She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, a tiny, bloody angel in the snow, and they were going to destroy her.

For among these winters there is one so endlessly winter that only by wintering through it will your heart survive. - Rilke

I could have screamed, but I didn’t. I could have fought, but I didn’t. I just lay there and let it happen, watching the winter-white sky go gray above me.

I am standing here in the shed, and I'm waiting to see if my seeds are going to poke out ofthe dirt. I don't know if it's too early to look for signs of life or if, this time, winter has claimed my family for good.