she was young when the first of the flocks came. when the storms hit. she was only a teenager.

her family tried to flee. they piled themselves into a camper and they drove off, hoping to find a place where the flocks could not find them. where birds could not go.

they didn't know yet how strong a flock could be. a big flock, one composed of thousands of birds, it could tip over a large camper. it could take them no matter where they went.

she had been near the door. when her mother had twisted the wheel, had tried, uselessly, to swerve away from the inevitable, she had been flung against the door and the door had burst open.

she fell outside, hitting the hard pavement and rolling. she was lucky she hadn't broken any bones.

she was also lucky that the flock ignored her in favor of the rest of her family.

sometimes, when she's walking along a long road, she will think of that day. she will consider different scenarios in her mind, different ways she could have saved them. none of them would have worked, but still she considers them.