The forlorn child looks up with a smile
Each time the maple leaves sway with the breeze,
Dancing like maidens of scarlet and gold
For the girl at the window who watches the trees,
Seeking escape from a sorrowful world.
Watching the brilliant frocks each leaf wears
Tremble with laughter in the rustling wind,
The sad little girl has forgotten her cares.

           The events in his life seemed unavoidable; as if nothing in this world could have stopped the things that transpired in the dark night, yet we will never know. I wonder if he ever imagined the terror that he would have to endure forevermore the night that he closed that window and replaced the sword up against the mantelpiece were it had rested for generations. He must have known that thoughts of the past would haunt him forevermore, causing him to seal himself off from the world permanently in hopes that they would never find him. But who can tell?

The rain drizzles down the window pane in front of my face; my breath makes a faint fog on the cold glass. Across the field is Mingus Mountain, normally a dark blue silhouette against the sky, now a rolling bank of misty grey clouds and falling rain. Another rivulet of water trickles past my eye, and I glance up at the sky.