Heart of charcoal

Prologue

The first soft rays of sunlight started to make their way through the edge of the forest as the top of the sun appeared on the horizon. They stroked the chubby cheeks of a smiling little girl while she looked at the sky, her big grey eyes shining as her gaze lingered over the crowns of the trees and the clouds above them. She was only a baby, wrapped in an old blanket that had seen many winters before and had been exposed to the destructive nature of time. The man that carried her in his strong arms took a few more steps, snow crushing underneath his boots before he came to a halt and turned to the thin woman that followed behind him. "Here's as good a place as any" he said to her, his voice deep and gravelly. She nodded in understanding and answered him, her own voice brittle in sharp contrast to the voice of her husband "I hope the wolves will get to her soon". 

The man leaned down as he wrapped the blanket tighter around the baby before laying her down in the snow underneath one of the bigger trees at the edge of the forest, indifference written all over his face as he stood up straight and took a step back, only to turn away from the now defenseless little girl and leave her to the mercy of the strong winter. He placed a firm hand on his wife's back to try direct her towards the forest once more so they could walk home. "She won't make it through the day" he said, if only to reassure her and make her walk with him, but instead the woman walked towards the baby, kneeled beside her and layed a hand on the child's forehead, whispering a few sentences.

At last, she stood up and gave him a nod, indicating she was ready before joining him and beginning their walk home. While they got deeper and deeper into the forest, they heard the howling of a few wolves far behind them while the cries of a baby pierced through the morning fog. The man's grip on his wife's hand tightened and he gave it a soft pinch while rubbing her knuckles with his thumb as they continued to walk further and further, the baby's cries fading until no sound but that of the wind surrounded them.