Over the Trees

I got home late. Not late enough to not be able to get to bed on time, but it was a huge rush to put away my carriage as well as my horse.

I got inside and took my hat off, hung it. I took my shirt off first, then pants. I folded them and put them into the basket to be washed tomorrow. I was tired. It was a long day, but there isn't much to be done tomorrow, so maybe I'll go hunting to pass the time.

I got in bed and slowly drifted to sleep. I slept for some time, a lot longer than I expected, because when I opened my eyes, I could see the sun.

"I woke up late?" I drowsily asked myself.

I pulled the covers off of me in a panic and looked out the window, but something was off. My eyes couldn't adjust to what was outside quick enough, because with a blink of an eye, it was night again.

I was very confused, and tired. "This must be a dream." I told myself, as I get back in bed to fall asleep again, and eventually I did, but it was hard to do so. It's not easy waking up in the middle of the night, just to go back to bed.

But then I had an actual dream. This one was scary. I was outside, and everything I had gained up until now had burned down. Fires arose everywhere. My whole world set on fire. I looked up to see a light emerge from the orange clouds.

I couldn't make out it's shape, to me it just looked like a glowing sphere. It swooped down from the sky and stopped right in front of me.

With a booming voice, it said "Il diavolo sta aspettando. Non tenerlo a lungo amico mio." As soon as it was done, it faded away, turning to ash, and it was swept away by the wind.

I once again woke up. I had a familiar light shining on my face. It came from the window. I looked outside to actually see the sun, and a blue sky with clouds. I half expected this to be a dream yet again, but I concluded this all was real.

I was relieved, but then I remembered my schedule! The sun rose above the trees! The dream was weird, but this personally affects me! I can't let this happen again.

My schedule played out as normal, except for the fact I was up late. I got dressed, made my bed, and then cleaned my teeth. I washed my clothes, and then got to work. I grabbed my bow and arrow, as well as my net and bag, cause today is hunting day. I go hunting once every week. Today is Sunday, the beginning of the week, but it's considered a weekend so I have nothing else going on except for that. Plus it's winter, I'll definitely not be planting anything for winter this year again. Not after last year.

I walked past my gates, venturing into the wilderness. The forest around my house is plentiful, at least in the places that aren't used for crops. Many animals roam this place, like I said, but aside from bears, wolves, and foxes, there are deer, elk, even wild cats, which don't tend to taste very good, but they're rare, and they don't really bother my livestock.

There are systems of rivers, they all come from mountains in the east, and a couple from the west. Animals gather around a couple rivers to drink. That's where I go. Even if there's no animals around there at that specific time, I can always fish. That's why I also brought a net.

Winter really isn't the best time to go hunting, because all the animals suddenly can't be found anywhere, unless you're lucky. It's just turning into winter though, so I should still be able to find animals.

I usually stay out hunting the longest during the transition into winter. I have to stock up on food after all. I also take a path into the forest. When I was young, my father would take me out to this path and tell me to never go out here alone. He said this path was 'haunted.' I never actually believed him, I'd only nod to let him know I'd obey him. But now I travel on this path all the time.

It's not haunted at all actually, but now I know why he told me to never go on this path. A couple years back, during a hot summer, I was walking down it, and I saw something. It was brown and fluffy. It was a bear. Turns out that bears follow this path as well.

Speaking of bears, they are the most dangerous during the transition. They are looking for food to stock up on for hibernation, kind of like I'm doing now.

I'm walking through the forest, trying to be quiet, but that's not easy. It's loud, birds chirping, leaves blowing in the wind, and the sound of my own footsteps. The breeze felt nice. I'm used to the hot sun, but I've always been more of a winter guy, even though they are hard to get through.

When I find an animal, I aim for one of two places. The head, or the heart. Both are hard to hit accurately, but there's a high reward for hitting them there. They die almost instantly. When they die, I pick them up and place them on my shoulder and take them back home, where I'll then gut them. If I don't do that, I'm probably leaving the carcass there to attract bigger prey. Wolves, bears, if it's a predator, it'll come searching for it.

Sometimes I'll shoot some birds with my bow. They make for a good side dish for my soup. They are also easy targets. They don't attack, and most don't suspect you as a potential danger until it's too late.

I know there used to be wild chickens around here, but they all died. The wolves and foxes got them all. There are wild horses out here though, but not in the forest. They tend to naturally flock to grassy plains, while the rest usually make their home in the forest. It's easier to hunt and hide in the forest, but horses don't need to do either of those things. They just run away from threats, or give them a lethal kick in the face.

I eventually saw something. It was a deer. I think it could tell something was around, because it stood still, staring, but I don't think it could see me. But when it moved again it put its head down. I think it was grazing on grass, but I can't see it because it lowered its head behind a bush.

I only had one option now. I grabbed an arrow from my quiver and placed it on my bow. I raised my index finger to stabilize the arrow and put it on the string. With two fingers, I gripped the arrow and pulled it back as far as I could and aimed. "A little lower." I thought to myself, as I positioned my bow perfectly. I could feel the tip of the arrow, and I could feel the wood on the arrow graze my finger as I let go of it, and it flew forward and towards the deer. It let out a piercing screech as the arrow connected to it. It jumped and tried to run, but it fell and lay there.

"Bullseye." I told myself, proudly.

It was right on target.

I walked over to it. It was a buck. A big one too. Small antlers though, I can't sell them for much. If I skinned it I could get a couple phila for it. People don't like deer pelts as much as wolf, or bear pelts. There ain't nothing wrong with deer pelts, but most would rather have a wolf or bear as a rug, not a deer.

I actually have a guy who helps me skin animals and turn them into rugs. He's one of the only guys I have help me do anything. I'm decent at skinning most critters, but he's better. He also professionally guts animals, but I can do that just fine myself.

I pulled the arrow out carefully, so as not to damage it on the way out. I put it back into my quiver, and I picked the buck up and placed it on my shoulder. It was heavy, but I've carried heavier.

I made my way back home so I could drop the body off. There was one problem though. I smelled smoke. There was no smoke, but I could smell it. There was no fire either, at least not as far as I can see. There is a lot of talk about wildfires nowadays, they happen quite often, but not around here.

I continued on my way though. I can't do anything about it if I can't find it. Maybe I'm confusing the smell for fire, when it's actually something else. Either way, I need to get home.