Another 6 months have passed since Lewis began talking, making it now 11 months that Lewis has been alive. In that time he had continued to go along with Ella everyday as she worked, and talked to her about many things.
He’d found out that although the members of Eston were all commoners, they were quite poor compared to other nearby villagers. Eston had no valuable resources, and was only surrounded by forest and land unfit for farming. It was questionable why anyone would start a village in such a location, however, Ella simply told him it was the decision of its founder, a man called Dowling Eston.
Supposedly Eston had started as just a base camp whilst the man mapped out the area, but when he realised the area had nothing of value, and hence, no one would ever feel compelled to go there, he built his home there seeking solitude. However, other people found him and eventually a small village was established. ‘Quite the story behind such a small village,’ thought Lewis at the time.
However Lewis had found out many more things as well, and of importance were things about the world he’d been reborn into. He’d already been fairly confident in his suspicions, but the world he was in was definitely not earth.
Although there were the obvious similarities, such as language, he’d noticed early on that Eston was missing a few things he was used to. It could all be summed up in one word: technology. There was no electricity, and when he tried to ask about it Ella had given him a quizzical look. So from what Lewis had figured out, the world he was in was basically earth except still in the middle ages. ‘Awesome, so I’m literally a peasant.’ thought Lewis at the time, he hadn’t dared to say it for fear of hurting Ella’s feelings.
Lewis wasn’t angry that he’d been born into… difficult circumstances, but considering he believed he’d drawn the short straw for getting reborn, if he did get angry, it would’ve been justified.
Moving on, Lewis had started walking around the age of 9 months and so even though he still followed his mother every day as she worked, he occasionally had the opportunity to wander around Eston a little. Albeit, he got tired quickly so didn’t wander very far.
But walking was a big leap for Lewis, and he had increased his stamina a fair bit since he’d started walking. He could now keep up with Ella if she walked a bit slower, and so, exploring the whole of Eston became a serious possibility to Lewis.
“Lewis could you pass me the mortise chisel?” said Ella, indicating towards the tool lying on the ground just out of her reach.
Lewis grabbed the tool and passed it to Ella, he didn’t say anything though as it didn’t seem necessary.
“Thanks.”
It may have seemed odd to others that Ella was asking her 11 month old son to pass her a tool, but she’d already accepted that Lewis was different. Of course she didn’t know why he showed such a high level of intelligence, so just assumed he was that one-in-a-million genius child.
Lewis was quite happy to just let people think he was a born genius, it worked well for him, and it wasn’t exactly wrong. What was he meant to tell people if they asked anyway? “Oh, I’m just a reborn 18 year old teen from a modern civilisation with technology hundreds of years ahead of your own.” He already figured that probably wouldn’t go well.
He still questioned the way the world he was in had developed though, although everyone he had met so far seemed to speak fairly modern english, everything around them showed significantly less development. Perhaps this world just didn’t favor technology as much as his own, or never had a need to push for advances in technology? A large cause for growth in the technology sector on earth, last he recalled, was war. To gain an advantage countries pushed for newer and better ways to fight their opponents, which naturally led to rapid advances in technology, so maybe this world never needed to push for breakthroughs for such a cause?
Lewis knew one thing, and it was that he wouldn’t be asking Ella about war and the history of the world all of a sudden. There were things an 11 month old shouldn’t be asking, and if he got too specific in his questions it may become suspicious. Still, he needed to find a way to learn about the world.
Acknowledging that he wouldn’t be able to search for answers anytime soon, Lewis decided to forget what he was thinking about and just observe Ella as she worked.
Eston was still in the process of rebuilding even after 11 months because nothing except the building they’d sheltered in survived, and even that had to be knocked down since it wasn’t safe to live in anymore. Thus the remaining 10 villagers, which included Lewis and his family, were forced to not only source materials, but also to rebuild everything in a sturdier manner.
‘It’s not that bad though, I get to go out with Gerald tomorrow.’
