“He ran into the woods
and he was never seen again.”
Original Photographs by Christopher Velez for Paradigm Magazine
Essay by Adria Leeper-Sullivan
“PULL IT BACK; I’M NOT AFRAID!” she said.
Five years old with the attitude of a tiger
gnawing on a zookeeper’s neck,
playfully that is.
She had her tongue out,
being sassy with some neighbor boy.
He had a sling shot aimed right for her big toe,
and despite all of her courage
she had a slight wince of uncertainty
starting with the wrinkled skin around her eyes.
Then with a practiced nonchalance
she pointedly yelled, “BOO!”
He ran into the woods
and he was never seen again.
Legend has it that at the age of fifty-seven
a mysterious old man pulled her into the woods
and cut off that menacing big toe.
