(Author's Note: I don't write many short stories, but my local writing group had a prompt for the first line of a story, and I took it and used it, along with a germ of an idea taken from an Andrew Peterson song, Coral Castle,"'I don't need her love to love her all I can." I love the way it turned out, one of the few shorts I'm actually proud of. Enjoy! ~Kay)

*

A girl stands at the bottom of a hill, gazing up towards the summit. Her breath steams at regular intervals in the cold, early-morning air as she ponders her next move. indecision shows in her face which shows all her emotions in agonizing clarity. She glances around her; she is alone. This she is pleased with. She does not want anyone to see her if she fails. The distance is so long for her! She does not know if she can do it. She nods slowly to herself, response to an inner argument. Slowly her right hand comes up, she looks down at the object grasped firmly in it.