I could smell the fresh-pine air in the twee woodland, and hear the crunch and crackle of the autumn leaves beneath my little wellies. Weak sunlight danced down from the heavens as I shuffled along the winding path, my four year old self completely alone.

I could hear the voices far ahead, occasionally bursting out into untuneful melodies and shouting at one another. I was only young but I was old enough to know that I wasn’t happy in this life I led. I had two physical parents, and yet mentally I was raising myself for all the good it did me.

It wasn’t long before I reached a mahogany-hued, leaf-littered, forked junction, with two paths to take.

From the right, came the all-too-familiar bickering noises. I was reluctant to follow, to continue with my life the way it was.

From the left I suddenly thought I heard growing whispers, a calling so much stronger than my parental bond. It was as though the trees had come alive, leaped out of their bark shells to become my new guardians, to protect me from whatever dangers the world may bring.

I didn’t think about it, at all really, although it was probably the biggest decision of my life. I followed my heart and skipped cheerfully down the left.