The only sound to break the silence of the cold, moorland peace was a solitary car engine as it proceeded along the narrow roadway. The engine tone changed and there was a moment of quiet before the sound of grating metal and the breaking of glass hinted at some form of accident. Then all was quiet again apart from the plaintive mew of a buzzard, circling high in the flat, grey sky. The only witness to what had befallen.

Sarah woke with a start. She shook her head trying to clear her thoughts and remember what had happened. The last thing she could remember wasf rantically trying to control her car as it span before sliding broadside into the hedge. To no avail, the brakes had had no effect due to the closely packed snow and she remembered the jolt as she came to a halt. She instantly regretted waiting too long in the town before setting off for her parent’s cottage on the moor. It had been foolish not to leave as soon as the snow started to fall.

The driver’s door was open and she reached to her left where  her bag was sitting on the passenger seat. Although her head felt fuzzy at least she was physically uninjured but she dreaded looking at the probable damage to her car. She reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. The screen was blank, no signal. Realising that it was unlikely any other car would be travelling on the snow-covered road she thought it would be best to find a farmhouse to make a call. Luckily the crash had occurred close to a gateway through which a track led up to the right. Hoping it would be a farm track she slid off of her seat and out of the open door. Sarah wrapped her scarf around her mouth but she had no gloves. Despite the snow though, it was warmer than she had expected.

Although she couldn’t see a building she could see a glow at the top of the track. It looked as though the sun was breaking through the cloud in watery beams. The snow had stopped falling and taking her bag she started to trudge up the track. Her footsteps muffled by the deep blanket of snow. As she neared the top she could see that the glow was not sunlight but curiously looked like the entrance to a cave carved out of a soft, rounded form of rock. It was hazy which she thought was probably due to a smoky fire although she could not smell it. Through the entrance she could make out two figures sitting at a table just looking at each other. She called out but they didn’t seem to hear her. As she approached one of the figures looked up and only then appeared to notice her approach. He or she raised one arm in a wave and appeared to beckon to her as if inviting her in. Sarah could see the figure’s mouth opening but could hear no words and their face looked shiny and flushed with a light yellow glow which looked welcoming and warm. Sarah became confused, she looked over her shoulder and was shocked to see no footprints leading from the car. She cast her mind back to how she had left the car without removing her seatbelt. Only then did she realise her situation and her tears began to flow.