It was in this frozen little world that Ethan Frome found himself stuck, like a fly in amber. Poor guy was barely in his twenties, but life had already dealt him a rough hand. You know how some people say they're trapped by their circumstances?His family's farm, once the pride of Starkfield, had seen better days. It was like watching a once-mighty oak slowly wither away.Every day was the same old routine for Ethan. He'd wake up at the crack of dawn, trudge through the snow to take care of his sick mother, then spend the rest of the day trying to keep the farm from falling apart. It was like trying to plug a dozen leaks with only two hands. The guy was running himself ragged, and for what?Remember when we were kids and we had all these big dreams? Ethan was no different. He'd had his heart set on becoming an engineer, but those plans got shelved faster than you can say "family obligation." Instead of designing bridges or buildings, he was stuck playing nurse, farmer, and breadwinner all at once.That farm, man. It used to be something to be proud of, but now? It was more like a cage. The fences that were meant to keep the livestock in were doing a better job of keeping Ethan trapped.Then one day, out of the blue, this woman shows up. Zenobia Pierce, Ethan's distant cousin. She blew into town with a reputation for getting things done, like a brisk wind that clears away the cobwebs. She was there to help with Ethan's mom, and let me tell you, the relief on Ethan's face when she arrived?At first, having Zenobia around was great. She was like this rock in the middle of a storm, something solid Ethan could lean on when things got tough. And boy, did they get tough.Then, just like that, Ethan's mom was gone. One minute she was there, the next. nothing. The silence in the house after she passed was deafening. You could almost hear the dust settling.In the midst of all this grief and confusion, there was Zenobia. She took charge of the funeral arrangements, kept things running smoothly when Ethan could barely function.He proposed. Just like that, out of nowhere. It wasn't some grand, romantic gesture. It was more like. grabbing onto a life preserver in the middle of a storm. He wasn't in love with Zenobia, not really.Zenobia, being the practical woman she was, saw the proposal for what it was - a chance at a stable life. She accepted it like she was agreeing to take on another chore.The wedding was a somber affair. If you didn't know better, you'd think you were at a funeral instead of a wedding. There was no joy, no celebration. It was like watching two people resign themselves to a life sentence.As Ethan and Zenobia settled into married life, reality started to sink in. That farm that had felt like a prison to Ethan? Now it was a shared cell. The silence between them wasn't the comfortable quiet of two people who understand each other.Ethan found himself at the beginning of a new chapter in his life, but instead of feeling excited, he felt. dread.You know how they say life can change in the blink of an eye? Ethan's story is proof of that.As winter settled in around the Frome farm, bringing with it long, dark nights and bitter cold, Ethan couldn't shake the feeling that this was just the beginning of his troubles. Little did he know, the real challenges were yet to come.