The ground was so hard they could not dig a grave.

“We could wait until spring,” said Jack, his toes frozen.

“Or take her someplace warmer,” said Julia, her breath frosted.

Father smiled. “Or we could build a fire.”

The children looked at each other. “Father knows best,” said Julia.

Paul Negri has twice won the gold medal for fiction in the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Writing Competition. His work has appeared in Vestal Review, The Penn Review, PIf Magazine, Penny Shorts, and many other publications. He lives and writes in Clifton, New Jersey.