Short Story
Cold Comfort: Part II
We never know what we will find in the empty unknown
Part I can be found here
“Now it’s my turn to ask,” Alastair levels her with a piercing look after they devour their hot meal in near silence, “aren’t you the least bit concerned about being out here on your own. I mean clearly,” he gestures around the hut, “you know how to look after yourself in the wilderness far better than this silly duffer, but aren’t you worried about, well, unsavoury fellows who might take advantage of an attractive young woman with no one about?”
“While I appreciate the misguided compliment, I’ll answer your question with two of my own: Should I be? And, are you? If your answer to both isn’t the same, it reveals the disgusting truth of the continued patriarchal paradigm in which men still consider they have dominion over women.”
“Oh-ho, an excellent point, my sharp-witted friend! I daresay you’ve gone right to the heart of it and rather missed my point.”
“I mean, I am fully cognisant of the reality that yes, I am at higher risk of attack than my male counterparts, but the supposition that I am a target simply because of my sex pisses me off, even if it is the truth.” A tense air hovers between them before she asks, “how old do you think I am? This…
