. “ You dropped a hairpin into MY heater ?!

“Yes, by accident, as I said, I’m sorry. “

“Where exactly did you drop it”? And she slowly wobbled to the window. “Where”! She asked, her voice getting angrier and angrier by the minute.

Carla: „There and she pointed at the heater's right corner. But before she could say anything else, Big Bertha took it into her own hands.

“Get back she yelled, “NOW. Carla wasted no time; she ran to the front desk, grabbed her English workbook, and began writing. She wrote :

Sorry I will be home late; have things to do, pls make sure Jazz is ok.

Love Carla.

Now that this was done, she needed to pretend that she was super confused.

Carla, “What- wait, why should I “? But Big Bertha started acting before she could add anything else.

“Big B grunted, grabbed the thermostat, and pulled on it so hard that she tore it off. She had done so with a horrific look on her face the whole time. This left Carla even more puzzled.

Carla: “Is there something wrong”?

Big B” No, but there might be if you don’t shut your mouth and do as I say.”

Carla: “I don’t see a reason why…”

Big B” BECAUSE I SAID SO“!

And don’t you make me more mad! Have you understood?!

So NOW! Open the window!

NOW !!

Carla reaches the window, ready to open it, but it’s too late.

Big B, standing at the other side of the classroom, all of a sudden throws the heater's thermostat right at the closed window. Not even a second later, Carla ran up to the window and, with all her strength, she threw the book out of the window.

Both the book and the thermostat spun in the air as they traveled through the room at the speed of light before they hit the window.

Carla manages to duck down and cover her head, missing the heater's knob only by an inch as it scraped her hair.

A loud bang hits the room.

The broken glass from the window covers Carla’s hair and dress.

Carla: “What the why would someone do something so …

Turns out she was better at pretending than she thought. The class went quiet before it was hit with another explosion.

This time it was even louder, and it came from the outside.

It was so loud that it took everyone by surprise. Well, everyone except Big Bertha.

She knew it was coming; she must have, because at the exact same time she pretended to slam the door shut so that no one would notice. But the echoing sound was so loud that the whole class immediately looked outside.

Big Bertha banged her hands on the desk. (loud thud)

The whole class immediately turned with a frightened look on their faces.

Big Bertha: “Ah, who can tell me what they did over the holidays”? This took the whole class by such a surprise that they for a second even forgot about the explosion.

Well, everyone except Carla. Her head was only filled with one thought, and that was Jazz! Would she be ok? Did it startle her? Did she run home? How would she get home? Will she find the book? This set a chain of thoughts popping up in her head like crazy. So no wonder when she was interrupted by no one other than the Big B, she had zero desire to talk to her.

Big B” Carla, how was your holiday”?

Carla: “ It was fine; could be better, could be worse. “

Big B: “How dare you…” The bell rang. Big B yelled: “CLASS DISMISSED “!

Everyone took off running; some of the pupils even left their books on their desks just so they didn’t have to spend another second there. Well, Carla wasn’t everyone; she packed her stuff particularly slowly and carefully, making sure to organize every pencil in her pencil case by color and length.

By this point, there was no one in the classroom except her and Big B.

She knew that this was Big B’s last lesson, so she assumed that she must have gone home now, or better, she must have gone and deal with whatever secret she was hiding.

So Carla thought: what better way to find something out than to stalk the suspicious person yourself? So that’s exactly what she decided to do. And when it came to Jazz, she knew that she was a smart horse and would return home safely with the book that holds the message. Just to make sure she picked out of the broken window, and when she didn't see the book or Jazz, she immediately felt better. Besides, now she had other things to worry about. And that is getting out of class after Big B.

This was surprisingly easy because she obviously was in a hurry and just left the class, with the words:

“Turn off the light, whoever you are “!

And she was off, and so was Carla right behind, while still pretending like it was the biggest coincidence.

By this point, she knew that she was onto something, yet she had no idea what she would unravel. Well, there was only one way to find out.

And now that she was this close to finding out why Big B was behaving so oddly, she knew she needed to be on her A game when it came to stalking.

So she moved fast but precisely, making sure to plan out her every move; at one point she even pretended to talk a guy into taking an extra math class just so that she wouldn’t lose her suspect.

The guy, by the way, said no.

But that didn’t bother her; she just needed to fill in time while she was waiting for Big B to get ready to put her coat on. Each minute she peeked from behind the corner at the entrance. The third time she had done so, she was surprised, to say the least, when she saw :

Big B already wobbling outside!

Carla: " No, how is that possible “?

Of course: “The back entrance; how dumb of me.” There was no time to waste now; if she wanted to ever know where she was going, she needed to act fast.

So without any hesitation, she wandered out of the school with the others; she blended in quite well since she was quite short for her age.

This, however, made it harder to spot Big B since she was a head shorter than everyone; she only saw their backpacks. Luckily, the crowd soon disappeared, and she could spot a piece of Big B's dress being blown in the wind behind the school's corner.

