Mother Naturia rose, one last time, from the muck. She, too, was the color of soot. She rose twenty feet, until she could look into the van to see Gramps and Niki. 

     In Mother Naturia's eyes, Niki saw only agony and despair.

     "Why?" she asked. "I fed your planet! I gave the homeless of the world a place to live! I was mother to the entire Earth!" 

     "You handed us an apple, but the apple was poisoned," Gramps replied. 

     "You don't know that," Mother Naturia said, and her voice sounded weak and watery. 

​     She had no more strength. She dissolved back into the muck. 

                                                   CONTINUE