Yes, it can be a scary world out there and we all need to do what we can to protect children, girls and women.

When I started writing this story, it took a few different directions and one of the stories was completely different from what it is now. One version was about drunk driving, but I decided not to go with that.

I wanted this story to reflect on how girls at different ages grow up with the mix of innocence, naivete, along with their inner confused sense of sexuality that makes girls feel both powerful and vulnerable.

I think predators can sense that confusion in females and it can make them targets.

The first time (years ago when the story was based only on my playground experiences) when I read aloud the story to a writing group, one of the guys in the group mentioned that it was "sexually charged."

I disagreed, as did the others in the group. But when I re-read the story after his comment, I realized that some of the playground descriptions could be compared to certain aspects of sex.

It wasn't intentional on my part, but now knowing that, I felt that the story created a foundation for the innocence of playground play. And those similar play experiences can develop into adult play through positive, consensual sex.

No idea if any of this makes sense to you, but thank you again for taking the time to read this story. It's so appreciated.