She wasted no time and ran as fast as she could, all while trying to keep a low profile.

When she reached the corner where she saw her last, she was bummed.

She wasn’t there!

Carla: “Where for the sake of- did she disappear”?

Before thinking twice, she immediately began to search for clues, and soon enough she found the piece of dress that Big B was wearing.

It got caught on a spike of a rose bush, causing the fabric to rip.

Carla walked up to it and gently picked it up, but no sooner had she done so than something odd began to happen.

The fabric began to dissolve and turned into shards that rose to the sky above Carla’s head.

Carla. „I have never seen anything like this. What the…Is this thing”?

She reached her hand out and touched the floating shards. It felt warm, really warm; it was odd.

And then things got even crazier; the floating shards formed a crow that looked like it was sculpted out of ice.

Carla was in awe the whole time as she watched with her mouth open. The bird slowly came to life; after a while, it even made an odd sound before it landed on Carla’s head.

The amount of heat that entered Carla’s body all at once was shocking.

But it made her feel warm despite being in the drenched clothes, which were now almost dry.

It was crazy. Carla took no time in trying to shake the bird off of her head; she needed to find a way to catch up with Big B.

This could be just a distraction. Or worse, a trap! She thought”

“Get off, please “! And she shook her head. To her surprise, the bird flew off, but this time it had landed on her arm.

Only now that she had a closer look at the bird did she realize that the bird seemed really ill.

“Poor thing, who has done this to you“. As she said the last words, she immediately knew who was behind this. Who else could it be? It was so obvious; she should have known.

Of course it all started to make a bit more sense now. But there was still this unanswered question: why a bird?

What is so special about it? And why hurt such a poor thing?

Carla, think; don’t let the emotions get over you. She could hear this voice inside her head.

Right, of course, concentrate, but what am I supposed to do with this poor thing? I can not leave it here.

So, after some more thinking, she decided to bring the feathered creature along, not knowing what it was yet; she simply couldn’t leave it in this condition.

So she attempted to put the bird into her bag for easier transport, but all of a sudden it flew off.

Come on, birdie, I need you to stay hidden. But the bird had other plans; it flew into the air .” Come back, Birdie,” but the bird was only flying further and further into the woods. What is that creature doing? It didn't make any sense; none of it did, but she had no other option but to follow it.

“Fine, I’m coming, but at least wait,” and she headed in the direction where it flew. She had nothing to lose at this point, besides she knew that her mission was a failure already.

So why not at least help this mysterious creature find its home? After a while of bushwhacking and crossing several streams that were luckily fully frozen this time. She was getting kind of tired, but she wasn’t about to give up, not now. As she made her way towards the snowy forest, she noticed something odd about the bird.

Its behavior changed, and it kept guiding Carla to the left. It was odd; there was nothing there, nothing but snow-covered trees.

What, Birdie, what is it? I don’t know where you want me to go. There is no road there ok.

To this, the bird sang something Carla didn’t see coming:

It sang for the first time! Its voice was mesmerizing to listen to.

And then, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, a bunch of birds appeared and started landing on Carla’s arm.

Carla: “Wait, stop what is happening? It was too late; the birds were gripping Carla by their beaks and lifting her up into the air.

“Wait, what’s happening? Let me down”!

But before she could add anything, her feet lifted from the ground. The birds were lifting her up with such strength that it took her by surprise. She was getting higher and higher to the point that she could clearly see the snow-covered country. As she looked around, she spotted something; it looked like a roof.

Her head was full of thoughts, but before she could get a better look or catch her breath, the birds were already beginning to descend with her.

It was as if they wanted her to find this hidden house, but for what reason? “I guess I’m about to find out. “

And besides, she had no other option but to fully trust the birds. Luckily, they managed to land pretty smoothly on top of the snow-covered roof right by the roof window that was placed so conveniently that she could see inside. So, no sooner had her feet touched the snow than the birds let go and, one by one, flew away in all directions. And as for Carla, she wasted no time and looked inside.

Just as she peeked in, she could see a person pacing in the living room. It was a woman; she was wearing this hideous dress and talking to someone on the sofa.

She wanted to know who she was talking to, but she had no idea since the person hardly spoke at first. But as moments passed, all of a sudden the other person yelled so loud that all the birds nearby flew away.

Carla, just by the sound of the voice, knew EXACTLY who it was.”

Big B: “DO YOU THINK THAT I AM THAT STUPID”!

Unknown: “No, of course not. I’m just telling you to stay cautious. “

Big B” Me and not careful enough? Have you not seen what it took me to build that thing and to get it running”! IT TOOK ME THEN YEARS, THEN!

Unknown: “Of course I built it with you; the point I’m making ….”

Big B: “You are making me go mad; that’s all that you do these days. “

Unknown: “I’m just making sure that you are aware that we had a break-in this morning. “

Big B: “YOU ARE TELLING ME ONLY NOW”!

