Chinook Coulee bittersweet

Pan hadn’t recognized this place at first. It’d been months since she had last seen it. It held bittersweet memories for her - the place she’d stayed post separation from her parents. Where she'd only just managed to survive, and where Luca had found her.

The almost yearling had not realized how great a difference seasonal change had on the way places looked before and after winter. Now the almost yearling was in awe of spring. The way it brought new life after the coldness of winter. Greenery and life was returning, so were all of the pretty flowers and birds.

It was pretty, but worked against her too. Ice was thawing, snow melting, and the river here was larger and faster than the child remembered it being. While she had grown and matured much in the last months, both physically and mentally, Pan knew she was no match for the might of the water right now.

Swimming across now was a no-go. She’d need to find somewhere else to cross. She turned, beginning to follow the river downstream, pausing at times for a drink, or to admire the beauty of something.

She could now finally see the mountains, the place where she’d been born, and where she’d last seen her family. By now she expected she’d never see them again. Maybe mom and dad and Sonnet had moved on, and maybe they'd had other kids to replace her. The thought hurt her heart, but Pan wouldn’t blame them.

It was her fault anyway, for running away.

.