Thaw continued to bark and with the horses stopped and no sound from Finn, she began to grow uneasy. She couldn’t just sit there with the snow whipping viciously around, she had to do something.

“Please, Mum, help me,” she pleaded as she slid off the horse.

Her mum had died from complications from the fire that had blinded Snow. Though, not before she had tended Snow’s eyes, bathing them day after day in some solution she had brewed. She had told her to keep hope strong in her heart and mind, that her vision would return.

“Never give up hope, my daughter. I named you appropriately. Snow can blind, but it leaves everything fresh and sparkling clear after settling on the land. One day you will see again,” her mum had said.

Snow held hope that her mum had been right and that was why she reached out to her when frightened or in need.

Snow kept her hand on the horse’s side, following along it until she found the rope Finn had tied from her horse to his. Her hand followed along the rope to Finn’s horse, Thaw’s barking growing louder.

“Finn,” she called out and Thaw stopped barking for a moment then started again. “What is it, Thaw? Did something happen to Finn?” Thaw barked twice, stopped, and barked again.

Snow’s stomach roiled. Something was wrong, horribly wrong.

“Where’s Finn, Thaw?” she asked and she suddenly felt the pup tugging at the hem of her tunic. He wanted her to follow him. Finn could very well be hurt. But did she chance leaving the horses? Would she find her way back to them?

Thaw’s tugs grew more frantic. She tried to untie the rope on Finn’s horse to keep hold of it, but the snow, cold, and strength of the knot made it impossible. She had little choice but to step away from the horse, letting Thaw know she’d follow. He didn’t let go of her hem, he used it to guide her steps. She counted each one so she knew the distance.

Thaw stopped and so did she.

He barked once and she knew he had delivered her to Finn. She moved her booted-foot forward and touched something.

“Finn!” she cried out, but got no answer.

With trepidation, she slowly lowered herself down, the swirling snow making it difficult to see even gray shadows. She reached out and her hand touched snow, but it was what she felt beneath that frightened her. After brushing the snow away, she removed her glove to touch Finn’s chest. There was no rise and fall to it. She moved her hand up to his face, brushing off the snow that had accumulated there and pressed her fingers to his cold lips.

No breath came from his mouth.

He was dead.