Not Guilty

Lesson 262:
Finish the story. Start with: IT WAS A TIME OF INNOCENCE...

and a time of freedom for the little girl. The endless summer stretched out before her farther that her young heart could imagine. Hot sunny days were spent skipping down the gravel road between her house and her grandparents big brick home. The warm evenings were filled with the giggles of many cousins playing hide and seek in the dark while black bats swooped through the dark, warm air. The little ones were safe in the knowledge that the grown-ups were close by, gathered around the stone firepit where bursts of laughter erupted and low murmering voices could be heard.

Many long summers passed in just this fashion, each one bringing small changes within it's circle, until one June morning when the little girl woke up no longer little. No longer innocent. No longer free. She was now a young woman, her own baby daughter on her hip, the weight of choices made reflected in her wistful eyes.