The girl crashed through the forest shrubbery seeking aid, refuge, salvation.
Her fear tingled my leaves and thrummed through the earth into my roots. Her gods were not going to save her, but I could.
I opened my trunk to let her slip inside. I absorbed her tears and hushed her whimpers, hugging her in my motherly embrace.
Men were on her trail. I slapped the pursuers with my branches, tripped them with my roots. They would not come near her or me.
Bewildered, they tucked tail and ran without finding her. No one would ever find my sweet child.
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>
sizes="(min-width: 1200px) 550px, (min-width: 750px) calc((100vw - 130px) / 2), calc((100vw - 50px) / 2)"
alt="Gator by Randall Andrews"
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sizes="(min-width: 1200px) 550px, (min-width: 750px) calc((100vw - 130px) / 2), calc((100vw - 50px) / 2)"
alt="Rude Awakening by Richard Lau"
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sizes="(min-width: 1200px) 550px, (min-width: 750px) calc((100vw - 130px) / 2), calc((100vw - 50px) / 2)"
alt="136694 by S.F.J. Painter"
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>