In the early morning of dawn, Elena woke up and turned over and found she was alone in bed. She sat up slowly and moaned, placing a hand on her stomach. The pain came and went. She turned her head right and looked toward the window. The room was dark, but the new day was starting to approach.

Elena pulled the blanket off of her and placed her feet on the floor. She stood up and walked out of the bedroom. She went into the bathroom and turned on the light and shut the door, locking it. She stepped into the shower and turned on the faucet to hot, adding a bit of cold to mix in with the warmth. Grabbing a bar of soap, she washed her body.

Elena went back into the bedroom and got dressed. She put on a light blue T-shirt and jeans. She turned to the tall dresser and picked up a bottle and sprayed herself with perfume. She brushed her hair and looked at herself in the mirror. She still had the same face, but it was different. Mature.

Elena walked out of the bedroom and went down the hall and out into the living room. The lamp was on. The television, too. The sound was muted. Elena walked over and looked out the window.

Anton was leaning against the station wagon. He listened to the sound of the wind. It was distant. Faint. The sun rose over the house, bleeding a golden light. The voice of a bird caught his attention. He turned his head right and looked up. A sparrow was perched on a tree branch. It chirped. They made eye contact. Just as soon as it looked at him, it flew away.

Elena walked out and stood on the front porch. The air was cold. A light dusting of frost was on the ground, but she didn't seem to notice.

Anton looked at her. He stood straight and motioned with his head for her to come over to him. Elena walked over to him. They stood but a foot apart from each other.

"How long have you been out here?" Elena asked him.

"An hour", Anton answered her.

Elena lowered her eyes and folded her arms across her chest, hoping to block the cold. She looked at him and asked, "You were thinking?"

Anton nodded. "Yes, I was."

"Do you think what we did was a mistake?"

"No."

Elena narrowed her eyes again, nodding. She brought her gaze back to look at him.

"Do you see it that way?" Anton asked her.

"No", Elena whispered, softly.

Anton said nothing and stared at her, his thin mouth curved into a faint smile. He noticed she was cold and removed his denim jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. He cupped a hand to her face and said, "You are my life now. It is my job to take care of you and make sure you are safe."

"Nothing's going to happen to me, Anton", Elena reassured him.

"You don't know that", Anton disagreed. "And neither do I. Nothing is certain anymore."

"Maybe not", said Elena.

Over the next three weeks, the weather forecast predicted nothing but rain and snow for the city of Brainerd. The rain came and went, but it was not cold enough yet to make it snow. The ongoing search for the dangerous criminal and escaped convict continued. The police station never had this much trouble in finding one man.

On the eve of November the 28th, Marge Gunderson woke up about three o'clock in the morning and went to check the thermostat out in the hall and turned the temperature up and went out into the living room. She walked over to the window and looked outside. The snow came down in a calm, but elegant storm of light wind and freezing air. She sat down in a chair by the window, gazing out into the cold night. It brought back a memory of when she and her cousin were children. It was an innocent time back then. Being an adult, Marge knew now that it was a curse for her to see nothing but goodness in everything and everybody. Her illusion no more than a childhood dream. No matter what, she knew there would always be evil in the world, even if she refused to believe in it. It was in the past, present, and future. There was nothing she could do about it.

Sophia woke up the next morning and jumped out of bed and got dressed in a warm coat, hat, gloves, and scarf. She ran outside at once and turned around and fell backwards into the snow, making an angel. She laughed. She sat up and cupped her hands into the snow and tossed it up in the air. Part of it landed on her face, but she didn't care. Winter had come.

Anton Chigurh stood out like a shadow against the backdrop of winter snow and desolate woods. Although he wore his denim jacket, he could still feel the cold. He was used to it, but then again, he had never seen snow before. He could not understand why people would find joy in it, but he accepted it. He was standing next to a tree by the river. His gaze was fixed on the atmosphere of the winter landscape. He glanced about the area. The air was calm.

Dressed in a parka, Elena came walking through the woods until she found him. His back was to her. He didn't even notice she was there. Elena carefully made her way down to where he was, stumbling only once.

Startled, Anton turned around and looked at her, surprised to see her.

"There you are", said Elena. "I've been looking for you."

"What are you doing out here, Elena?"

"Does it matter?"

Anton turned back and returned his gaze to the landscape. Elena came over and stood next to him, wrapping her hands around his arm and leaning against him.

"What were you doing out here?" Elena asked him.

"Nothing", Anton answered her.

Elena stood there for a long minute. She glanced at the river and then turned her head and looked at a tree to her left. She looked at the snow on the ground. An owl feather lied at the foot of the tree. She looked at Anton, who remained still and silent as the atmosphere around them.

