How odd. What were all these girls doing here? Didn't they know it 
was dangerous? The logical side of me wondered if they were a group of girls 
from another camp nearby. But the illogical side of me noticed their 
appearances. Their loose, flowing dresses, their eyes that sparkled brighter 
than normal, their pale, perfect skin, the leaves and flower petals in their 
hair, and not to mention that two of the girls climbed into the tree like 
experts. They could've all only been 12 or 13 years old. 
	I watched for some time. Partly because I coudln't decide whether to 
ask if they were lost and needed help, or to ask them for assistance for my 
throbbing arm. I also watched out of sheer curiosity. Although the girls were 
young, each one of them was beautiful. Their long eyelashes, the graceful way 
they danced around the tree, their bubbly laughter. 
	I watched one of them in particular. She was scaling the tree with 
ease. She had long brown hair with two small braids that met in the middle 
and trailed down the back of her head. Her  dress looked like silk. It was 
patterned with brown and green leaves and twigs. The colors of earth. She 
wore a brown ribbon around her waist that made her dress fit better. She had 
no shoes on, but she didn't seem to care. I saw the determination on her 
pretty face as she climbed upward. She grabbed onto a branch to hoist herself 
up higher, but the branch snapped off in her hand.
	As if in slow motion, I watched her eyes widen as she wobbled 
uncertainly on her perch. Almost without thinking, I sprang from my hiding 
place and ran to her as she fell from the tree. Forgetting my wounded arm, I 
reached out and caught her before she hit the ground. The singing and dancing 
stopped. All the girls stopped and stared at me. It was as if the whole 
forest was holding its breath. Even the girl in my arms stared at me in 
bewilderment. I could now see that her eyes were a delicate blue. Then she 
spoke.
	"Th-thank you!" she said breathily. All the girls seemed to unfreeze. 
They looked at me gratefully as I set the girl in my arms back on her feet. 
They chattered quietly one with another. A girl with black hair and a 
red-and-orange dress walked toward us. She looked older than the rest, 
probably about my age. She took the girl I had saved into her arms and looked 
at me gently.