Peiskos (noun): enjoyment of the warmth of a fireplace

His hands were trembling so hard that the match fell out of his frozen fingers twice before he could light it.

A spark. Then another.

Soon, a small wispy flame slowly flickered to life.

Dragging what seemed like a million pounds of steel across the ground, he strenuously scooted his body closer to the fire.

His numb limbs didn’t sense the feeble warmth at all, yet his heart felt mysteriously comforted.

It had been a grand adventure.

In a sense, he had found the true freedom that he’d always dreamed of.

In school, his existence was dictated by a little bell. At work, his life was in the hands of another common man. What was significant about this eternal cycle of powerlessness? He lived a meaningless life of conformity, and he finally chose to leave it behind.

And now, he laid motionlessly in the snow, succumbing to the Alaskan cold alongside his dying fire.

Coming to Alaska was his choice. Dying in Alaska was the result of his choice. However, his heart was free from regret.

He had no power over his life, but he at least chose how he died.