Chapter 1, page 12

The next morning, Phoebe threw her journal into the daypack, along with some water, trail mix, an apple, and lastly the camera. She swallowed the last sip of coffee, put her cup in the sink, closed her eyes to the pile of dirty dishes, and walked through the door. “Another gorgeous morning!” she exclaimed to herself, as she went down the steps. Standing still for a moment, eyes closed, she took a deep breath of the foresty air. She knew that soon she would need to start inviting people up to visit, and make friends in the small town nearby, but for now she cherished her seclusion. She grinned widely as she walked around the tiny old cabin, heading for the trail she discovered yesterday.

The trail started off easily enough, then began to gain elevation. Phoebe was huffing and puffing, and beginning to sweat. Refusing to stop until she’d gained the top of the hill, she struggled on upwards. At last she was rewarded with a panoramic view of the valley below. She sipped on her water and caught her breath for several minutes, then couldn’t resist the opportunity to take some pictures. She took the camera out of the pack, and nearly dropped it, startled by the whir of wings as a butterfly dove nearly under her nose. A blur of yellow and blue was all she saw, as she straightened up, startled. It looked like the same one she’d seen a few days earlier.

“I really do need to get that insect book from the library!” she exclaimed, setting the camera back down so she could pick it up in a more secure grip. She started taking photographs, and quickly forgot about the incident, as the natural beauty of her surroundings took hold of her imagination. She moved on, now winding down the other side of the mountain, and continued hiking for several hours.