On and on I prodded myself, heart pounding wildly beneath supple breasts whose tender n*****s I ground roughly against the unyielding root of the great oak. I was alone, lost and alone—but, sobbing both in sorrow and in joy, I reveled in my aloneness. Despite the cruelties of fortune and the vicissitudes of a treacherous and disapproving society, I could not be denied my rightful, natural pleasures. I realized it all at once, exulting.
Heady sensations throbbed at the spasming core of my very being, spreading like waves through my shaking limbs. My fingertips tingled.
Yes, I sensed, nearly swooning in delight, there was no shame in relying upon myself. Indeed, such self-reliance—nay, self-love—was necessarily a noble virtue. Mine eyes rolled up in heavy lids, stung by tears of pride. I q
