Matilda threw some grain onto the ground for the chickens. A smile flitted across her lips at the thought that she’d saved these last six chickens from the oaf’s mad obsession with collecting feathers

I always have hope,

Hope, child, is one of the most important things in life. With hope, we take the next step forward.

A feeling of calm always fell over her like a cloak of happiness settling on her shoulders when she entered her father’s woods. Tall trees welcomed her under their canopy, offering her protection, while a carpet of yellow lesser celandine, with their shiny star-like flowers and dark green heart-shaped leaves, tickled her ankles as she walked amongst them.

Mark ran his fingers over the bindings and whispered words, written long ago, words that wriggled through the aged leather, trembled beneath his touch. What lives and loves, hopes and dreams, deaths and despair these volumes held.