A Winter Night

by Brooke Robbins

A winter night, walking home trying to escape the suffocating stillness of the world, but something doesn’t feel right.

The frigid air sends shivers racing down my spine as the breeze starts to seep in, fighting its way under my coat.

The trees sway in the darkness, reaching their inky branches toward me, trying to claw their way in, ready to burrow deep in my heart.

I get the sense that I am not alone out here; there’s something haunting me, lurking, following me in an attempt to break me.

I stop, searching for the source of the shadow hanging over my shoulder but it’s only the memory of you, never straying too far from my side.

Reluctantly, I give in, opening my coat and my heart, allowing you to settle in such a special place, as I always do