Unknown: “You didn't want to hear about it, so yes.”

Big B: “Where “?

Unknown: “The northeast, Top of the corridor. “

Big B: “Evidence “?

Unknown: “Broken ice, explosion near downtown. “

Big B: “The explosion was me; the ice, I have no idea. “

Unknown: “May I ask why?

Big B: “Are you really so stupid that I need to explain that I needed to destroy the thermostat fast without anyone noticing “?

Unknown: “Then how do you explain this and she held up the piece of the burnt thermostat.

Big B: “Who gave it to you”?

Unknown: “None of your business; the point is, you need to fix it tonight.”

Big B: " Don’t worry, I have managed to hire a person to do that for me.

Unknown: “ Hm, may I know when you managed that? And how come I don’t know about it?

Big B: “ I’m telling you right now. “How about that!

Unknown: “Ok, fine, Miss Secretive, may I at least know the name and time I should be expecting our new employee”?

Big B: “Today, seven o'clock, name Violeta Happy?

Unknown: “Fine, it’s your dumbness, not mine.

Big B: You know how I am with walking; this was a solution that solves everything.

Unknown: Then fine, do let her do it, but just remember that all it takes is one mistake.

Big B: SHUT UP! YOU DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!

Unknown: “Ok, but then don’t come to me crying when your whole work would be destroyed. And besides, you are so naive, even more so than I thought. Don’t you realize that all it takes is one pull and everything will be over. OVER

Big B: “Fine, I am going to check, but first I need to give cuddles to Syby. “

Unknown: I don’t get it!

Big B: FINE. ARE YOU HAPPY I'M ON MY WAY?

Unknown: “You know what? I don’t care anymore. You don’t deserve it, sister. I was so stupid for doing this.”

Big B: "Then you probably shouldn’t have done it.

Unknown: " I’m done talking to you !”

Big B: “ No, I’m done first !”

Unknown: Ok, I DON’T CARE, HAPPY!”

Big B bolts out of the front door; that cat falls to the floor. This is the only thing that falls on the floor; as for Jazz, she managed to return home safely and dropped the book onto their front porch. It made a loud thud; this got Greg's attention. To say he was surprised would be an understatement. Immediately, he picked the book up and called his wife.

Greg: “Chels, can you come down real quick “?

Chelsie: “I'm coming “!

Greg: “Look what brought Jazz! “

Chelsie: “A book? But where is Carla?

Greg: “I don't know; I guess there will be a message in the book.

Chelsie: “I hope. And she began going through the book, page after page. After a while, she finally found the message. But upon reading it, she didn't feel much better.

Greg: “ Come on, you know that she is gonna be ok; she has everything she needs.

Chelsie: “ I suppose you are right. “I think we should head inside. I need to check the fire; it's getting cold. Would you take care of Jazz?

Greg: “ Of course, and they both got to work. Their heads full of thoughts. Turns out they were not the only ones.

The discovery

Carla was holding her breath. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard. This would mean that not only was she right about Big B hiding something in the first place.

She also just learned that the mysterious voice was her sister. As if that wasn’t exciting enough, now she needed to follow Big B.

Where would she end up? She had no idea; it wasn’t making any sense so far. Yet the words of Big B's sister somehow stuck with her. What did she mean, all it takes is one pull?

But before she could think any further, she could hear Big B walking on the snow. She knew that she needed to follow her, but how ?. And then an idea came to her.

So she got to work fast; at first, she broke a big chunk of ice from the roof. She then aimed at Big B, making sure that the ice would not hit her completely. Just partly, so that he would get scared.

Carla: “This should be good, and she threw the chunk of ice, which landed exactly where she intended.

A loud scream:

Big B: “WHO DID THAT !?” And she looked around, but there was no one there.

It seemed to have done the trick because she looked around one more time before she took off running.

Meanwhile, Carla slid down the snow-covered drain pipe, which was more terrifying than she had anticipated, but eventually she got to the ground.

Just in time to see Big B disappearing in the snow-covered trees. So she wasted no time and followed along. The path was covered in snow; Carla would have had trouble moving forward. Luckily, Big B cleared a nice path for Carla to follow. This, however, didn’t mean that it was easy; there were times when Carla fell through the snow and had to find her way up.

After what seemed like a long journey, Big B finally stopped and looked around. She looked over her shoulder to see if there was anyone nearby. At one point she even looked directly at the pile of snow behind which Carla was hiding.

But since Carla was short and Big Bertha doesn’t have the best eyesight, she looked straight past her. It didn't take long before she moved towards the broken ice. Carla glanced from behind the snow pile; she looked closely at Big B. After a while of just standing at the riverbank, she did something Carla didn’t see coming.

She jumped in and disappeared into the depths of the ice-cold water. Carla didn’t waste a minute; she sprinted as fast as she could from behind the snow pile and dove in.

