Day 4, morning

The chill wind whispered as it blew past Demus' lean-to, waking him.

... 'What a difference a day makes!'

--- 'And stretching before I went to sleep didn't hurt!'

... 'I feel so - - calmly excellent. There's no rush to get up, everything feels quiet and wonderful."

--- 'Ah, I've found my circling-wind! Excellent!!!'

... Demus didn't feel up to learning what a circling-wind was at the moment, so he let it pass. He dozed in and out, reveling in the coolness and the freedom. The Sun rose, the chill wind stopped, and a band of harsh sunlight appeared high on a tree just to Demus' West.

--- 'So, this "living life" that I want to do-- -- do I see me wintering in the village, or not?'

... 'Hadn't really thought about it. I want to stay free, but I think I'm going to need an adult of some kind. If in the village, to own the house and talk to the Reeve. If out of the village, to make sure that wherever I stay remains safe...'

--- 'So, I want a protector that doesn't order me around? Hmmmm, is that all?'

... 'I'm interested in learning magick, if possible.'

--- 'Oh certainly. I'm already learning a slow kind of magick called 'manifesting'.'

... 'How does it work?'

--- 'Well, things in the universe tend to go certain ways, and there are spirits that ensure that those ways work. Manifesting happens in three stages: I figure out what I want to receive or change; and then I wrap up the idea of me receiving that now, or experiencing the change now in all sorts of positive emotions - - joy, excitement, appreciation, exultation, satisfaction, love, and gratitude; finally, I let go of it all completely, and one or another of the universal-way spirits makes it happen.'

... 'I've been doing that with the fishing!'

--- 'Mostly.'

... 'So "Won't it be cool when..." is appreciation?'

--- 'mixed with anticipation.'

... 'Cool! So how do I receive this 'protector who teaches me magick'?'

--- 'There is a much lesser likelihood of that occurring spontaneously, not like fishing in a lake...'

... 'Is it impossible?'

--- 'No. Nothing is impossible. But because it is so unlikely,, it needs a much better focusing, much more purposefully felt and wrapped emotions, and doing those that way can make the full letting go tougher to do.'

... 'Okay. Can I learn to do that?'

--- 'Most definitely!'

... 'What are my three biggest difficulties? At first?'

--- 'Well, I love my attitude! Excellent focus for learning!!! Absolutely first is that I seem to have some difficulty being grateful, and gratitude is really one of the strongest positive emotions.'

... 'I don't mind thanking people, when I can tell that they did something for me on purpose. Otherwise....'

--- 'Well, if I want this to happen any time soon, I have to learn to better pretend gratitude.

--- 'Second, although it is good to avoid being very specific, I do have to decide on 'in the village' or 'out in the wilderness'.'

... 'I think the wilderness, with the ability to visit the village.'

--- 'Very good. Third, why does this adult protect me? Are we related? What benefit is he getting from protecting me?'

... 'Huh! I don't know. I don't really want a relative, right now. From what I've seen in the village, they really take-over kids' lives.'

... 'Well, knowing what I don't want is a good first step. Am I ready to get up, stretch, practice pretending to wrap emotions?'

--- 'Yeah!'

By now the spot of Sunshine had softened, and slid down the tree trunk. Demus rose, walked out into the clearing, and did his stretches. Without a bench, he grabbed a sapling at just above knee-height.

--- 'I need to add some leg-stretches to the routine. After the back-puller, stand up straight, feet together, bend forward and touch my forehead to my shins. Yeah, too easy. Put my feet as far apart as my shoulders are, and as I bend, close-up my ankles and put my hands flat on the ground ahead of me, 'walk' my hands foreward-- there! Feel that? That almost-pain is what I'm aiming for!! That gets my hamstrings. Very good, 'walk' my hands back and slowly straighten up again. Now put my feet as far apart as they will go, bend forward, lean right....more ... more... there! Then straighten up and lean that far left... good! Feet back together, turn my torso right, bend forward at the waist, no keep my knees straight! Good. Now straighten up again, and then turn left... Very good!'

... 'Am I done yet?'

