11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡboxHECVAqP
The human path cut through the forest like a wound.
Possum Mama watched from the safety of the trees as the strange ground stretched below—flat, hard, and bare of scent in places. The rhythmic thudding grew louder now, shaking the earth in slow pulses. A giant creature passed by on two legs, carrying something heavy, then disappeared beyond the bend. Possum Mama stayed perfectly still until the forest breathed again.
This was the edge of her world.
She sniffed the air carefully. Among the metal and dust was something faint but unmistakable—her joey. The youngest. The weakest. The trail wove dangerously close to the open ground before slipping under a stack of old wooden boards left behind by humans.
Possum Mama’s heart raced. There was nowhere to climb here. Nowhere to hide.
She moved anyway.
Low and silent, she crossed the path in a blur and slipped beneath the boards. Darkness wrapped around her, thick with splinters and old smells. She listened—once, twice—then heard it.
A tiny whimper.
She pushed deeper, ignoring the scrape of wood against her fur. At the far end, trapped between shadow and light, lay her last joey. One leg was caught between two boards, and fear had stolen its strength. The joey tried to move but only trembled harder.
“I’m here,” Possum Mama told it without words.
She worked carefully, gnawing and pulling until the gap widened just enough. With one final tug, the joey came free and collapsed against her chest. Possum Mama curled her body around it, shielding it from the bright, dangerous world beyond.
All three were together now.
She didn’t linger. The forest behind her felt farther away than ever, but it was still home. Step by step, climb by climb, she carried her children back into the trees, away from the path, away from the noise.
By the time the sun dipped low again, Possum Mama rested in a familiar hollow high above the ground. Her pouch was full. Three heartbeats pressed close. Three lives safe for now.
The forest sang once more.
Possum Mama closed her eyes, knowing the world was still full of dangers—but also knowing this truth deep in her bones:
As long as she could move, she would always find her way back to her children.
ns216.73.216.10da2
and then Add to home screen.