It was always winter here. Salome stared at the blistering cold beyond the frosted windowpane.
There wasn't much else to see. When her husband suggested they move here because it was cheaper, he hadn't mentioned it would be winter 24/7.
There had been better days—days when the sun peeked shyly through the gray skies. But today was not one of those days. She sighed and closed the window, shivering as the draft seeped through the cracks. Most of the villagers had already run out of wood.
People were freezing to death.
The only wood left in their hearth was from two months ago—just a few splinters now feeding the dying flames. She sat close to the flickering warmth, cradling her large belly as if to shield her baby from the biting cold.
"Any moment now," she whispered, a soft smile breaking across her face as her hand traced the swell. Her beautiful baby would be here soon.
She sighed again, her smile fading. She hoped, somehow, the weather would turn warmer before then.
She didn't want her child to know this relentless, unforgiving cold.