Wishes Of Credence

Winter Storms And Flames

I cannot remember a time where I truly felt at peace. Not just with myself, but in my home. I cannot remember the last time I had a good night's sleep, one that did not involve an argument or the fear of freezing to death.

I cannot remember a time where I truly enjoyed living.

The warmth of the blazing fire ran through my body, discarding all previous shivers. My hands stayed in the air right against the flames, my legs in a criss cross position on the floor. Today had been one of the rough ones, with winter coming around so fast there was no time to prepare for the fall.

"Blake?" a voice called from afar.

I tilted my head towards the noise and replied back, "by the fireplace!" Soon, my brother emerged from the hallway, his presence already turning the room smoldering.

"The hunt's not over yet." He stated, a hand placed on his hips and a casual aura surrounding him.

"I know Parker." I replied with a hint of annoyance. Winter meant less animals roaming around, which led to more hunger and longer hunts in the woods. We'd be lucky to even get a baby hare for dinner.

Parker rolled his eyes at my obviousness. "Then why are you sitting in front of the fireplace when we should be searching for food?" Immediately his hands went up to his hair in frustration, now pacing back and forth in the small living room.

I let out a sigh of defeat and got up, turning around and walking to the kitchen. "I'll go hunt, but that means you have to look for the Mags."

Parker nodded at my words, and I quickly grabbed my coat and bow. Hunting with any other weapon would be too slow and I wanted a quick and easy meal.

Leaving the house was always the worst part of hunting, because you'll never know if you'll make it back. The snow reached up to my thighs, heavy and cold. I sucked up the freezing temperature and traveled further into the forest. There was a small stream in the middle of the forest in which plenty of animals drank from—that was where I got a majority of my food.

Reaching the stream, I climbed up a nearby tree and sat atop one of the large branches, waiting for any animal to come out and replenish itself. After a long time of waiting, a small white fox emerged from the trees, trotting over to the water with the wag of its tail. It lowered its head and lapped at the cold water.

For a moment, I felt sorry for the fox—understood what it felt like to be on the verge of starvation. There were no berries or mice or squirrels for it to eat.

I drew a long breath in before preparing my bow. I settled the arrow against the bowstring and pulled the string back. Angling my focus on the tip of the arrow, which was fixated on the eating fox, I positioned my grip to the exact and exhaled.

Just as I was about to release the arrow, a flock of birds emerged from the trees, clearing into the sky with loud shrieks. The fox jumped and scurried away. Angry, I quickly released the arrow in an attempt to hit at least some part of the animal. Sadly it only hit the hard ground where the fox had previously been at.

"Not again." I mumbled to myself. Why had the universe decided to interrupt the one decent meal I could get for today?

I quickly put my arrows back in the quiver and made my way down the tree, carefully not to fall. Reaching the bottom, I observed my surroundings—mostly the area the birds came from.

Something in my gut told me to turn around and go home, but my body moved on its own, carrying me over to the clearing. When I arrived at the area, I expected just some random animal that the birds took down, but I didn't. In the small clearing was a person, snow covering their body, almost like a blanket.