It was dim and green in the forest, dappled with shifting brightness where the rays of the late afternoon sun fell through the rustling leaves of the canopy above. There was a murmuring of running water. And then, catching at the heart, the pure, hauntingly beautiful song of a robin chat. As I looked down on her, I knew a sudden sense of peace. Gilka, at last, had shed the body that had become nothing but a burden.
