Words : New Snow

"In the darkness of early morning he rose slowly and stiff from the bed. He poked at the remnants of last night's fire and found the still-lit embers in the fireplace. He built a new fire for the day and made black coffee and fried eggs and bacon in the skillet. Outside it was cold and dark and quiet. He sat at the table by the kitchen window eating and watching the snow coming down.  He would wait until it stopped before he set out; it would be easy to track in the new snow."