But the rivers were long and cool and ran through deep ravines carved over generations, and from the ground sprung tall redwoods, and I’ll never forget the smell of the pines. The people who lived there were mostly poor. In a tiny Sierra Nevada town, where the population number barely hung above three digits. I lived a couple hours north of Sacramento when I was a kid. It's a short story, based on the prompt, 'kingdom'. Update 9/21: Making this update a little bit late, but I was really excited (and a little bit shocked) to see that this story won 2nd place! Huge thank you to everyone, for everything.