No sooner had her body reached the surface of the water than she could feel the cold water seeping into every part of her clothing once again.

But this time it felt different; from the depth of the river, a heat was coming to the surface. She wasted no time and dove even deeper. To her surprise, the river wasn’t as deep as it looked. As she reached the bottom, she could feel the heat increase. It was odd; she glanced around before she needed to go to the surface to catch her breath.

But as she tried kicking off the ground to reach the surface faster, all of a sudden the ground beneath collapsed.

Carla’s body was pulled into the strong current even deeper.Oh no ,no………… .

It was too late; she was falling. She didn't know what would happen. Her mouth was filled with water. She was about to lose consciousness when, all of a sudden, she could feel the water disappearing.

Yes, yes, air finally. She managed to get a hold of a ladder that was conveniently placed on it; what she could now see was a wall. She was holding on for her dear life since she had no idea how much deeper this place goes.

Upon catching her breath and spitting out the water, she looked around. She came to the conclusion that whatever Big B is hiding is at the very bottom of this ladder. She looked down just to know how deep this place is. No sooner had she done so than she got goosebumps on her arms. She couldn’t even see more than a meter down. The lighting wasn’t the best, but there was a lightbulb hanging out of the wall here and there.

Carla: “Ok you’ve got this, and she began to climb down the ladder. As she made her way down, she realized that the ladder was corroded. This must have meant only one thing: that the riverbank was ruptured and the water was seeping down. Or the ice was melting, the heat coming from the bottom; it must have something to do with this. It’s all connected, but how?

She climbed down some more before she could hear a voice, and her whole body froze. It was Big B; she was one hundred percent sure. She quietly listened, trying not to make a sound.

Big B: What type of person would call me here if there is nothing wrong!

“I did! “

Big B: Oh, JANET, WHAT HAS GOTTEN INTO YOU !”Now I am gone need to walk back. Do you not realize THAT!

Janet: My sister, don’t you realize that I called you here for the interview that, by the way, was your idea!

Big B: Ahg, I hate that nerd girl; SHE DROPPED HER HEAR PIN.How clumsy! Can you believe that? If she would at least think and drop it on the other side, but no, she dropped it right into the mechanism. If only she had any idea that it could sabotage my whole mission!

Janet: “I think you need to step up the game, and I’m serious “!And start acting now.

Big B: Oh, Janet, please, don’t you see that I’m on it?

Janet: No, I don’t see it, and if you won’t start acting like SHE is really important, then I don’t know how long it will last.

Big B: “Nonsense, all of this. “

Janet” As you wish, but the school will be onto you at any point now.

Big B: “Dear Janet, the dumb school has no idea, ok? Our sister is the hand master there. Believe me, every time someone complains about the school being too cold, she tells them that she’s working on it.

Janet: “ I just want to make sure you were aware, but I guess that you would never be. So, as always, I will deal with the new employee. You can go now.

Big B: “ Very well, I am gonna go now!

Janet: “Ok see you soon. “

Carla: “No, don’t tell me that Big B is going to climb up this exact ladder!. There must be another way. Turns out there wasn’t!

Or maybe there was, regardless; she could feel the ladder shaking rapidly, and that must’ve meant only one thing. Big B was climbing up!

In the desperation and panic, Carla couldn’t think of a better solution than just to jump off of the ladder in hopes that she would be able to grab onto it later.

She did it once, so she thought that it couldn’t be so difficult to repeat it now that she knew how to do it, and besides, it was the only possible option. So she timed it as best as she could, and when she saw Big B at the very end of the ladder, she jumped.

She held her breath so that she would be able to grab the ladder before it was too late. But as she was falling, all of a sudden she could see Big B in front of her. And the next thing she knew, she was stuck.

“What are the odds of this! "What? She couldn’t believe that she got stuck against Big B and the wall.

But now her concerns shifted as she could hear right next to her ear Big Bertha's mad voice. “What is wrong with this place? I don’t remember these passages being that narrow “!

And she tried squeezing past what she thought was the wall. Agg grunted because she couldn’t move, not an inch.

Carla’s thoughts quickly shifted because she saw a glimpse of three cats tattooed on Big Bertha's back underneath, which were their names:

* The first one was Syby.

* The second was Harley.

And the third was something beginning with the letter E; the rest of it was covered by her hideous coat. The idea came to Carla almost instantly. But before she could think more of it. She realized that she had to act fast before Big B would call for help. So she managed to wiggle a bit and eventually fall down just enough so that Big B could continue her journey up.

Now that she was falling down fast, the only thing she thought of was to grab the ladder fast before she would crash. On her first attempt, she didn’t manage to grab it properly and instead slipped even further. By now, she could see that the ladder was ending and the room beneath was looking much bigger.

As she fell some more, she knew that it was now or never, so with the last strength and a lot of effort, she finally set out to grab the ladder.

