Deserted

It's a short walk across the frozen sea to a tiny island.

 The whole island was quiet. There seemed to be no one else.

And at that moment there probably wasn't. 

The footprints revealed that a couple of people had been there earlier today with a dog, 

but now it was just me...

... and the empty, abandoned houses.

You couldn't see the buildings behind the snowy trees until you were right in front of them.

Come on in, the door is open, some of the houses said.

Windows were broken or totally missing.

Wind had blown snow inside.

Some of the houses were tilted. All of them could use a bit of TLC.

It seems that life has stopped here without warning.

As it was getting darker, it started to feel a bit eerie...

At sundown I headed back to the ice. Not hurriedly, though.

There had to be time to stop and listen to the creaking trees.