--- 'Not quite! Make my left leg straight, bring my right foot forward, and go left until it is on the ground to the left of my left foot. There, now bend forward. Good, then make my right leg straight ... exactly! Last one! Sit down, cross my legs, good. Lean forward a bit, grab my right foot and pull it up onto my left knee. Okay, now gradually pull it toward my torso... There! Now lean back some.'

... 'By! ... the mustache of Buff the Mighty! I've never felt... anything! ... like that... before!'

--- 'Very good! Now put my right foot back, rest a bit, bring my left leg on top of my right leg in the cross... and do it again with my left foot.

--- 'How do I feel?'

... 'Amazing!'

--- 'Am I glad I'm alive?'

... 'Incredibly glad!'

--- 'Could I say, out loud that I love being alive?'

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

... "Yes! I love being alive! Life is magnificent!!!"

--- 'Excellent! Could I say that I thank being alive?'

... 'It feels kinda weird. Who am I thanking?'

--- 'I'm thanking the principle of life itself! I should pretend that it isn't weird at all.'

... "Okay. I, uh, I 'thank' being alive!"

--- 'Try again. Try to match the strength of how much I love being alive. Pretend to feel it!!'

... "I ~thaaannnk!~ being alive!"

--- 'Alternate the statements: I love being alive, I thank being alive! Over and over.'

So Demus did, and gradually the thanking statement got easier.

--- 'Good enough. Won't it be cool when I catch a fish this morning?'

... "Indeed!! It will be wonderful when I catch a fish this morning!!!" He was happy to go to a more familiar statement.

--- 'Isn't it excellent that the lake has so many fish in it?'

... 'Uh, yeah?'

--- 'Aren't I glad that the lake is such a great place for fish to live in?'

... 'I guess so.'

--- 'Isn't it cool that so many fish live there?'

... 'Yes.'

--- 'Knowing that each fish has a spirit who chose to incarnate as a fish, and knowing that the fish's life was given up to benefit mine, can I love the spirit of the fish I have caught? Can I thank that spirit for ~playing~?'

... 'What? I always go farther and farther! What does "in- cahr- nayt" mean?'

--- 'Oh dung! Nevermind!!'

..... Demus rested there for a moment, but then stood up. He was feeling so good, he just had to run somewhere! He sprinted forward, jumping over some dead trees. He could feel his other ~I~ flinching when his bare feet hit the ground, but he hadn't gotten any stickers or thorns in years. So he continued. Soon he was at the stream, but he didn't pause, he plunged in. The water was quite cold, up to his calves. He staggered out and sat down.

... As Demus rested, he noticed that all of his body was hot and itchy except for his feet.

--- 'I wondered when I would want to get clean! I should go stand in the waterfall.'

Wonderingly, Demus did so.

... 'Brrrraaaugh! I thought the stream was cold!' Soon he staggered out again, his whole body cool, and all of his skin tingling. He lay on the grassy stream-side for a bit. Some flies came over.

... 'I hate these things!'

More came straight over to him from around the waterfall's pond.

... 'What the ...? Why did that happen?'

--- 'I focused my attention on them, and then wrapped it in a strong emotion...'

... 'I can get things by hating them?'

--- 'Yes. But not good things.'

... 'Then how do I get rid of them?'

--- 'I have to pretend they aren't there, that they don't bother me.'

... 'But! They do!!!'

--- 'It would probably be easier with the tunic on.'

... 'I can't run in that thing!'

--- 'Maybe I should cut it some?'

Demus stood up, dejectedly walked back to the lean-to, and put on his grey tunic. The folded blue shirt he hid deeper in the lean-to.

--- 'Hey.'

... 'What?'

--- 'Are any flies bothering me?'

... 'I left them behind at the stream!'

--- 'Very good. Now I'm going to fish?'

... 'Yeah.'

--- 'Maybe it would be better to think about how glad I am to be alive, and how cool it will be...'

... "Okay."

As Demus walked back to the stream, got some worms, and climbed back up to the lake, he recited : "I love being alive! I thank being alive! It will be wonderful when I catch a fish today!!"

Soon Demus was seated beside the lake, line in the water. He knew he wasn't supposed to be worrying about when the fish would bite, but he had tried to think of other things and he just kept coming back to that.

--- 'Did I want help?'

... 'Yeah, why not?!'

--- 'Remember the feeling I had this morning when I were waking?'

