Phantom Hollow bodak yellow

Towhee kept telling herself to call it quits and go home. It felt like she’d searched every inch of the mountains. She’d widened her net now, though how far was she planning to go? She was distraught but she needed to think of the kids. She’d made a point to head home each day to tend to them, though Towhee knew they needed her more than that. They needed her more than ever.

She roamed into the hollow, remembering the “field trip” she had taken following Leo’s death. Maybe Maxim had returned to the forest where they’d stayed? Towhee could think of no reason why he would be there, yet she decided she had to check. Towhee also made another decision: it would be her last stop.

She saw a flash of movement through the trees ahead and she couldn’t help but choke out a hopeful, Maxim?