Winter walks by the seaside appear illogical. We are mammals, and by this point most of our brethren have gone to sleep. To deliberately march around in the death and the darkness is crazy.
But take the risk of venturing out, and you can explore a different world. A shuttered landscape devoid of life.
Go to the clifftops. Let the wind rush around you in the dark. Clamber across the rocks that even the dog walkers avoid. Watch the huge body of water to your right turn from pale silver to the depths of navy blue. This will change your life.
I got arrogant, and assumed I had dominion over this broken land. That with nothing else about, I was its ruler.
Perhaps there are other reasons that people stay inside. The cold and the wet are not the only dangers. For these freezing months this world is no longer ours.
The thing that whipped towards me was as cold as a bucket of frozen squid. I thought a soaking wet jumper had slapped me in the face. It only hung on for a few seconds, but in that time I glimpsed golden eyes hidden in a face of opal slime. Then it blew away over the cliff edge like a broken kite.
I had to keep moving. What other option was there? This had to go down as a strange anecdote. Beyond normal explanation. Something to forget.
The rest of the walk was quick and fuzzy. A beaky bullet hole ran through the layers of fabric of my coat, jumper and shirt. The spot of blood in the centre of my chest was no bigger than a needle mark. But something moved under there. Egg shaped blobs that squirmed and wriggled.
Now no matter how much I eat my stomach is never satisfied. My legs cannot take the strain of even three steps across the room.
Even if I wanted to, I cannot manage another winter walk.
