SKYLARK: Prologue
The Undoing of All That Has Been Done
Massive, leafless oaks towered around her. Any remnant of light that might have perched along the horizon was blocked as the gathering darkness crowded the trees into a single, amorphous entity, gawking for one last glimpse of her fur-clad figure— a mere speck lost in the vast, snowy wild.
Sarai stepped carefully, leathern boots laced tight to the knees, woolen cap secured under her chin. Any expectation of finding a way out had faded with the light. As the frost bit harder, she felt every icy point of the millions of snowflakes tracing her arms. Sarai clutched the book more fervently; even now, beneath layers of thick cloak, the tome generated a slight warmth that stirred her heart to hope.
She snapped around — a distant trill echoed against the prismatic entanglement of icicles mapping the forest. A skylark, singing in this thickening darkness? Yet, it was more of a call than a song. Sarai moved in unison with the shadows, keeping low, staying covered.
Ta-dee, ta-dee, ta-dee, came the call as she mounted the crest of the hill. Again, more urgently: Ta-dee! Ta-dee!
“Gah!!” Sarai clapped a mittened hand to her ear as a piercing hum rose sharply from within, blocking the insistence of the lark — but too late. In that instant, as the shriek in her ear climaxed, Sarai broke over the hill, simultaneously spying a cottage nestled below, ensconced in a cozy coil of smoke.
Darkness shattered at the rosy glow of candlelight pouring into the snow. She felt a shiver of expectation as she teetered on the brink of the hill for only a moment — before taking her first intentional step into the open.
Author’s Note: SKYLARK takes place over a series of chapters. Thank you for your patience as I craft each episode in my “down time” from full-time parenting and part-time working. I can’t wait to share more of Sarai’s story with you!
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