For some reason, I left the house with apprehension, as if expecting that the whole Cooper family would immediately attack me there. But, of course, there was no one at the door. The village seemed to be still asleep, but this silence was deceptive - the day here began very early, and the night quite late. It is very convenient when you have so few hours to sleep. This is another quality that was not included in my gene pool.

The wind died down, and the snowfall exhausted itself, covering everything around with a sheet of snow. The hood was useless, but I still threw it on top, like a...