Sophie gently poked the charcoal fire with a stick, a handful of sparks rose from the ashes, the campfire flickered slightly, making the shadows on the ochre-grey rock wall waver. She turned back to look outside the cave where a snowstorm raged. Outside was only a blur of grey in the night, the cold wind carrying snowflakes into the cave, melting instantly in the golden-red firelight.
Far away, the north wind howled like the rising and falling calls of wild beasts, echoing within the quiet cave, only the crackling of the fire accompanying its stillness. Outside the windbreak, the forest seemed to tremble with a shivering rustle; listening carefully, it seemed like footsteps were approaching.
But after a while, it turned into the sound of the wind again, roaring, as trees creaked and sometimes fell over with a crash.
