Split

They stood in the snowy field with winter kissing their pointy fingers as their limbs intertwined, watching the younger ones.  The solitude and quiet of the landscape were comforting. The snow crunched in the distance. Strangers approached and the birds grew silent. They both bristled and stiffened and stood even straighter. “This one, Daddy!” A little girl announced. A big man approached and pulled a string. The buzzing machine belched a plume of smoke. The man dragged her away and carelessly threw her in the bed of his truck. Her family screamed and cried for her.  Not a Merry Christmas.