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Standing at the edge of the tree line was a figure that seemed to manifest out of the mist. An elderly woman, frail and dressed in a nightgown that fluttered like a tattered flag in the cooling breeze, stood perfectly still. She looked dangerously out of place, a silver-haired specter in a world of darkness. My heart hammered against my ribs as I pulled my car to a slow stop, the gravel crunching beneath the tires with a sound that felt violently loud in the stillness. I didn’t know if I was witnessing a medical emergency or something more tragic, but I couldn’t drive away.
