Story Branch
Once
bitten,
twice
shy.
That's
what
my
mother
always
used
to
say
anyway.
She
had
a
way
of
turning
life's
hard
lessons
into
bite-sized
wisdom,
neatly
packaged
for
my
young
mind.
It
was
a
rainy
afternoon
when
I
first
truly
understood
what
she
meant.
[p]
I
was
standing
in
the
dimly
lit
living
room,
the
soft
patter
of
rain
against
the
windows
filling
the
silence.
The
room
was
filled
with
the
faint
scent
of
lavender,
my
mother's
favorite.