"Are you all right?" Elena asked him.

"Yes, I'm all right", said Anton. He blinked and looked at her. "Are you concerned about me?"

"No. I just want to know what you're thinking about."

"Why would I be thinking about anything?"

Elena rested her head against his shoulder and said, "I don't know. I just worry about you sometimes."

Anton placed his hand over hers and said, "You shouldn't worry about me. If anything was wrong, I would tell you."

"That's good", said Elena.

Later that night, the snow started falling again. Elena went to check on Sophia in her room. She opened the door and found the child sitting up in bed. Sophia looked at her.

Elena smiled and walked in and closed the door. She went over to see her daughter and said, "Looks like someone had a busy day today, didn't they?"

"Yep. I even helped Quincy build a snow fortress", said Sophia.

"That's nice. Maybe tomorrow you'd like to try ice skating."

Sophia chuckled, knowing her mother meant it was a joke. Elena made sure the child was tucked in nice and warm before sitting down on the bed. "Did you have fun today?" She asked.

Sophia nodded. "Mm-hmm."

"That's good."

"Mommy, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Like what?"

"Do you believe in ghosts?"

Elena blinked and asked her, "What do you mean?"

"Every night, I keep seeing this man standing at the end of my bed", Sophia answered. "His name is Buster Scruggs, but I don't think that's his real name."

"What does he look like?" Elena asked, curiously.

"He wears a white cowboy hat and suit. He also has blue eyes and dark hair. He's not as tall as Anton, but he has a nice singing voice."

Elena raised an eyebrow and asked, "Have you been hiding things from me again?"

"No", Sophia answered. "He's talked to me twice already. He said he's an angel and that he's gonna take care of the man that tried to kill you."

Elena stroked her daughter's head and told her, "You shouldn't worry about him. Marge will find him soon enough."

"Are you gonna hire Anton to kill him when she does?" Sophia asked.

Elena shook her head. "No", she answered. "I wish I could, though."

Sophia sighed and said, "I wish he were dead now."

"So do I", said Elena.

"Could you read me a story, please?"

"Sure."

Elena stood up and went to pick out a book from the shelf and came back and sat down on the bed and started reading. After she finished reading the story, Sophia fell asleep. Elena set the book on the nightstand and leaned over and kissed her daughter on the forehead. She stood up and went to the door and looked at Sophia one last time and closed the door behind her before leaving the room. She then went to her own room and climbed into bed and looked to her right and turned on the lamp. She picked up her Bible and opened it and read to herself.

Anton came into the bedroom a minute later, already dressed in his dark gray pajamas. Elena noticed him, but did not look away from her page. He knew she wasn't doing it on purpose. Anton shut the door and walked over and stood by the bed, a questionable look on his face. "You read that thing every night", he said. "How come I never see you go to church?"

"Because church is a man-made temple built by hypocrites", said Elena. She looked at him and said, "I tried going to church once and I didn't like it. To me, a person doesn't have to attend church to have a faith in God. I talk to Him and pray to Him on my own time, in my own way. Not as often as I should, but I know He always answers me whenever I need to talk to Him."

Anton said nothing and continued to stand there, his expression still the same.

"Why should it matter to you if I chose to become a Christian?" Elena asked.

"It doesn't", said Anton. "If that is the religion you chose to follow, then that was your choice."

"But you don't believe in it", Elena noted. "You don't believe in any religion."

"I have no say in religion", said Anton.

"That's a shame", said Elena. She closed the Bible and placed it back on the nightstand and turned off the lamp and lied down. Anton got into bed and lied down next to her. For a minute, they both lied there in darkness. They stared at the ceiling. Elena turned her head and looked at him.

"Anton?"

Anton turned his head and looked at her. "What?"

"I love you", said Elena.

"And I love you", said Anton.

Elena turned over and kissed Anton. They looked at each other for a minute. Then they both turned over again and went to sleep.

The night was black. The ground was white. It was twelve past four in the morning. A blackbird cawed somewhere. Anton woke up and turned his head and looked over his right shoulder. Elena was asleep, her back facing him. He blinked and looked at the foot of the bed and saw a man standing there. A man who he thought to be dead. His image was ruined by the blood on his clothes. The blood that stained him was his own. Half of his face was gone. A gun was in his right hand. Most of his left hand was missing.

Anton sat up in bed, staring at him. His eyes were wide with fear.

"Don't you make no noise or make any sudden movements", Carson Wells spoke, his Southern accent loud and clear. "You just keep your mouth shut. Otherwise I'm gonna have to take care of that little woman of yours."