Just as Lewis had thought, he would indeed be going out with Gerald the next day for the first time. According to Ella he would be going into the forest south of Eston to observe what Gerald did every day, so Lewis was feeling quite excited. He would finally get out of Eston, albeit it was only a couple hundred metres from the southern edge of the village, it was still a couple hundred metres further than he had ever been from the village.
Said literally, this would be Lewis’ first trip out of Eston, and the first time he’d been anywhere except Eston. A very big deal to Lewis who had already learnt all he could from talking to Ella. Plus he would get to have some bonding time with Gerald, which he suspected was likely the actual cause of the change in schedule.
Anyway, Lewis resolved himself to just sitting in silence today, as he waited for his first opportunity to leave Eston, and bond with Gerald.
(Break)
When Lewis woke up the next day, his spirits were soaring, the eagerness to get out of Eston and explore the world even a little was evident on his face.
“Don’t get too excited Lewis, or Gerald might disappoint you,” said Ella.
“Oh c’mon dear, you know I never dissapoint! Hahaha,” said Gerald.
Ella slapped Gerald on the back of the head with her right hand. She had a stern look on her face, but it was being betrayed by her reddening cheeks. Lewis signed, just how old were his parents meant to be?
“Oh don’t worry Lewis! We’re gonna have a great time! I’ll show you how to hunt!”
“Gerald! I thought you said you were just gonna show him the forest and talk?”
“Well, we are going to talk, with actions, not words dear.”
This time Ella sighed, she didn’t want to have an argument with Lewis in the same room so just resigned to letting Gerald do what he wanted. It was highly unlikely that Lewis would get hurt anyway, Gerald was a very strong man.
‘So we’re going hunting, sound cools, never been hunting before though.’
Lewis had, just as he’d said in his thoughts, never been hunting before. Unless you counted running after pesky flies with a flyswatter as hunting, otherwise, Lewis had indeed never been hunting, or in a natural forest for that matter.
“So when are we leaving?” said Lewis, addressing Gerald.
“After you two have something to eat,” said Ella, answering in Gerald's place.
Lewis glanced at Gerald, and from the expression Gerald flashed back at Lewis, he realised that Gerald had intended to leave as soon as possible, instead of after having breakfast.
‘Sorry Dad, can’t win every battle.’
Ella served them a bowl of soup, which had a few pieces of meat inside of it, they only were able to eat meat because Gerald was a hunter.
The room which Lewis and Gerald ate in was mostly bare, there weren't any furnishings except for a small table in the center built from a couple of planks. Against the edges of the room were a couple of cloths with hay underneath, indicating the room was used for more than just eating. Lewis’ family ate, slept and did everything else in this room, needless to say, it was their home.
Whilst Lewis and Gerald ate, Ella simply sat on the other side of the table and watched. It’d been awhile since she’d had a day to herself so she felt odd to think of Lewis not being by her side for a day, she did feel worried, but with Gerald with him she was confident he would be safe.
“Ah! All done, how about you Lewis?” said Gerald, placing his bowl down and wiping his mouth with the back of his right hand.
“Almost, I’ll be done in a minute or two.”
“Alright, I’ll wait for you outside,” said Gerald, as he was about to walk out he remembered his manners. “And thank you for the meal Ella.”
“No problem, but don’t make Lewis rush,” said Ella, fully aware of the fact Gerald had rushed to finish his meal to leave earlier.
Gerald didn’t respond, choosing to just rush out the door.
Ella continued to sit, but when Lewis was about to leave she spoke up.
“Lewis, be careful, and stick with Gerald. He knows his way around that forest, ok?”
“Yeh I will, don’t worry Mum,” said Lewis.
The exchange was short, but it got the point across. Lewis closed the door behind him, leaving Ella alone in the house.
“Ready to go Lewis?” said Gerald.
A vertical nod from Lewis was the response, and Gerald picked Lewis up and sat him on his shoulders.
“Well, let's go little guy.”
Lewis’ lips formed into a smile.
‘I could get used to this.’
(Break)
The walk to the forest didn’t take long, and Lewis didn’t have to walk for even a second as he’d caught a ride on Gerald's shoulders. Thus, when they arrived at the edge of the forest Lewis was full of energy, and ready to go hunting. Gerald had put Lewis back on the ground when they arrived as well.
