“Ruddy hell, the cold smacked my face with an iron spade! Now I knew why northerners go in for beards, woad, and body grease.”

“Did you just smack me in the face with a fish?”“I did.”“Why did you just smack me in the face with a fish, Danny?”

“Cold air clawed at my face, ripping tears from my eyes. I buried my face deep into Daniel's back and breathed in a mixture of familiar scents - almonds, oil paint, earth, and a hint of varnish. I didn't even question why I was on that bike. I just knew I was suppose to be.”

“I feel a cold northern breeze play upon my cheeks, which braces my nerves and fills me with delight.”

“With the final onset of dark the iron cold locked down and the boy by now was shuddering violently. No moon rose beyond the murk and there was nowhere to go.”

“I hadn’t understood at the time. If sinners were so unhappy,why would they prefer their suffering? But now I knew why.Without my wounds, who was I? My scars were my face, my pastwas my life.”