Chapter 104: Chapter 104

　　Maia: 6 years old

　　I wake up and yawn, stretching my arms high above my head. I’m sitting in a large hollow tree trunk. I have no idea why I’m here or how I got here. I feel soft moss under my feet and crawl out from the tree. Animals and critters in the forest gather around and approach me. They gently nuzzle their noses against my legs, and when I sit down on the grass, they curl up on my lap. There are rabbits, foxes, squirrels, deer, elk, birds, and mice. They follow me around and do not leave my side. I feel safe and loved in this forest, and I want to live here forever. The forest is my home, my safe place, my everything.

　　I play a game of hide and seek with my new friend, a fox I name Ember. I introduce myself to him. ‘I’m Maia,’ I tell him. Ember nudges my head playfully with his and then runs in circles. He leaps at me and falls on my chest, and as we both roll backwards, we notice the entrance to a cave hidden by a curtain of vines.