It's almost February. The heavy snow has covered the main road from the village, leaving little space for the villagers to move from one place to another, let alone to travel to another village. It's been a brutal winter and the signs are that it is not over yet.
I was preparing the wood for the last fire that day, because it was already getting cold inside the cottage, and my father was getting ill. We had our wood counted by days, by hours. Since last June he could not work anymore, and I was doing my best to offer to both of us the chance to have food on the table and warmth inside the house during winter times. It's my fault I haven't taken the king's offer, I now regret the situation I put my father in, an honorable blacksmith, with such great history behind. Now he's an old man, that he can barely walk and talk, that stays under the blanket most of the time.
At least we had one goat left, which gave us sweet and warm milk, those were the most exciting moments during the day. The taste of the fresh milk gave me hope that we might make it another day.
"Wood for the village! Wood for the village!" I could hear each day, the wood merchant calling and selling wood for the people. Alas, I had no money left to buy any wood. I took one sheep cloth and put it over my shoulders, and with a fast move, I exit the cottage, in order to keep the hot air inside.
The wood merchant stopped in front of me.
"Miss, wood for your heart?"
"No, I'm afraid I am out of luck. Next week come by again." He left without hesitation and began yelling the same line.
I was so angry and jealous of all the people who bought the wood. It was like I was cursed to live this nightmare, but as long as I have my father next to me, it keeps me strong to move on.
"One more month!" I began aloud. "One more month and the Sun will gladly cover our lovely land again." Since I am outside, I might as well gather some clean snow to boil it for food and drinks, and perhaps if I would venture in the woods, I will have the chance to take something home for the fire.
It was getting colder with each hand of snow I was adding in the bucket. Minutes grew into hours, and I lost track of time. A tall bearded man was approaching from afar, cutting the snow in half, he was moving with ease as if he would melt the snow with every step he took. I could hardly hear him coming, so I surprisingly found him staring at me.
"Do you need help, lady?" his deep tone startled me, making me fall into the deep snow. He immediately helped me stand up. His powerful hands grabbed my waist and he pulled me up with such ease I thought I was a snowflake. His upper lip struggled to bring forth a smile from behind his long and thick dark brown beard.
"Thank you, dear man, for your help and kindness." My legs began to tremble, and I had a strange sensation in my stomach followed by tantalizing wetness between my legs. I blushed as it was really hard looking at him. It reminded me of the oath I promised to my mother, that I will never sell myself for anything and for anyone, that I will never abandon Father and will take great care of him, and that I will marry a good lad from the king's army to get rid of poverty. None of those promises had as much power as this stranger had over me, just by staring at me. I tried to say something else, but I just mumbled and took the bucket and tried to leave.
"Might I help you with that? You might need some wood too; the night will not be good with us tonight." He continued taking the bucket out of my hands and gather the small branches I managed to take during the last hours. He put the bucket's handle over his shoulder and the pile of wood in the same arm, covering me with the other, mostly trying to protect me from falling down again. I could not refuse his offer, leaving myself totally in his control.
I did not know anything about this man and it made me feel so anxious an uncomfortable. The more we approached my house, the more I wanted to stay in the cold winter with him. His warmth was enough for me to survive. But I kept telling myself reasons for not showing him where I live: what if he was a crook or a criminal? What if he helps me now so that he can rape and kill me later? What was I thinking? Trusting a stranger like this, I forgot what my father always told me, strangers are many and unknown at temper, but good people are few and hard to find too. A shiver down my spine welcomed me unexpectedly.
"Please good man, you helped me enough." I moved away from him, excusing myself as much as I could. And as I tried to get the water and wood from him...
"How can I leave you like this lady? The night is already settled. And for such a nice girl like you to wander around at night is not safe at all. I will not forgive myself if anything should happen to you!" He refused me, feeling proud of himself for being able to help.
"But what about you? Don't you have a place to go to? A Home? A wife and children? Why are you wandering the woods by yourself?" I fearlessly asked him.
