My heart felt so heavy that I couldn’t even tell where to start or how to carry the weight. Everything around me felt like it was collapsing, like the walls of the storeroom were pressing me down. Banished. Into the woods. Alone. No family, no shelter.

How can I survive out there? The woods are not just trees and grass. It’s wild. It’s the unknown. Summer was almost here, which means the nights will still bite cold, and the heat of the day will dry every tear on my face. I kept asking ...