Chapter 7 - The Oakhaven Ghost
News reached the mountain that Oakhaven was failing. The winter had been hard on the lowlands, and the same women who had mocked Sadie were now suffering. A small group of them, led by Mrs. Pritchard, climbed the mountain, desperate for aid.
When they arrived at the cabin, they expected to find Sadie broken, perhaps dead. Instead, they found a house filled with the smell of baked bread, children laughing as they helped chop vegetables, and a woman who stood tall, wearing a thick fur cloak, with a rifle leaning against the wall.
Mrs. Pritchard looked at Sadie’s hands—no longer cracked and bleeding, but strong and capable.
May you like
"Sadie?" she stammered. "We... we heard the winter had claimed you."
"The winter claims those who have nothing to fight for," Sadie said calmly, holding a bowl of warm broth. "We have plenty. But we work for what we have."
