Song: “Signals (feat. Ashley Barrett)” by Darren Korb and Ashley Barrett

The distant red smoke flowed into the sky like blood from a vein, forewarning a life cut short, a daughter abandoned—my life, my daughter. The minute it appeared, I envisioned Philomena’s face, sallow from starvation as she withered under the floorboards without me to bring her scraps.

When my clan scrambled to raise the obligatory reply, a bright purple smoke more vibrant than any thistle, I realized we couldn’t stay. My clan and the others would send forces to help our imperiled ally, and I would certainly be on the front line.

Under the cover of chaos, I slipped away as my compatriots prepared for war.

I found Philomena in the basement, where I’d hidden her all her life. The Elders killed the children of unmarried mothers at birth, and Philomena’s father, the baker’s husband, hadn’t been in the position to marry me.

My attempts to get a loaf of bread had brought me a second mouth to feed. I’d then become a warrior to earn the extra rations, and now that position endangered us both.

Life seemed to be one irony after another.

I knew Philomena and I could never get far in the daylight, but the sun would set soon. We’d slip away when darkness descended, we’d let the forest envelop us, and we’d never look back.

The war would generate many widows. If we waited a few days in the forest, I could present myself as one of them, and a neighboring clan would never know any different.

Philomena had gotten too big to carry for long distances, and as the sun sunk behind the trees, I realized she would have to walk on her own. I wished, then, that I’d stolen a pair of shoes from the neighbor’s son when I’d had the chance.

When moonlight and distant torches became the only source of light outside, I whispered a few words of encouragement to Philomena and took her hand.

I didn’t see the Elder returning to the village from the woodland path behind my hut; I didn’t realize Philomena’s first trip outdoors would be her last.

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