Down the dirt road and over the small bridge, Irene found herself going towards the village where, despite sunset quickly approaching, there was plenty of evidence of life all around.
The small buildings and houses all had smoke rising from their chimneys and occasionally she could see light peering out from the corners of windows where the oiled paper had come off after winterization or the curtains were pushed a bit aside.
Irene could only smile faintly at the sight of all the people she knew. No one moved in and no one left either, except for her. They were the same families she was used to her entire life. Some were her cousins, others were merely just people she knew.
A sense of serenity struck her, but with that serenity was chased off with the reminder of what she was set off to do that late afternoon. There was one person who was no longer there and she missed the most.
