Kildeer Rest [m] ford

when iza can no longer hear him, she rises.

she runs.

she whirls. she searches.

running again, turning. searching.

this pattern is repeated for hours north. she curves west around the glacier and continues into the evening.

her body aches. its fire threatens again. iza ignores it, for she will not call a second summons.

iza remembered the word he had breathed into her face. it cannot be forgotten. beneath the stars over the taiga beyond the ice mountain, she catches her breath and tastes a vague tinge of salt on the wind.

west. west on shaking legs that beg for respite.