“It’s now or never she thought. And with the very last piece of strength, she caught the ladder for real this time.

But to her surprise, her feet kept dangling in the air. Only then did she realize that this was the very bottom of the ladder. “Oh wow, I didn’t see that coming.” She jumped down, making sure that she made as little sound as possible.

Now that she was finally with her feet on the ground, she looked around. She was standing in a narrow hallway. I suppose that this is the entrance. Although it looked questionable, she decided to go forward through the hall; it seemed like the only option. Not knowing where the person named Janet was, she made sure to move slowly and keep her eyes and ears open. As she reached the end of the hall, there was a door, a big metal door. It seemed to be only openable with the right passcode. It had three symbols. Odd, thought Carla. She glanced at the ceiling when, all of a sudden, a flashing light from the inside caught her eye.

She needed to come up with a plan, so she got to thinking, and soon she was persuaded by it. First, she knocked on the door with the sole of her shoe. This made an echoing sound; it was surprisingly loud. In the meantime, she took her position, her head held high. After a minute had passed, the metal door finally opened. A woman got out; she seemed very restricted and cold. Despite this, Carla wasted no time and introduced herself.

“ Hi, my name is Violeta “

The woman spoke, Violeta, hi, come on right in!

And before she could add anything, the woman dragged her inside, closed the big metal door, and spoke: I’m glad you are here, so Violeta, why don’t I show you around before you decide if you want to take the position? How does that sound?

Carla was amazed; she didn’t even dream that it would pan out this way, and now she was offered the chance to look around. So she immediately said yes, trying to sound as polite as possible. She knew that all of this was very risky, but she thought that it was one hundred percent worth it no matter what.

There was this odd silence, so Carla spoke, “Could I ask what the working hours would be?

Janet: “Right, I would need to ask my manager. I’m sorry.

Oh, don’t worry. I am flexible; I can adapt.

Janet:” Ok then if you say so, that’s great. I love when people are adaptable.”

Carla: “Yeah, that would be no problem “

Janet: “Great, then let me show you around. So as you walk in, the code is the letters S H E. All capital. “

Carla pretended to write it down on a piece of wet paper from her pocket. And then added. “Got it, so passcode is SHE, all capital, great. “

Janet: “Ok, so this way, let me show you our main machine and she opened the door at the end of the dark hall. There was another door, presumably with the same password as the first. Oh, here we go, she added, meat S H E, as she opened the heavy door. Isn’t she wonderful!

Carla’s reaction was genuine; she was amazed to say the least. Before her stood a machine twice as big as she was, and it was in the shape of a cat. This huge robotic cat was looking down at them.

Janet: Meat S H E.

Carla: “It looks so fascinating “

Janet: “Let me show you what it does so you can understand the concept better. “

Carla” Sounds great. Would you mind if I take some notes “?

Janet „No, of course not, and if you have any questions, just ask. I would try to answer you as accurately as possible.

Carla: " Thank you, I really appreciate that”. After a moment, she asked: I actually do have one more question.

Janet: “ Sure, I will try my best to answer.

Carla: “ What is the purpose of this project that you are running “.

Janet: “Well, that's a hard question, but I suppose you have the right to know.

You see, the family that includes me, my mum, and my two sisters, we have a rather not-so-positive relationship with heat. So in order for us to be able to go to work or exist in our own home, we needed to invent something that would look like a heater but actually work in reverse.

So about ten years ago we launched this project of ours. At first, we ran it from home and the local school. But then about five years in, the principal changed, and we couldn’t risk it. So we moved at first to our house, but then we expanded and realized that we would need employees. This came with a whole lot of problems when you consider that the majority of them are crows. But despite their appearance, they play a major role in our project. They are the reason why we are able to succeed.

Carla: “ May I ask how ?”

Janet” Sure, you see, it all works on the principle of heat transfer. The birds are able to collect the excessive heat; that’s actually what keeps them alive, if you will.

Upon hearing this, Carla’s head was filled with thoughts, but she knew that she must just play it cool, so she added.

Thank you. That was very helpful.

Janet: “Ok then if you don’t have any more questions, let’s move to the other side of the room. „But before we do so, these are the two magnets, the key to this whole operation. Here, and she pointed to the conveyor belt on her left, you can see these blue magnets.

They are being put into these plastic replicas of the thermostat. Let me show you how exactly.

But before she picked it up, she added: One more thing: when handling this delicate thing, you need to be one hundred percent sure that you didn't drop anything in the cover with it. Meaning there can’t be any loose objects such as trash or dust, and one thing that you need to pay the most attention to is METAL.

Carla: " Don’t worry, I won’t let you down. I promise”

Janet: “Ok then let’s move on. I still need to explain to you how it works. ”So now you saw what your job would be; do you have any questions so far?

Carla „I understand everything so far. “

Janet: Ok good, so we are ready to move to the next step. But first we need to cross this conveyor belt. And she pointed to the right and added: Be careful; this is really hot, so do not touch it.

