[brawndo_mom]

Wow! Not sure where to start. Your writing is not the typical character/plot that's laid out like a neat little map for the reader, but rather that we pay attention. You have to get involved, to put yourself in the place of the character in order to try to understand what she is going through/feeling, sensing, thinking... At some points it's easy to become the characters rather than distancing yourself from them. It's immersive, if you will. The story itself is a delicious break from the more tried and trite plot lines: we have a character who is in the process of developing, we're seeing an adventure through her eyes - and often with her understanding or lack of understanding of what is happening to her and around her. If I have a criticism it's only that I would like the last few paragraphs to be a little longer as there was a LOT happening, and I'm not sure I full understood it. Lovely writing, really enveloping characters and a unique story. You scored a hat trick.