The forest protected them from the wind, but it was unseasonably cold, chilling them to the bone. They still had on the clothes they had been wearing since the meeting at the train station – jeans, pullovers and thin jackets – which had been sufficient for daytime in the city but were proving to be grossly insufficient for night-time in the forest. ‘Now,’ Alyssa said with chattering teeth, ‘we make a fire.’ She set about telling Jack what type of leaves, twigs and branches to look for, and then they set off to gather what they needed. As Alyssa searched in the undergrowth which bordered the clearing they had found, she suppressed a smile, despite their situation. Jack was such a city boy, she didn’t think he’d ever had a night outdoors before. Luckily for him, she’d had plenty. Yet another thing that she and Patrick had liked to do together; nights out camping went hand in hand with the adventure sports they had always enjoyed. Alyssa could at last think of Patrick without guilt; she was with Jack now.
