the year is early nineteen-seventeen. it is near the end of winter in parkersburg, west virginia. the snow has blanketed the landscape in white. the wind howled something fierce the day before, which had caused jericho to put more wood on the fire in the fireplace in the living room. there were snow drifts everywhere. the wind had scattered the snow into piles. trees were covered with snow to the point that most of the thin trees bent from the weight of it.this morning though, the kitchen was quite warm due to the stove and the heat that came from it. when jericho and sarah had finished their breakfast, they both rose from the table. sarah took the plates and silverware to the sink to wash as jericho headed for the living room. sarah stared out the kitchen window at the bright blue sky."looks to be a real nice day today, jerry," sarah said. "the sky is blue. very few clouds, and there's no snow or wind to speak of."