The night she escaped was as cold as the night she had arrived. The man was in his room, sleeping deeply under various expensive blankets, on a mattress of the highest quality. Everything had been paid for by the clothes woven by the woman he had loved and used. Outside the house, as naked as she was on the day she arrived, the woman walked along the edge of the cliff. Father Frost bit deep and she shivered uncontrollably as she stopped. Her feet over the edge, weight entirely on her heels. She spread her arms and looked out, eyes closed and smiling. She let her weight carry her over and down. Far below all that hit the water were a few stray feathers, as the crane flew gracefully across the sea. The man awoke in the morning and felt her absence even before he left his bed. He went to the womans room and he saw the emptiness, and the feeling of loss shook him down to his soul. The deep cold took his life that winter, the knowledge that he had destroyed a gift from the Gods haunted him till his last breath. 2008-06-25T15:21:41Z http://ficlets.com/feed/story/34388 <p>Tragic story. But very well done.<br />I love the &#8220;full circle&#8221; ending, and the &#8216;you never know what you have until you loose it&#8217; kind of message.<br />I might have to listen to that song!</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/34388?basename=73805 2008-06-25T15:21:41Z ALRO613 ♪ LoA ♫ http://ficlets.com/authors/alro613 <p>Cool ending to a cool story. Nice to see she got away.</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/34388?basename=70839 2008-06-14T21:35:59Z John Perkins http://ficlets.com/authors/johnperkins21 <p>I think it&#8217;s done now&#8230; I had only planned on writing one entry but twenty or so minutes would pass and something would call me back to writing another one. I really suggest listening to the song if you have not heard it before. It&#8217;s <em>The Crane Wife</em> by <strong>The Decemberists</strong> and it is in 3 parts, so&#8230; go listen and hopefully enjoy it.</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/34388?basename=70820 2008-06-14T20:35:22Z JMSquire http://ficlets.com/authors/jmsquire