The sky was still dark when Doris rose the next morning. She bundled up against the harsh temperatures and brought extra clothes and a cloak in a small bag. No one was awake when she stepped out of her cabin and treaded towards the woods behind her cabin. The absolute silence was strange. Only her steps that crunched in the snow made a sound and made her feel as if she was completely alone in the world. She supposed she was, in a way.

Doris walked down a path she had taken many times before. The air was still and calm, no sense of a storm was brewing but she...