The dark passenger

01

One windy night on October 11th the farmer went out to gaze upon his chickens and other various animals. He felt a cool breeze shoot past the remaining hair, still left on his head from balding. The cold air sent shivers down his back causing him to tremble.

He slowly begins walking back towards his shed to gather his tools. He opened the door and was met with the warm air that was radiating off the fire. The fire was beginning to die down, so he walked to the back of the shed to collect more kindling. He soon saw that he had forgotten to cut more wood so he would be forced to use another source of flame. He shuffled back into the shed and looked for something flammable. He came across only what he couldn't burn, a deep sigh left his lips and he watched as the string of breath spin in the cold air before disappearing. The fire was now just cinder and the cold breeze flooded the room. The farmer looked once more around he room to find something, anything that could keep him warm from the bitter wind.

The shed vibrated as the wind grew into a storm. It began to rain and the wind picked up. After almost 5 min of searching without luck he heard a rustle outside of his shed. Not knowing if it was the wind or maybe something helpful, he walked quietly towards the door and walked outside.

The wind was cold against his skin and each drop of rain felt as if someone had pressed a needle into his almost numb feeling flesh. He heard the rustling again and walk towards where the sound was coming from. He began to peer behind a pile of leaves and rocks to be greeted by a small fury animal. A kitten. He picked up the kitten sheltering it from the storm and walked back to his shed where he struggled to close he door due to the wind.  

Seeing as having a pet would make his more difficult he decided he could not keep it. He stroked his almost hairless head and breathed in deeply.

He needed a fire. It was that cats life or his, so with the remaining energy he had he struck a match and placed the now flaming cat into his fireplace.

He closed the fireplace door to silence the cats screams and shuffled over to his bed.

Since he could not afford a proper bed he just had a pile of hay and a few blankets. With one last sigh he closed his eyes and drifted off.