Carla” I will be extra careful”

Janet: Good, now that we are on the other side, I can show you where we keep the most important aspect of our operation. It’s behind this door; again, the password is S H E, but this time there is an added hot, so the whole password is :S H E H O T.

Carla: " Got it. "

Janet: " Great, let's walk in, but I must warn you it’s going to be hot in there. This is the only room with such a temperature, so don’t worry And so she opened the door; no sooner had she done so than Carla could immediately feel the heat. It was actually surprisingly pleasant. As Janet closed the door, she added: So we are in a room where all the birds hide the red magnet by sitting on them and protecting it. Only thanks to them is this able to function; the birds take away the extra heat that it produces, and it transforms the heat into more pieces. How mesmerizing.

Carla tried so hard not to say something that would blow her cover, so she just ended up saying how cool. Her head was now so full of thought that she thought it would burst, but she somehow played along. Luckily, they now moved out of this room and were on the way to the next, which was right next door.

Janet: “And last but not least, I want to show you the coordination room. But before I open the door, I need to warn you to watch your head since the birds are always flying in and out. Don’t worry; they are completely harmless, and she opened the door. No sooner had they walked in than Carla couldn’t believe it.

“Wow. “This is like a giant chicken coop, but instead of eggs inside the nesting boxes, there were these magnets each bird was sitting on, but this time they were red instead of blue. It was heartbreaking; all the birds were looking really ill. She wanted to ask something regarding their health, but before she could say anything, there was a knock on the front door.

Carla froze; this must have meant only one thing!

Janet: “Excuse me, I will be right back. Why don’t you just look around the coop?”

Carla” Yeah, sure, no problem “

Janet: “I will be right back and she walked towards the door, leaving Carla behind in the coop.

Carla knew exactly who was standing behind that closed door; it must have been the REAL VIOLETA! So instead of just looking around, Carla wasted no time and started acting fast; she needed to get out of here and now. So she looked around; the coop was pretty spacious. This was due to the walls being tall. This, however, didn’t help, so she kept thinking of a way out when, all of a sudden, a bird landed on her head.

She jumped up but managed not to make a sound. Ah, birdie, you scared me, and then it clicked: of course she is going to get out through the bird opening! Now the only problem was to figure out how, but the birds seemed to have it all figured out because they started to lift her up. At first she was only an inch off the floor, but soon the whole coop joined. At this point, she was surrounded by birds; it was quite a chaos but in a good way. Her only worry was Janet noticing.

After a while, she reached the vent opening, just in time because she could hear Janet’s upset voice getting closer and closer. At one point, she opened the coop's door, and when Carla wasn’t there, she had had enough; she shouted.

Janet: I DO NOT CARE, I REALLY DON’T. YOU KNOW WHAT? MAYBE IT IS THE TIME FOR ME TO TAKE A BREAK!! FOR REAL THIS TIME, BRAVO, YOU HAVE WON. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?

Violeta (The real one)” Excuse me, I better go “

Janet: I don’t care; do as you wish!

Violeta: Right then, I’m going to go. I don’t want to cause more problems.

Janet: More problems, how …..

Carla didn’t hear the rest as she was now in the vents, and the sound got muffled. She followed a bird that had gone first. And after squeezing through a tight vent, she finally seemed to have reached what seemed to be the end.

Did I make it? Am I out? But soon she realized that they were only at the opening at the bottom of the river. This gave her chills; she had no idea how she would get out.

Luckily, the bird seemed to have it under control, and besides, she didn’t have any other option than to trust them. After a while, the birds opened the lid; they did it with quiet and ease. But as they passed, the lid closed again. Leaving Carla behind, she had no other option but to push the lid open with her head. This, to her great surprise, worked, so she started climbing out.

No sooner had she done so than she could feel the water running into her eyes and nose. She quickly held her breath and began to kick up as fast as she could.

Carla: “ I don’t think I can hold my breath for much longer. She kicked her legs as fast as she could, and when she thought that she would never reach the surface, all of a sudden she did.

“I did it.” But she wasn’t out of danger yet; now she still needed to climb up onto the slippery ice, but instead of even trying to do so, she broke the ice with her foot. The ice wasn’t thick, so it was pretty easy.

As she reached the shore, she was surprised it was dark outside. Oh no, all of a sudden she remembered everything that she was supposed to do on the farm, at home.

Her thinking was interrupted by the extreme cold that she could now feel setting in through her whole body. She knew the danger of the situation, yet there was nothing she could do, so she looked around; her hands and feet were starting to go numb. When all of a sudden the bird landed on her head, no sooner had it done so than she could feel this instant rush of warmth. She was now feeling so tired and emotional that she cuddled the bird for comfort. They stayed like this under the full moon, next to the riverbank; in that moment it felt like time just stopped.

