It was winter.

The thunder rumbling overhead seemed to taunt the young girl as she watched in horror while half of her home drifted away across the ruthless, half-frozen sea.

She had awoken minutes earlier, disturbed from her sleep by the most appalling noise. It sounded as if a tree were being torn apart by giants, as if the Gods above were screaming at each other in a wild rage. She thought it was the end of the world. Perhaps it was. For her anyway.

In only her pyjamas, she stood on the edge of her ruined home, her toes dangling over the edge of the splintered floor, shivering in the harsh wind as it seemed to touch her skin like the kiss of some icy demon. She screamed at the top of her voice in despair and frustration, almost pleading with her frost-drenched surroundings to bring them back to her. She could see them. They were waving and shouting to her in return.

In front of her she could see the giant, drifting shards of ice, their edges sharp like Samurai swords. They knocked into each other as they were swept by the tide, reminding her of some cruel jigsaw that couldn’t be solved. She knew she could not reach them