Charlotte Appleton

Training to Fly Free

The embers were tired. The ebbing glow warmed her gaze and a marshmallow, but was no match against the cold wind that slipped down the mountainside and joined the scathing words swirling around her. She pulled the blue fleece collar around her ears and tucked in her face to the cheekbones. Little crystals quickly formed where her breath met the polyester. The din of veiled cruelty continued and passed through the fabric as easily as the wind.