Everleigh

  The fox's sister was strong,

  and she was smart,

  and she was angry.

  Hours upon hours, alone by the pond.

  I wanted to know her mind, but she was sealed tight,

  tighter than the fox.

  The wonder of it all.

  Hours upon hours, until—

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  “Hi, Rhian,” Lidia said.

  “Hello.”

  Curt and quick,

  a kin.

  “I have a gift for you,” Lidia said. “It’s your birthday soon, isn’t it?”

  “Right,” the Angry One answered. “You really shouldn’t have.”

  “Ivan is going to die, but he doesn’t have to.”

  The Dumb One gave the Smart One a map.

  It was an ugly map;

  a trick, and a terrible gift.

  A moral dilemma:

  slay the final mustachioed pervert and save the villagers,

  or,

  save the boy.

  The villagers were doomed.

  The boy was doomed.

  The Angry One crumpled her gift and threw it in the pond.

  "Not playing," she said.

  The sister was strong,

  and she was smart,

  and she was… right.