The deciduous and evergreen trees around the small circular polder could serve as an uncontrived wall. The only actual opening to this little spherical location was the tiny path that I was travelling on. That trail could be defended easily with some good barriers and weapons.

Sighing with tiredness and relief, I dropped the bags and slumped to the ground. I needed a rest. My legs were sore and I was hungry. Quickly, I unzipped the knapsack and brought out a sandwich with lettuces and egg that John had packed for me. I could eat meat now, if I forced myself to, but I just couldn't eat oily meat such as beef and ham. I drew in a deep breath, savoring the sweet aroma that rose from the delicious food held in my dirty hands.

"Thanks, John," I whispered. Then I bit down hard on the meal.

After lunch, I felt thirsty. Searching through the bag again, I found two four-liter water bottles. Opening one of them, I drank greedily, satisfying my burning throat. The cool, transparent liquid doused out the heat within my body. I took a good long drink.

Replacing everything back to where they were originally, I huddled my knees to my soil and cut covered chest. These were from the result of running through the uncharted weald. I spread my wings as wide as they could. It felt so great to stretch them. I couldn't do so while I was in my small bedroom without risking injuries to my wings.

I had found a place to live and hide. Now I needed to find a place to wash and get water from. Stuffing the packs into the horizontal hole beneath the boulder, I hid them with branches and leaves and set off to find a stream.

I traveled in eastern direction to my right. Carefully navigating through a series of sharp rocks as I ascended up the slope, I could hear a constant gurgling sound coming from behind the small shrubs. Prying away the round and slippery leaves, I saw a small river flowing down slope from the top of the mountain that was looming into my view.

Shouting with glee, I jumped into the waterway and began to use my two massive wings to splash around. It was shallow and not deep. I stood on both legs and the water surface only rose up to my waist. My jean was wet and heavy with water, but I cared not. Grime and stains were floating away from my body as I continued to plash myself with the refreshing water. I could see the bottom of the river. With the sunlight reflecting from the covering of the riverbed, I could see fish swimming rapidly away from me. Long, black shadows, fleeing with a flick of their tails.

A sudden thought hit me. Could it be possible to make a fishing spear out of the fallen branches? I could eat light meat such as fish and besides, the bread would be gone after two days and I needed food. I grinned as I dunked my head into the flowing liquid. I would try that out tomorrow, after I made the tool tonight.

***************************

Insects buzzed around the small campfire that I had made by using flints and strikers. I had three lighters in my pocket, but I wanted to conserve them in case of emergency. Small embers flew into the sky due to the hot air currents created by the fire. My shadow wavered behind me as I used a large hunting knife to shape a medium sized branch into a spear. After eating another sandwich, I finished my weapon. Now all I needed to do was to test it out tomorrow morning.

Following the instructions on the booklet, I set up the small retractable tent with ease. Driving six thick logs into the soft soil, I wrapped the ropes around the supporters. Finally, it was done. I opened the zipper and tossed the equipment bags in. I went in and sealed the flaps tight.

It was pitch black both inside and outside the temporary shelter. Far away from the city lights, everything was dark. The music of the nocturnal creatures echoed back and forth within the ebon trees. My wooden javelin rested beside me. My satchel and gym bags were deposited in one of the corners. Sitting straight with my knees near my chin, I fell asleep in that position. I couldn't sleep on my back, anymore.

The night was warm... And I welcomed it.

***************************

The next morning, I didn't bother to eat breakfast. It was bread, bread, and more bread. But could I complain? No. Not while I was living by myself. Every bit of scrap food was essential for my survival. Every chunk of grain product was like gold.

I ran toward the creek with my new pike. My heart raced as I sprinted along with the flying crows in the sky. The end point of the weapon was sharpened to a point that it could draw out blood even with just a little prick. The spouting water continued its entrancing melody. Stepping on top of the slick rocks bare-footed, I used my wings to balance myself by spreading them wide and flapping them occasionally. Finally, I reached a suitable spot for fishing.

Today was a perfect day for my experiment. No clouds could be seen for miles, and the sun greeted me with a shining face. Sky was sapphire in color and plain like a gem.

With the serene shadow of the trees lying on my naked back, I stared at the moving targets in the running water with my pair of green eyes. I could see so clearly. It was as if my eyesight was a binocular vision. So sharp and bright was the vision that I had to blink a few times to get used to it. Raising the spear with my right hand, I aimed at the biggest and closest fish. I didn't move while I tried to adjust my trembling arm.

I took a deep breath and launched the thin shaft. The spear punched through the river surface and grazed the side of the fish belly. I missed. I stepped into the cold water to retrieve the tool and tried again.

After three hours of non-stop trying, my accuracy had improved a lot. Out of ten shots, six of them were dead-on. By noon, I had ten fish bundled up with a thin rope that I had brought along with me. I was wet from head to toe from the workout at the shore. It was fun actually. A novel way to hunt for food. And I was learning, without anyone else's help.

I later found out that they were trout. I had seen photos of them before, in the library three blocks away from my house. I sighed as I stared into the heaven. What were my parents doing right now? What had happened to John? What was going on back in the town right now?

Dashing back to the campsite, I was eager to cook the food. For some reasons, fish were more tempting to eat than the other edibles.

Half an hour later, a small fire was up. Using the sticks around me, I placed the ten trout vertically around the searing flame. Delicious scent of roasted white meat drifted into my nostrils. I waited patiently as the low blaze made the fish sizzling with heat. Bugs crawled on my chest. I picked them off one by one and tossed them into the inferno with vengeance. They bit me first.

At last, I took one fish away from the fire by the end of the stick. White, steamy smoke rose off from the skin as the meal continued to hiss. Carefully, I used a small pocketknife and sliced the belly open. I got rid of the cooked intestine and began to eat, slowly at first, then faster and faster. My stomach growled with hunger.

It was early in the afternoon when I finished the last trout. It was surprisingly good. Only after I swallowed the last bite, I then noticed there were six crows standing around me. They looked at me as if I was lunch or something. With a playful mind, I extended my wings outward and pushed the six black animals with the end of my feathers.

They cried out with wonder as they jumped back. With a final gaze, they too, expanded their own appendages and flew away. Another clamor broke out above me in the sky. A golden eagle was circling, searching for a prey. It glanced at me from the lower atmosphere and I, too, looked at it with defiance. Both of our visual perceptions were extremely well.

I gathered up the fish bones and buried them somewhere far away from my resting ground. After all, I didn't want any nosy creature to come and ransack the whole place just because it smelled chow.

I went back to the river and sat on a large slab of stone. It was my sanctuary. I watched the distant images at the far end of the riverbank. On both sides, green tint of pine trees stood erect with confidence. They were all alpine and their trunks were immensely thick. Sparkling water rolled over the bumpy rock bed that rested underwater and small white foams were formed. A few Aves were taking a drink and I looked at them with interest.

Sky gradually turned orange as sun began to lower lazily. With my wings converged around my exposed upper body, I sat there for the rest of the afternoon, looking, watching, and observing the scenery with dreamy eyes. Gentle wind blew across the land, ruffling my rather long and nearly black hair. Sunbeams were hitting my skin, heating me up slightly.

I guessed that I was having a tan. I didn't wear anything since... How long ago was that? Last summer? A year almost?

I laughed into the air. I was so different than everyone else. I was so different. And I was alone...

Silky red light blanketed the whole area. Everywhere along the river, it was twinkling. Bubbling sounds resounded tunefully around me. The air smelled so pure, so sweet. My mind was at peace. I was at peace. The only that I wished for, was that no one would come and disrupt that calmness.