Winter Historical Fiction Short Stories

An unseasonable winter warmth settles over the 19th-century Canadian town, causing snow to retreat into slush and the crisp air to feel deceptively mild. The scent of damp earth and wet wool hangs heavy, a constant, worrying reminder that the season's traditions—and its secrets—are on the verge of melting away.

Outside, a fictionalized harsh winter batters 1919 Winnipeg during the General Strike. The streets are a battleground of icy wind and simmering class conflict. Inside "The Cafe on Portage," the air is thick with the smell of brewing coffee and wet wool, a pocket of steamy, fragile neutrality where strikers and special constables occupy the same space without violence.