The mist blanketed the landscape, suffocating the ground beneath. It rose up from the grasslands, tendrils of grey lazily heading upwards. The air was still and silent. Not a single birdsong broke the peace and calm of the early morning. No animals about, snuffling through the grass, searching for food.

Cutting through the barren landscape, intruding on the stillness, the girl plodded along. She dragged her feet across the rough boardwalk, shoes crunching loudly with each scrape on the frosty surface. Encased in grey from head to toe, a long puffy jacket cocooned her, the hood pulled tightly against the crisp morning air. Her shoulders were hunched, hands in her pockets as an ineffective measure against the biting cold. Small puffs of cloud as she breathed out disappeared into the fog that swirled around her.

Startled by the loud and unfamiliar noise that rang out across the land, a crow cawed in distress, then took flight, its wings beating rapidly as it climbed higher into the sky. The girl, herself startled by the crow, jerked then stopped walking. She tipped her head to the sky, tracking the crow’s path. She kept staring, long after the crow had disappeared from sight. She eventually closed her eyes and let the quiet calmness envelop her.