The shelter

We traipsed through the woods. It had started to drizzle, and the air was misty and cold. I could see my breath leave my mouth in big puffs as I navigated through the thick underbrush. The blackberry briers grabbed my arms and legs and pulled hard like little sharp claws desperate to hold me back. They left tiny micro-cuts in the fabric of my damp pants and sweatshirt as I struggled free from them. Some of the briers found their way into my skin, and they hurt me in the superficial way a paper cut might.

The forest floor had warmed from the sun, and now the evening air was cool and moist from the drizzling. This created the thickest, coldest fog, and it hung low to the ground, creating a thick coating that hid much of the terrain. I thought back to the haze coming from the river and worried I might find Ophelia before I intended to. I was unprepared for this adventure. Methuselah had given me directions to the council meeting place. He called it the “Lion’s Den” and said it was concealed in the continuity of caves along the Sulaiman mountains. My ability to understand time or distance was still developing, and I didn't know how far I had to go even though he said it was approximately a “day by foot”. Mom would worry, but I knew I needed to help my friend. It was getting late.

“Tasha, I’m tired,” Vanessa complained, breaking the taciturnity. I was also tired of walking, and I was cold as well.

“Just a little further, ok? We’ll find a place to rest for a while.” I saw a supple patch of moss, and we sat down and huddled together to keep warm.

Our clothing was damp, and we had no shelter, food, or idea where we were. I was becoming scared. I was lost, and I could not hear the creek anymore. Vanessa and I had walked for about an hour after talking with Methuselah, and while I had easily followed his directions for a while, I quickly became disoriented in the fog. Now we were losing light, making things even more difficult. Vanessa began to cry.

“Tasha I want to go home. I miss Momma.” Tears streamed down her round face, and for the first time, I felt truly responsible for her. What was I doing? Where was I going? I had not only gotten myself lost, but my little sister depended on me to find a way out. How?

Her pale skin showed brightly in the fading twilight, and her lips looked slightly purple. We were cold. We were lost. It was my fault I had led her down this path, and I was unsure how to lead her out. I couldn't even cry. If I did she would be even more frightened. After all, it was I that she trusted to know the way. My shoulders were heavy with the burden of my responsibility.

“I want to go home too, but we can’t just now ok?” I talked gently to her, seeing that she was still so much younger than I was. She nodded in response, and she wiped her nose. I reached over and grabbed her hand. “Let's find a place to stay out of the rain for the night.” She nodded in agreement, and we got up and started looking for shelter. She wandered in the opposite direction than I. All I could see were trees.

“Tasha!” I heard Vanessa yelling, and I hurried to find her. I walked around the towering roots of an {uprooted pine} tree to find her crouching inside a small cave-like structure. Beneath the tremendous tree, there was a large depression in the ground. This created a small and cozy kind of pocket. I stooped down to come join her in the space. The back and the sides of the pocket were coated with soft orange pine needles, and above was the fallen tree. The space was snug and relatively dry but just big enough that we both could sit with our legs crossed next to each other. While we were finally out of the weather, we were still very cold and hungry.

“Good job Vanessa.” I gave her a big hug, and she smiled at my approval. I really did love her so much, and I could see her shivering. “Stay here a minute. I have an idea.”

The light was nearly gone, and I was careful to stay close to the spot Vanessa had found because I did not want to get lost in the dark. I found some bigger branches with orange pine needles still attached to them, and I gathered them into a pile. I carried several loads of branches to the opening of our space. When I was finished, I backed myself into the space with Vanessa and pulled all the branches in front of the opening. I was very pleased with our shelter, and I was especially proud of the door I had created. I took another trip out searching for anything to nibble on. I thought I had seen little berries growing off the little green plants, and I thought maybe we could eat those. I didn't know what they were, but, I didn't think anything in the living forest could be that bad. I stooped down and fumbled around with my hands attempting to feel anything that wasn't a stick or needle. I crawled on my hands and knees and finally felt something smooth, cold, and round in my fingers. While I couldn't see them very well, I could feel them gathered together in little clusters, and I plucked them all from their green homes and stuck them in my coat pockets. I found several more clumps of berries, and I snatched them up as well. Once I had two full pockets of berries I trudged back to Vanessa, proud of my triumph. I opened our small make-shift door and closed it behind me.

“I found some berries, Ness,” I said brightly as I thrust her share out at her. I smiled from ear to ear. I was glad to offer her something that would hopefully soothe her, and I was also quite pleased to have a snack.

“I love you, Tasha,” she said warmly as she reached out and started nibbling on her food. The berries were very bitter at first, but I found as I continued eating them that the taste became pleasant. The berries were crunchy like candy, and I became warm and relaxed. We laid down in the fetal position and I held her close. I thought for a moment that I was floating and then drifted off to the most peaceful sleep.