Out of nowhere I feel this very sudden sense of foreboding that hangs over me like a net, waiting to fall. I shove the chair backwards so that it falls to the floor with a loud crack, and run from the house.

....

“It isn’t looking to good for us kiddo,” Hannah’s father told her as a tear slid along the edge of his eye and escaped from the corner, “All the medical bills are catching up with us. We don’t have much money left, I mean, there’s only so long we can hold out and wait for you. Time’s running out, honey. If you can face the wreckage and rebuild, please, come back.”

....

My feet carry me forward as fast as I can go, shoving against the pine needle-covered ground until I am out of the forest and it feels safe enough to look back. I stop and turn around. With an idea forming, I trace my path back to the forest and stare down the three paths. A sign has appeared next to the one I just raced from. It shows a picture of a house.

I know now what I have to do. It’s time to choose another path.