There was nothing.

Not a sound or even a waggling leaf in a slight breeze. Barely two weeks ago, I’d spoken to her, right here in this spot. And now?

Even the acorns refused to speak. Ordinarily they were the loudest of all the forest, but I could never tell if it were the acorn itself murmuring or the tiny grub inside. The silence was disturbing.

Unsettling, like the eerie calm before a storm. How soon before this one came to collect? In what form would payment be demanded this time? It wouldn’t matter where I hid.

Compensation was inevitable.