... 'Kind of.'

--- 'Pretend I'm feeling that again. Close my eyes. Remember.... there I go.... now.. remember after stretching, remember saying 'it will be wonderful...' .'

--- "It WILL be woooonderrrrfulllll as I now Catch a fish!!!!"

Far out on the lake there was a sudden faint but continuous splashing sound. After a moment it became obvious that it was moving toward Demus.

--- 'Pull in line, get up off the shore.'

... 'What?' Demus asked, pulling in the line. The sound was much closer, and a rolling kind of movement could be seen on the lake water surface.

--- 'Get up off the shore! Get up! OFF!!!'

.....Hurriedly Demus got up to step back a few feet.

--- 'Farther! Climb that tree!!'

Now the rolling sound could be seen as hundreds of little fish jumped out of the water, some toward the shore, some to either side, but all in a big oval.....AWAY from something in the middle.

Demus dropped the rod, stepped over to the tree and started climbing. At about 12 feet he stopped to look as the sound at the lake had changed. There were small fish all along the shore, flipping and gasping. In the water but coming out was a-- huge-- green-- scaley-- monster?

--- 'Crocodile. Stop and stay still. Maybe it won't notice us.' It pulled its forelegs up onto the shore and looked around intensely. It huffed, laid down and moved backward into the lake. The water rippled over it until only its eyes were visible, sticking up. Then they submerged also.

... 'Look at all those fish! I've got to go get some!'

--- 'Wait! Don't move. That thing might be watching through the water.'

... 'Okay. How did I know it was there?'

--- 'I didn't, but the way the fish were moving was strange and alarming. I think that croc can sense when a being is in a circling-wind.'

... 'Was I in my circling-wind again? I thought I was pretend-remembering.'

--- 'Annnd the difference is?'

... 'There's no difference?'

--- 'Not much. Anyway. Never swim in this lake, and do my uses of circling-wind away from the shore.'

... 'Indeed! Is now okay? There's that forest-wolf again!'

The young canine was tossing fish upand catching them to gulp them down. The croc came surging up toward the shore, and the wolf danced back, tail wagging. The croc snapped at him, but the wolf jumped and appeared on the reptile's back. The croc rolled sideways throwing the wolf off. It landed in the water and started dog-paddling away. The croc flipped around to follow, quickly gaining. Just before the croc got to it, the young wolf disappeared. A few minutes passed as the croc kept going and submerged again. As it did so, the small fish around it and away from the shore where Demus watched started jumping out of the water. As Demus watched that for a while, the croc obviously getting farther and farther away, suddenly he 'heard':

*** 'Dad! Do we just let all the lake-prey die and rot?'

Demus looked around, then spotted the young wolf, drenched and dripping, leaning against the tree and looking up at him.

... ' 'Dad'? '

--- 'May I?'

... 'Sure. I guess.'

--- 'You've popped back too soon. I haven't met you yet.'

*** 'Oh. Well, I'm full. I'ma go sleep for a few days.' And it trotted off.

... ' 'I haven't met you yet'? Am I destined to meet that wolf?'

--- 'Probably. Obviously it can teleport through space. If it can thru space, it probably can thru time.'

... 'It thinks I am its 'Dad'?'

--- 'I guess. It's safe to collect the fish now.' Demus climbed down, and started gathering the ones farthest from the edge of the water. After he got to an armful, he strung the line from the end of the rod through their gills, back to one of the rings on the rod, and began to make several loops. At three, he heard:

--- 'Am I carrying that back to the village?'

... 'I don't know what else to do.'

--- 'I could dig a hole and bury a lot of them. They'll probably rot, but it'll be a great place to find worms. But if I'm carrying loops of fish back to the village, three is the most I should try.'

... 'So I'll get two more loops to bury, and I'll go to the village?'

--- 'Excellent!' So Demus hiked back down to the waterfall and stream, dug a hole about 15 feet East of the stream, buried 15 fish, and marked the hole with a stack of rocks. Then, munching on some of the raw fish (after gutting then with his thumbs), Demus walked back to the village.

Selling the 20 fish to the vendor for 35 coppers was no problem, and then Demus could afford a night and bath at the Westward Trek Inn.