Back To The Roots (REWRITTING)

12:Observation

I dedicate this chapter to SEViolet for being a dedicated and extremely helpful reader!

If you like this book you should check out hers it's called The Savage. It's awesome!

The next morning Kyla put off checking the snares because she had an idea she wanted to get started on right away. When the idea struck her a few days ago she’d gone out into the woods and found a couple saplings. Then using her knife she’d cut into the bark and peeled it upwards until it came free of the tree. This resulted in long thick strips of bark that she was able to peel apart into smaller strips, braid it, and dry to make rope. Now she wanted to use it to help her make a couple fishing baskets. The snares did really well giving them meat most days but they weren’t going to be enough on their own to help them last the winter.

She walked down to the river so she could soak her rope in the creek while she looked for sticks that were the right size in length and width. She wanted her rope to get a little wet so it would be a little more flexible and easier to work with. It was also just easier to find sticks away from camp than near it where they’d been burning them. By next year they would probably have to use the ax in her bag to cut their wood for winter.

Kyla sat down near the water and started putting her basket together. First she made several loops with some of the green twigs she’d just broken off a tree so they’d be flexible enough to use. To tie the end pieces of the loop together she got a stick, put it against one of the loops where the ends met, and used her rope to tie both pieces to the stick. She tied it by going on top of the loop around the stick and under the loop on the other side. She did it again and again, alternating which side was under and which was over until she thought it was secure and knotted it off. Then she did the same thing to make another smaller loop further down the stick and repeated the process of tying it to the loop until she had four loops that would be used to make a cone shaped trap. 

There were two parts to the fish trap. The main part the basket, which was the cone and would be closed in with sticks tied close together so the fish couldn’t swim between them and the smaller part that was the actual trapping piece.This piece was also shaped kind of like a cone only it had a hole in both sides instead of one, this would go inside the hole of larger cone. The fish would swim into the small whole in the trapping piece and get stuck because they couldn’t find their way back out. This way all they had to do was put the trap in the water and hopefully it would fill up with fish. Then they could go pick the basket up, remove the trap, and pour the fish out.

Kyla was so involved with what she was doing she didn’t hear Lily and Josiah until they were right beside her. “Whatcha doin?” Lily asked, peeking over her shoulder.

“Making a fishing basket to help us stock up for winter,” Kyla responded looking up at them. “How do you feel today?”

“I’m okay for right now,” she answered. “Have you already checked the snares today? I feel like walking a bit unless you want some help?”

“No I’ve got it and they do need to be checked, is Josiah gonna go with you?” Kyla asked, as she tied one piece of makeshift rope to another and continued working on her basket.

“I wanna help with the fish trap! Can I stay with Kyla?” he asked, looking at his mom pleadingly.

“Sure, if you want to. I can check them by myself, it won’t take me long anyway,” Lily answered with a shrug.

“Okay, well have fun,” Kyla said, an intense look of focus on her face as she tied a knot.

Kyla had just finished her fish trap and was letting Josia lower it into the water when she spotted Lily coming through the woods. As she got closer she noticed her face was a bit pale and wondered if maybe she needed to eat.