Ilara couldn’t remember ever feeling so angry. The whole thing was wrong, the ceremony, the way the tribe responded to it, everything.
And the thing was, the ceremony was something she’d been watching her whole life. Why hadn’t she realized any of this before?
She kept running, trying to burn off the fierce rage she felt inside. Before she knew it she was far from the village.
She stopped in an open clearing, breathing hard, trying to catch her breath. Gradually she calmed down enough to start thinking about what had just happened. What was she going to do now?
Suddenly there was a voice behind her. “Hello again,” it said.