His breath misted in the cold air. For the first time he was aware that he was freezing. So cold he might shatter into a thousand blinding shards

of light. He blinked and the sensation was gone. He was impervious, impregnable. A soldier knows nothing, only obedience. Then why did he feel

so alone? Snowflakes fell softly on his upturned face. How long had he been standing here, waiting for an answer? A silence, deep and dark like

falling down a well. Maybe that was the answer from on high. Silence. He was alone. He had always been alone.