1. They had no proof.

He knew that they knew he had done it but

they didn't have any proof. It was a huge distinction and it was the
difference between him keeping his freedom or being locked away
for decades. They continued to question him, probing him for
information that they could use against him or find the proof they
needed to put him away. He smiled and continued to block their
every inquiry by feigning his innocence for a crime they all knew
he committed.

2. The bridge spanning a 100-foot gully stood in front of him as the

last obstacle blocking him from reaching his destination. While
people may have called it a "bridge", the reality was it was nothing
more than splintered wooden planks held together by rotting ropes.
It was questionable whether it would hold the weight of a child, let
alone the weight of a grown man. The problem was there was no
other way across the gully, and this played into his calculations of
whether or not it was worth the risk of trying to cross it.

3. Waiting and watching. It was all she had done for the past weeks.
When you’re locked in a room with nothing but food and drink,
that’s about all you can do anyway. She watched as birds flew past
the window bolted shut. She couldn’t reach it if she wanted too,
with that hole in the floor. She thought she could escape through it
but three stories is a bit far down.

4. He stared out the window at the snowy field. He'd been stuck in
the house for close to a month and his only view of the outside
world was through the window. There wasn't much to see. It was
mostly just the field with an occasional bird or small animal who
ventured into the field. As he continued to stare out the window, he
 wondered how much longer he'd be shackled to the steel bar inside
the house.

5. She looked at her little girl who was about to become a teen. She
tried to think back to when the girl had been younger but failed to
pinpoint the exact moment when she had become a little too big to
pick up and carry. It hit her all at once. She was no longer a little
girl and she stood there speechless with fear, sadness, and pride all
running through her at the same time.