Weekly Unfinished Tales and Short Stories from our Dataset
These stories are presented as part of our research into digital transformation in the arts.
Today’s Unfinished Tales and Short Stories
A Glimmer, Cold and Bright
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Domestic Thriller | Genre: Contemporary Fiction
The air in Winnipeg had thinned to a razor’s edge, each breath a crystalline shard in the lungs. Early December had draped the city in a premature, glittering blanket, the kind that promised a long, deep winter. Shop windows along Portage Avenue already bled warm, golden light onto slushy pavements, and the faint, sweet-sickly scent of pine and cinnamon hung precariously in the sharp gusts of wind, battling the pervasive smell of diesel and damp concrete. It was the sort of cold that burrowed into the bone, demanding layers, demanding acceptance.
A December’s Chill
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Domestic Thriller | Genre: Contemporary Fiction
The city had shed its autumn cloak abruptly, trading crisp leaves for a sharp, biting cold that promised snow. Christmas lights, premature in their glow, had begun to dot the avenues, casting a pale, electric cheer against the deepening twilight. The air itself seemed to hum with an unspoken tension, a mix of holiday rush and the inevitable quietude of Canadian winter.
The Cold Breath of Fir and Exhaust Fumes
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Cyberpunk | Genre: Contemporary Drama
A thin layer of frozen drizzle clung to everything, turning the city into a landscape of treacherous sheen. The air bit with a metallic cold, tasting of petrol and distant pine, as the last vestiges of late afternoon light faded into a bruised purple, promising an even harsher night. Every breath was a small, visible cloud, quickly swallowed by the general gloom.
A Looming White on Asphalt
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Domestic Thriller | Genre: Contemporary Fiction
The first truly bitter breath of December clawed at the city, a cold that seeped through layers of wool and Gore-Tex. Streetlights, still struggling against the stubborn twilight, began to shimmer with haloes of moisture. Already, the festive decorations, strung like hopeful arteries across Portage Avenue, felt less like cheer and more like a desperate, flickering defiance against the encroaching white. A bus groaned to a halt, exhaling a plume of frosted air that briefly swallowed a cluster of bundled figures waiting on the pavement, their shoulders hunched, faces tucked into scarves, each lost in their own interior world as the city began its annual, reluctant transition.
Beneath the Tarnished Silver
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Cyberpunk | Genre: Contemporary Drama
The smell of rising dough and dark roast coffee clung to the air, a stubborn warmth against the chill that seeped under the old oak door of ‘The Crust & Crumb’. Outside, the world was a study in hushed white and muted greys, the first proper snowfall of December having settled overnight like a heavy, silent confession. Inside, the ancient floorboards groaned under Lena’s weight as she moved, her breath visible in the frigid air that still lingered despite the oven’s best efforts. The town’s single street lamp, visible through the steamed-up window, cast a jaundiced glow on the pristine blanket of snow, a small beacon in the deepening twilight.
About the Project
The Unfinished Tales and Short Stories collection was an interdisciplinary arts and narrative storytelling experiment in 2025. It was part of a creative arts and participatory research project by The Arts Incubator Winnipeg and the Art Borups Corners collectives. It focuses on two key areas: AI-Assisted Storytelling and Scriptwriting, exploring AI tools for generating ideas, plot structures, and story arcs; and Talent Development and Training, studying digital skills, literacy and training needs for creative professionals by experimenting with AI and immersive technologies to inform future projects. Funding and support were generously provided by the Ontario Arts Council Multi and Inter-Arts Projects program and the Government of Ontario. We thank them for supporting the arts, digital transformation, and applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) research.
About the Author
