I trail my hands across a fern, the once perfect droplets of freezing water running down my fingers. A breeze catches a few strands of my hair, tugging them free from behind my ear, tickling my face. The earth under my feet softly catches each footfall in the silence, pinecones littered at the wide trunks of the ancient trees.
My scruffy black dog Scurvy runs ahead of me into the woods, leaving a trail of footprints and foliage rustling from the torment.
I shiver as another breeze whips through the trees and blows the hood off my head. I glance up at the grey sky through the trees. I tuck my already numb hands into my pockets and kick a pinecone from my path. A smile warming my cheeks as I trapse forward.