"What are you doing here?" Anton asked him, his voice almost quivering. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so afraid.

"Don't think you got away with what you did", said Wells. "I know you, Anton. You think you can go on living an easy life with a clean getaway like you did there? There ain't no such thing as clean getaways, amigo. You just keep reminding yourself that."

Anton looked at Elena, concerned. She moved not at all. He then looked back at Wells and found he was gone. Nowhere in sight. He heard Elena moan and looked at her again. She turned over in her sleep, but didn't awaken. Anton lied back down and wrapped his arm around her and held onto her for a long minute, not wanting to let her go. He closed his eyes. A single tear escaped.

The next morning, Elena woke up and went to the kitchen and started making coffee. When Anton walked into the kitchen, she didn't look at him. His shirt was unbuttoned. His face looked rugged, but his hair was combed. He sat down at the table with his arms folded and his head bowed.

"Good morning", said Elena. "Do you want some coffee?"

"No", said Anton.

Elena turned and looked at him, her smile fading. "Hey, you okay?" She asked.

Anton looked at her and said, "I need to talk to you."

"Okay." Elena walked over and sat down in the chair next to him, holding onto her cup. For a long minute, Anton was quiet.

"You once told me that killing was not something I had to choose for myself, yet I chose it anyway", said Anton. "You know why I chose to become a contract killer, but I never told you how I got started."

Elena was confused. "Anton, what are you talking about?"

"It was right after I got back from the war. I didn't know what I was going to do. One night, I went to a bar in Austin, Texas. I sat down at a table and ordered a beer. There was a man at the counter. He was talking to the bartender. He mentioned to him that his wife had left him. He said he wanted her dead. He said that if he couldn't have her, nobody else could. I left the money on the table and went out and waited for him. When he came out, I went over to his car and tried to talk him out of it. He asked me how much I thought it was worth to waste the life of another person. I told him I didn't know. He offered me five-thousand dollars to take care of it. He paid me half and told me he would pay the rest once the job was finished. Without thinking it over, I accepted. It was easy to find out where she was. I tracked her down and found she was living with a black man. That night, I broke into the house and killed them both. Just before I left, I heard this voice coming from upstairs. I went to see what it was and looked in the bedroom. There was a crib. I walked in and looked in the crib and I found a baby girl crying for her mother."

"Oh, my God, you didn't-"

"You didn't let me finish. I set my shotgun down on the bed and picked her up and held her in my arms until she stopped crying. I stroked her face and told her I was sorry for what I had done to her. I told her it wasn't her fault. That her mother had brought this upon herself. I didn't know if the baby was his or not, but I knew I couldn't just leave her there. I picked up my shotgun and I took the child and placed her on the doorstep of the orphanage where I grew up. I left her with a note and the money I received from the job I was given the task of carrying out. Afterwards, I went back to the man's house and I killed the bastard."

For a while, Elena was silent. She looked at him with disbelief, shaking her head. "Why are you telling me this?" She questioned him.

"I don't know what I'd do if something were ever to happen to you", said Anton. "Last night, I had a dream that somebody was going to kill you. When you asked me to kill you the first time after you found out the truth about me, I couldn't do it...Mainly because I was in love with you..."

Anton stopped talking and lowered his head, placing a hand over his eyes. His shoulders shook.

"Hey, talk to me", said Elena, placing her hand over his. "Anton, look at me. I'm right here, I'm fine. What are you trying to say?"

Anton breathed deeply. He lowered his hand and looked at her again. "This can't go on forever, Elena", he said. "We can't keep putting on this charade and pretend that everything is all right. The police gave up looking for me a long time ago, but that doesn't mean I should continue hiding and living in secret. One day, I'll have to leave you. And on that day, you'll have to let me go."

Elena looked hurt, but understood what he was trying to tell her. She sighed. "Anton, I-"

Suddenly, there came a blood-curdling scream from Sophia's bedroom.

Elena turned her head left and rose from her chair and ran out of the kitchen as fast as she could. She ran past the living room and down the hall and stood in the doorway of the first bedroom. Her face filled with fear and her blood ran cold.

"No. No, no, no, no!"

Elena went into the room and dropped down on her knees and placed her hands on her daughter's body, which was lying on the floor. She heard footsteps and looked up. Anton stood frozen in the doorway, his face darkened when he saw the child lying on the floor, twitching and convulsing. A small stream of foam was coming from her mouth. He looked at Elena.

"Do something! Call an ambulance!" Elena shouted.

Anton nodded and disappeared just as Elena turned the child over onto her side, hoping to rouse her. "Sophia, wake up! Please, wake up! Sophia, wake up! Wake up! WAKE UP!"