Part IV – The Journal There was a distinct nothingness in that cabin, a sort of emptiness that spoke a novel in its details but left behind that eerie emptiness that reminded her of a corpse.  Where there should have been life inside, there was nothing.  The cold wind freely coursed through the creaking, wooden halls until the moment Ephalys shut the door behind her.  Each step through the entryway was tentative, her eyes sweeping from left to right as she took in the sights.

Part III: Out of Touch The next day came.  With no budge in the snowstorm, Ephalys was convinced that she had hallucinated the very concept of the sun.  No matter how her amber eyes searched the thick clouds, there was only that bleak white-gray that blotted out the sky.  She sighed, arms about her in a feeble and awkward hug.  A drab blanket had been draped over her shoulders, tucked about the crook of her elbow to keep in the warmth. It was scary, the way the cold pressed a

Part II: The Beast in the Snow The storm never ceased but it did slow after a time, giving way from dark menacing clouds to ones a softer shade of silver.  Her discontent evolved over those days from a dull ache to a fiery restlessness.  The cottage felt stuffy even with a window cracked to let in a sliver of winter’s breath inside.  Each inch of the floor had been walked; each groove of the ceiling carefully examined.  Life idly slipped by.  Her wounds were healing. Perhaps

Part I - Nothing Anymore The dead of winter kept no prisoners.  It was the sort of cold that crept into one’s mouth if they were to open it, freezing the soft warmth of their throat until it stole their breath away.  A whiteout of a storm held the world in its grip, pouring out its despair and spurring fate.  There was no silence in that baleful tempest—only a howling that resonated with grieving hearts and shattered minds. Each step was a struggle through the dunes of snow,