Driven by a force I have never seen they locked antlers. The fight lasted for hours. The looser is left bleeding. I see his breath in wisps of white against the chilled air. I cower in silence. He has seen me. I have no time to think. He is upon me. I call for mother but I know she will not come. I feel his blows and see a blur of legs as I am thrown onto the cold earth. Then I feel the ground fall away from beneath me. That does not make sense. I realize my leg is tangled in his antlers an I am hanging upside down. He jerks his great head and I fly through the air. I hear him calling into the night. I am his victory. He walks away. I am broken. Mother rushes in when she knows he is gone. She licks the blood and dirt from my fur but it is clear to us both that my leg is destroyed. Mother does not stay with me long after the rain starts to fall. She is young and can have another fawn next season. I drag myself to a sheltered area under a huge slab of stone and fall asleep. Morning brings pain. Many deer pass my hiding place but none see me. If they can smell wound on my mangled leg they ignore it. I drink from a puddle that formed over night. The pain is worse. When the sun sets my hunger is greater than the pain. I must move. I can’t use my leg correctly. It takes a long time to reach the grass. I fall and eat while lying down. It feels strange but I have no choice. I stagger back to my hiding place and fall asleep.

I don’t know how many days have passed. I have not been found by any deer but there is a rabbit grooming herself a few feet away. She joins me under my rock. I watch her. She ignores me. I wake up shivering and find that she has wedged herself between my back and the boulder behind me. I don’t mind. She is soft and warm. In the morning I watch her hop away. I am not a young fawn. I am almost fully grown. But I still wish mother would come back. I promise myself I will never leave my own fawn. Will I have my own fawn?

I am stronger today but my leg is awkward and weak. I see other deer from my hiding place. I watch them run and play. Part of me wishes I could run with them. When I try to call them my throat tightens. What if they attack? I stay silent.

The puddle I drink from is almost gone. I fear I will have to move soon. My heart pounds in my breast when I think about leaving. I will be exposed. What if he sees me? Will he try to finish what he started? I can’t think. I cant move.