They Asked Me Not to Tell

Robin Jeffrey

When I was nine, I got lost in the woods at summer camp. I took one step backwards off the dirt-packed path, turned around, and couldn’t find my way back. I wandered for hours, shouting at the top of my lungs, watching the sun drift from its perch high in the sky to sit lazily on the horizon, like a fat cat on a bay windowsill. The camp counsellors found me just as dark shadows began to nip at my heels. Sometimes I dream I’m still out there, meandering through the penumbrae of trees, my screams swallowed by moss-thickened air.

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Robin Jeffrey was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming to a psychologist and a librarian, giving her a love of literature and a consuming interest in the inner workings of people’s minds, which have served her well as she pursues a career in creative writing. She has been published in various journals across the country. She currently resides in Bremerton, Washington