Chapter 13

The thunder still rumbled though the rain had passed. My muzzle drooped low as I moved to my badger den. It was time for renovation but I didn’t feel like it so I just curled inside the cramped space.

I didn’t even want to think. Instead, I watched the raindrops slowly drip off leaves and bare branches. They hit the ground with a plop. Croaking frogs called to each other as the clouds turned into a night sky.

As I stared up at the stars, I felt far away as if on another continent. I had seen the same stars before from outside my window but they weren’t so familiar where I now laid. I was so emotionally and physically tired, it was easy to fall asleep to the crickets chirping.

It was noon when I woke up. A squirrel had its face close to mine, its nose twitching violently. I could hear its rapid heartbeat and every flick of its tail. I stayed completely still. I couldn’t buy food for the next three weeks. I also hadn’t eaten in twenty-three hours. This was a chance I couldn’t pass up.

My