After a while, the bird made a sound that, for the first time, sounded happy. Carla looked up, and she could see that the sick and poor bird had transformed into this beautiful snow-white owl. She thought that the bird would leave like last time, but it didn’t; instead, it settled on her arm as they slowly walked back to the farm.

It took them longer than Carla had anticipated, but after about two hours of walking, bushwhacking, and getting off the road a couple of times, they made it to the farm. Carla had no idea what time it was; it was dark. The only light hitting the snow-covered ground was the moonlight.

Even though Carla was feeling super tired and exhausted before she even got home, she made sure to check the animals first; she needed to make sure that Jazz was ok.

So when walking up to her pen, with the owl on her arm, she only hoped that Jazz would be there. Upon opening the door to her enclosure and seeing her standing there, she immediately ran up to her. The owl found a spot on the fence and watched.

“Jazz,” I’m so sorry for leaving you out there in the cold. And she cuddled her for what felt like the longest time. After a while, she heard a shaky voice calling from the house, “Carla, is that you”?

“Mother,” she ran as fast as she could. The owl followed and sat on her shoulder as Carla cried in her mum's arms.

Mum: “It's ok you are ok “We have got your message, but we were still so worried about you, and they both started crying.

For a while they just stood there, hugging the air out of each other. After a while, Mum added, " Hey, how come you are so nice and warm “?

Oh “added Carla it's a rather long story. “

Mum: “I need to hear it, but before we move inside, I need to tell your father that you are safe.

Carla: “Ok but I need to get ready for school soon.”

Mum” Are you sure? You had a hard night.

Carla” I'm more than sure, Mum "

Mum ”Ok, but now please let's move inside and sit on the sofa.

Mum: “Your father would bring you hot tea to warm you up a bit more. “

Carla said, " Thanks,” and she smiled at her dad, who was making her a tea from the dried herbs that they harvested together in the spring.

The room got filled with the best fragrance of warm winter tea.

Carla and Mum watched in silence and cuddled on the couch until the tea was ready. Soon Dad brought the tea over to the living room and served it with the most delicious chocolate chip cookies.

But no sooner had he put them down onto the table than the bird made an odd noise.

Carla: “Ah, right, I should probably explain so she did. Her parents watched in silence; from time to time they made a gasping sound. But they tried not to interfere, as they wanted to get to know what happened. So Carla continued on with her talk. As she was coming to the end, she slowed down and looked at Birdie and said” He saved my life “

Mum: Carla, I don’t know what to say. We are both mad at the school, but more importantly, we are so proud of you. You are so resilient and clever. Yeah, added Dad, that you must have gotten from me.

Mum: “We know, we know, but now I suppose you need to get to work. We need to make sure that Carla has everything that she would need.

“Carla “ Thank you and she hugged them both one more time before she headed upstairs to her room. She needed to rest at least for an hour before she would need to head to school with her plan and hope that she would execute it perfectly.

But before she lay down, she made sure that Birdie was comfortable, so she opened the window for him and let him decide if he wanted to stay in or out. Unsurprisingly, he chose the outside; no one blamed him for that. So they said their goodbyes for the next hour as she closed the window.

No sooner had she got to bed than Carla fell asleep. She was so tired and exhausted, but not even half an hour later was she woken up by Mum.

“Carla, we need to get going. It’s okay if you don’t want to go; we don’t have to. To this, Carla jumped out of bed and spoke: “I need to go; it’s now or never “

Mum: “Ok, fine. I will help you get ready while Dad brings in the device from the garage, and I almost forgot we will be riding on Rose, and you will take Jazz. “We need to make sure that you have her if you need to flee fast. Don’t worry, we will be watching from afar, but still.

Carla interrupted her. “I’m not worried; could we just go now “? Oh wait, I need to fetch Birdie from the window. So she ran to the window, ready to open it, but as she did so, she couldn’t believe it he wasn’t there!

Birdie whispered, her voice shaky. There were no signs of him whatsoever, so she called him again, but like last time, no response.

“No, Birdie, I need you.” Mum walked into the room and asked: Carla, are you ok? Ready to go?

Carla: “I suppose. “

Ok than lets go we need to eat something before we head out. I made you a waffle, and she handed her a plate with two waffles topped off with raspberry jam and whipped cream.

Mum: “How do they taste “? They are really good Carla replied, I’m happy that you like them.

Carla” Ok, I’m ready. Let's go.” Ok, I am sure Dad has the horses ready for us by now, so we should be able to start our journey right away.

Carla: “That sounds nice and she put on her gloves, beanie, hat, and her snowsuit. By now she was more than ready to get outside, so she opened the front door and ran to say hi to Jazz and her dad, who were waiting for them.

“Dad, ready to go? You bet, ok, let’s go then.

Carla: “Mum, are you ready? Yes, of course, but wait, where is your Bird”?

Carla: “Oh, he will meet me at school; he needs his movement. “

Ok, great then added Dad, " here we go, and they all galloped through the freshly fallen snow. The weather was cold but beautiful. They galloped through the forests and valleys, and crossed several rivers before they finally made it to a meadow from which you could see the school.

