MELTING

MELTING

A small girl walked behind her mother. The ice that had enveloped them ever since she had been born had been melting making everything wet. The little girl stumbled, her feet ached as she walked against the soft icy soil. Night had started to fall and it was getting colder, however it was warm compared to the freezing days that they had walked through. They were one of the few families that stayed in a group. Her father stopped, indicating they would rest and eat here for the night.

Her mother went of to gather plants and wild grain to eat, she didn’t need to go far because there were a lot of wild plants around the area. Her father brought down the wild boar he had been carrying and handed it to her sister who started cutting it more chewable pieces. The little girl put down the clay jar she had been carrying and took out the dry grain. They were making dinner and everyone had to help. This had always been the little girls favourite part of their journey, meal time. The time where they all sat together under the stars and just ate in silence with nothing to disturb them and no sound. They carved things around the fire and sharpened their spears. She hated walking and wanted to settle down like the village that they had walked through. She heard a rustling sound and saw her mother step out of the grain with hand fulls of wheat and a sickle. This was a good place to stay and maybe they would not walk anymore.They started putting the food on the fire rock. As they all began eating, the little girls father took a piece of shell they had found and started to carve on it. He was making her a shell necklace, one that would look like her mothers. When dinner ended her father proudly gave her the shell necklace and she took it with a vast amount of wonder. That night as they all went to bed the little girl was unable to sleep, if they stayed here they would be taken care of and never be hungry. She wished and wished that they could stay here and never ever walk again. With that thought she closed her eyes and finally slept.

‘BANG!!!’. A loud sound started her and woke her up. A loud animal had broken the pot of grains.’Wissssss’. A loud whizzing sound shot through and the animal promptly dropped to the floor. Her father had a bow in his hand and gestured to her sister to cook the boar for breakfast. Meat had to be eaten fast to stay fresh. As they had their breakfast the little girl wandered off into the wild grass. Breakfast had ended and they would have started walking except they needed to pick up the grain. As they finally started walking they came into more fertile grounds.

After a few hours the little girl’s father suddenly stopped and signaled for them to sit down. He started to lay out all their food. Next he took some wood and built a fire. He then gestured for her mother to clear a space for them to sit. After that he dug a hole. The little girl wondered what her father was doing. It was odd for him to clear a space for sleeping so early. Her father then started digging a hole. Sensing what he wanted to do her mother picked up the pot of garin and tilted it all into the hole. Then her brother took his sickle and started hacking at the wild plants around them clearing a space and getting wheat. The little girl watched all this. She didn’t know what to do. Her father told her to go and arrange all their supplies. Later that day after everything was done, the little girl realized they would finally stay in one place. Years later as the little girl grew up, she remembered all the the things that had every happened, how she had walked for miles and miles, how she had hunted for boar inn thier new home, the first time she tasted the new grains and fruits and the cold hard bitter winter she had survived during her childhood. She wondered what else she would do.