Sometimes, when I have to do something I don’t want to do, I pretend I’m a character from a book. It’s easier to know what they would do. A character from a book, Tessa thought, a good, sensible one, would follow the stream. A character from a book would know that human habitations and towns are often built by water, and would seek out help, rather than blundering into the woods. Resolutely she wrapped her arms about herself and began to trudge downstream.