Mum: “ Ok, are you ready “?

“ Of course I am.” Ok here we part ways. Don’t worry, we will stay here and watch everything. Dad handed Carla her device and showed her how it works. I’m on it, added Dad, and he pulled out of his bag what looked like a homemade version of a metal detector. See, it has only one button; you press it, and it activates.

This shall do the trick. If it is as you have described, the whole system should shut down. So here you go, and he handed it to her.

“ Thanks, I will get back to you as soon as possible “

Mum,” we want to give you a hug before you go. Come here and they all hugged before Carla set off to the school.

As she galloped through the meadow and entered Dumbletown, she had her fingers crossed that her plan would work. It had to be; there was no other option, so she made sure that Jazz was nice and secure and headed to school carrying her backpack, which was now heavier than usual. As she walked up the stairs and made her way to her favorite class, she began to feel nervous. But there was no time for that because, no sooner had she settled down, Big Bertha walked into the room.

She looked mad and tired; her eyes had terrible crow's feet under them, and her whole body language was unusual. What stayed the same was her temper and low intelligence; as for the question she asked first, it didn’t sound grammatically right.

Regardless, Carla looked at the heater; immediately, she could spot the fake thermostat. Now she just needed the Bird asap.

Carla: " Birdie, " she whispered close to the window. She now just needed to hope for a miracle. But time went by, and there was still no sign of Birdie. It was getting close; at this point, she had her device out, ready just in case. The atmosphere in the room was tenser than ever; nobody seemed to know the right answer.

Big B was getting mad. Moving on, she addressed the question to Carla, but before she could even open her mouth, a warm air filled the room.

Carla glanced at the window; she couldn’t believe it, and so couldn’t anyone else. There, at the windowsill, hovered in the air hundreds of birds- ravens, to be exact. They were in a really poor condition. Well, not anymore, added Carla.

She stood up on her table, opened her backpack, and pressed the button on her device.

The whole room started beeping; all the students began to frantically run away.

Big Bertha, in the meantime, watched as the room got filled with hundreds of birds, but instead of staying in the room, they spread through the whole school.

Big Bertha: “ WHAT HAVE YOU DONE”!

Carla ”A RIGHT THING !”!JUST WATCH, IT'S NOT OVER YET!

And she ran with the other pupils; they were now gathering at the main hall. Teachers from the whole school were frantically running up and down the stairs, trying to contain their students while protecting themselves from the attacking birds.

Carla watched from the corner and whispered Birdie again. This time, not only did Birdie come, but he came with every bird there was in the building. The whole school went silent. Big Bertha finally got the sight of Carla and yelled: YOU NASTY LITTLE THING!

But Carla and the birds thought back; each of them dropped the magnet, aiming perfectly at Big Bertha.

The whole school watched. No sooner had the birds dropped the red magnets than something mesmerizing happened: they all transformed into these snow-white owls.

The whole school gasped, but more importantly, Big Bertha was hit with the heat that she dreaded the most; not only that, but her hair caught on fire. She wasted no time and ran down the stairs as fast as she could while screaming the whole time:

AGGGGG I HATE THIS SCHOOL I'M NEVER COMING BACK !! EVER AGAIN!!

The whole school laughed and clapped. For the first time in ten years, they could feel the heat running through the heaters. The atmosphere instantly lightened, and Carla was treated like a hero; people even carried her like a superstar down the stairs. Offered her food and homework; she even got to sit at the table at lunch with the popular girls, but she declined. Instead, she went and sat with her usual group of quirky friends.

The school continued to celebrate Carla and her revolt through many other projects. After the day finally ended, Carla couldn’t wait to tell her parents. So she hopped on Jazz and got to the meadow where they had been waiting.

WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU !!

And they hugged; Carla cried, but this time it was from joy. And the best part was that they all had it on camera, so after they got back home, they sipped some hot cocoa and munched on the most delicious cookies. They filed a report regarding the environmentally unsustainable business and shut it down that day. All the beautiful owls were living happily on the Grens’ farm, and as for Big Bertha, she was never seen at the school again.

About the Competition

The Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026, hosted by Hashtag Kalakar, celebrates diverse voices and imaginative storytelling from across the globe. Participants are invited to share their unique perspectives through poetry and creative writing, contributing to a vibrant tapestry of literary art. The competition seeks to inspire writers to explore new realms of creativity and expression.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to Sofia Rakúsová for sharing her compelling short story, "Long journey to success," with us. Her participation in the Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026 showcases her talent and passion for storytelling. We look forward to seeing more of her creative endeavors in the future.

About Hashtag Kalakar

Hashtag Kalakar is a creative platform dedicated to providing artists, writers, singers and other creative talents with opportunities to showcase their work and reach wider audiences through competitions, features and creative initiatives.