I dreamed of the fox.

It ran through the snow.

The snow was deep.

It was white.

It was silent.

I followed it.

My boots sank.

The cold bit my skin.

The fox looked back.

Its eyes were gold.

They were old.

They were kind.

I woke in the cell.

The iron bars were cold.

The air smelled of rust.

And sweat.

And fear.

I am Thomas Bradshaw.

I am a sergeant.

I serve the King.

I serve the law.

The law is a wall.

I am a brick.

But bricks can crack.

I sat on the cot.

I looked at my hands.

They were trembling.

I had a knife.

It was short.

It was black.

I had hidden it.

Under the floorboard.

They searched for it.

They did not find it.

I knew why.

The inspector came.

His name is Halloway.

He is tall.

He is thin.

He wears gray.

He walked in.

He stopped.

He looked at me.

His eyes were hard.

Like stone.

Like iron.

"You are awake," he said.

His voice was flat.

"Good," I said.

I stood up.

I was tall.

I was strong.

I had fought in the wars.

I had bled for the flag.

Now I bled for the truth.

"Sit down," Halloway said.

I did not sit.

I looked at him.

I saw his fear.

It was small.

It was hidden.

But it was there.

"You are a traitor," he said.

I smiled.

It was not a kind smile.

"I am a soldier," I said.

"Soldiers obey," he said.

"Soldiers survive," I said.

He signaled to the guards.

They opened the door.

They pushed me out.

We walked down the hall.

The hall was long.

The floor was stone.

The walls were high.

The light was dim.

We walked to the office.

The office was warm.

There was a fire.

There was a desk.

There were papers.

Halloway sat down.

I stood by the door.

The guards watched me.

Their hands were on their guns.

I looked at the fire.

The flames danced.

They looked like the fox.

They looked like life.

"Tell me," Halloway said.

"Tell me what."

"Who told you."

"Who told me what."

"About the sickness."

I knew what he meant.

The sickness in the mill.

The black spots on the skin.

The cough that bled.

The children who died.

The men who died.

The women who died.

They said it was punishment.

They said it was sin.

They said it was divine.

I said it was poison.

I said it was the water.

I said it was the soot.

I said it was the greed.

They did not like my words.

They liked the silence.

They liked the lie.

The lie is safe.

The truth is sharp.

I cut the lie.

I cut the air.

I cut the peace.

Now they cut me.

"You are mad," Halloway said.

"I am clear," I said.

"Clarity is dangerous."

"Truth is dangerous."

"Truth is death."

I looked at him.

I saw the fear again.

He was afraid.

He was not afraid of me.

He was afraid of the fox.

He was afraid of the run.

He was afraid of the snow.

He was afraid of the end.

"We will try you," he said.

"For treason."

I nodded.

It was the end.

Or the beginning.

I did not know.

The guards took me.

They put me in the yard.

The yard was small.

The sky was gray.

The snow fell.

It fell softly.

It fell gently.

It covered everything.

It covered the dirt.

It covered the blood.

It covered the past.

I sat on the ground.

I pulled out the knife.

I held it in my hand.

The metal was cold.

The blade was sharp.

I looked at it.

I thought of my brother.

His name was Edward.

He was a doctor.

He was kind.

He was good.

He looked at the sick.

He saw the poison.

He spoke.

He was silenced.

They said he was mad.

They said he was weak.

He died in a cell.

Like me.

I held the knife.

I thought of the fox.

The fox ran.

The fox did not stop.

The fox did not look back.

The fox was free.

I was not free.

I was bound.

I was tied.

I was chained.

But I was not alone.

I was with Edward.

I was with the dead.

I was with the truth.

The sun rose.

It was pale.

It was weak.

It fought the clouds.

It failed.

The day was gray.

The day was cold.

The guards came.

They brought a rope.

They brought a chair.

They brought the end.

I stood up.

I walked to the center.

I looked at the sky.

I saw the fox.

It was there.

It was in the clouds.

It was in the light.

It was in the air.

It was in me.

I closed my eyes.

I felt the wind.

I felt the cold.

I felt the love.

It was strong.

It was warm.

It was primal.

It was instinct.

It was blood.

It was bone.

It was soul.

I opened my eyes.

I walked to the chair.

I sat down.

I looked at Halloway.

He was standing.

He was watching.

He was afraid.

I smiled.

It was a small smile.

It was a gentle smile.

It was a kind smile.

"I forgive you," I said.

He looked at me.

His eyes were wet.

He did not understand.

He never would.

The guard put the rope around my neck.

It was tight.

It was rough.

It bit into my skin.

I felt the pressure.

I felt the weight.

I felt the end.

The guard pulled the lever.

The trapdoor opened.

I fell.

The air rushed past me.

The wind was loud.

The wind was strong.

The wind was free.

I felt the rope.

It pulled.

It held.

It stopped.

I hung.

I hung in the air.

I hung in the snow.

I hung in the light.

I looked down.

The snow was white.

The snow was pure.

The snow was clean.

I looked up.

The sky was blue.

The sky was vast.

The sky was open.

I saw the fox.

It was running.

It was running fast.

It was running far.

It was running away.

It was running free.

I was with it.

I was with the snow.

I was with the wind.

I was with the truth.

The pain was there.

It was sharp.

It was hot.

It was real.

But it was small.

It was small compared to the love.

It was small compared to the freedom.

It was small compared to the peace.

I closed my eyes.

I let go.

I let go of the rope.

I let go of the pain.

I let go of the fear.

I let go of the world.

I became the fox.

I ran.

I ran through the snow.

The snow was deep.

The snow was white.

The snow was silent.

I ran.

I ran.

I ran.

The end was not death.

The end was life.

The end was freedom.

The end was love.

I am free.

I am free.

I am free.

The fox is me.

I am the fox.

We run.

We run together.

We run forever.

The snow falls.

The snow covers us.

The snow saves us.

The snow is the blade.

The snow is the sword.

The snow is the key.

It cuts the chain.

It cuts the lie.

It cuts the fear.

It opens the door.

It opens the sky.

It opens the soul.

I am Thomas Bradshaw.

I am a soldier.

I am a man.

I am a ghost.

I am a fox.

I am free.

The sun rises.

The sun shines.

The sun warms.

The sun heals.

The sun saves.

The light is gold.

The light is kind.

The light is true.

I see it.

I feel it.

I am it.

I am the light.

I am the fire.

I am the fox.

I am the snow.

I am the wind.

I am the free.

The end is the beginning.

The death is the life.

The sacrifice is the redemption.

The pain is the peace.

The fear is the courage.

The lie is the truth.

The wall is the door.

The chain is the key.

The end is the start.

The fox runs.

The fox is free.

The fox is me.

I run.

I am free.

I am home.