King Elk Forest You say it will reach out and seize the sorrow.

"Oh," Towhee repeated her earlier bland answer. "No, I don't." Maybe she was being too blunt but she didn't have the capacity to care overly much at this point. Suddenly, she was itching to get out of here. She wanted to go home and fall into her brother's arms. He wasn't there, though, and that thought made both her heart and stomach sink. He'll be back soon.

She was staring into space when Miriam spoke again. Towhee turned sharply, catching only, "—Firebirds?" "Yeah, I'm from there. And I should be headed back," she said, slowly picking herself up from her sit beside the tree and making it clear she was getting ready to go.