Rain

My feet sink into the thick brown mud, a mixture of dead

leaves and dirt. Rain plasters my golden hair and pale blue

dress to my back. The beating of rain echoes in my ears,

slightly muffled by the immense canopy of trees.

I search, shivering from the cold, but find no way out. I trip

over a tangled mess of twisted, knobbly roots; they are snakes.

My body, aching, sits in a pool of mud; knees tucked

into chest, head resting in hands. I hear

the pounding of my heart slow. My defeat

swirls in my mind. 'Come,'

something whispers in my

ear, voice husky, breath warm.

My hands release my head and

I look up. 'I am here,' I hear the voice again

and find an old gum beside me.

'You are safe' he promises.

The rain slows to a drizzle,

quiet and tamed. It

g r a d u a l l y

ceases.