The Vaster Wilds

As the girl races to find shelter, large hailstones begin to fall from the sky. She finds a dead elm and manages to take shelter in its large, open roots. She digs herself a hole wide enough to build a fire, covers the opening with a tightly tied blanket, and falls asleep. Upon waking, she finds that the forest is now covered in ice, and although it is beautiful, she despairs, for the storm has closed off many avenues for finding food. Looking at the dead tree, she realizes that there are grubs living in it, so she cooks them in her pewter cup and eats them. After sleeping a while longer, she wakes to find that a red bird has crept into her shelter. The bird asks her if she is ready to give up her immortal soul and die, and the girl says that she is not ready yet.

The girl sleeps and is once again plagued by night terrors. These dissolve into a memory of her life back in London, when the mistress’s son, Kit, returned from university with some friends. They demanded that the girl be the one to serve them, and she was forced to always be on call.