“So Lewis, you’re a smart boy, got any idea how to hunt?” said Gerald.
Despite the fact Lewis hadn’t ever been hunting, he actually did have some ideas from the internet and television. However, he already had an idea of what Gerald was trying to do, so just decided to play along.
“No, I’ve never been hunting before Dad,” said Lewis.
Gerald smirked, he seemed to like being called “Dad.”
‘Well whatever makes him happy…’
“Haha! Well, I’ll show you how it’s done Lewis! Today we’re gonna try catch something for dinner, how’s that sound?”
“Awesome!”
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It genuinely did sound awesome for Lewis. They’d never had a whole body of meat before. Gerald had to sell most of what he’d caught to pay for the rebuilding, other ingredients they couldn’t source, and savings for something Lewis couldn’t figure out.
“That’s the spirit Lewis! Let’s try get something big, in memory of this day.” said Gerald.
Something about Gerald's extremely positive personality was infectious, and Lewis found himself getting as pumped as Gerald, perhaps he’d inherited a few things from his parents?
“Oh yeh!” said Lewis, throwing his fist out towards his dad.
Gerald raised his left eyebrow, giving him a quizzical look.
“Bump it with your fist Dad.”
Gerald lightly bumped Lewis’ fist with his own, the quizzical look on his face hadn’t vanished though. The man wanted to know what he’d just done.
“It’s like a handshake, but cooler,” said Lewis.
Gerald decided to just take it as a father and son thing and not ask any questions about where Lewis had learned such a thing. Like Ella, he’d accepted his son was different to other kids, so just took this as another sign of Lewis’ differences to other children.
“Alright then, enough of us standing around.” said Gerald. “Let’s get started.”
When Gerald said “let’s get started” he meant business, literally, hunting was his job after all. Before the two of them entered the forest, Gerald checked the bow which he’d carried in his left hand, and the three arrows he’d brought in his right hand. He’d checked before they came, hence why he left the house early, however, as someone who hunted for a living, he saw no reason to not check again.
A loose or damaged bow would just be deadweight, and the same could be said for the arrows Gerald had brought, if they weren't straight, or weren't the correct stiffness, they wouldn't hit the target. Although not often thought about, when using a bow and arrow there was the obvious issue of how an archer was meant to hit a target, but more specifically how they could hit a target when between them and the target was a bow. Modern research had answered this and called it the archer’s paradox, however to Gerald, he knew the answer to this from experience.
An experienced archer would know how flexible their arrows needed to be, and so he was able to gauge if the arrows he had on hand would be suitable for hunting. He needed his bow and arrow to work together since no arrow was a good match for every bow, and vice versa.
Having finished checking his bow and arrow, and feeling satisfied that they would be good enough, Gerald set to unsheathing the knife he had tied around his waist. It wasn’t a large blade, but was good enough for cutting the skin off whatever he had caught. Feeling satisfied once again because he deemed the knife was useable, he sheathed it.
Lewis had watched the whole time Gerald did his inspection, and had felt quite proud to know the man before him was his dad. The look of concentration in Gerald's eyes as he went over his bow, each arrow, and his knife had made Lewis feel that he really was watching a genuine expert of an art, which he was.
‘I guess I still have awhile to go until I’m fully acquainted with the whole “medieval” way of life.’
“Alright everything’s in order, time to hunt!” said Gerald, holding his fist out to Lewis.
Lewis gave it a light bump, and they entered the forest.
Around 10 minutes later, Lewis and Gerald stopped their walk into the forest. They hadn’t walked that far since Lewis could still only walk so far with his short legs before he started to get tired. Gerald didn’t want to push Lewis to walk far either, he was still only 11 months old so the fact he’d walked for so long on rough terrain covered in foliage was impressive enough for Gerald.
“Alright Lewis, we gotta be quiet now, or we might scare off our dinner,” whispered Gerald into Lewis’ right ear.
Lewis simply nodded his head, acknowledging what Gerald had said.
The two of them had stopped next to a small clearing in the forest, and Gerald had setup some bait to try attract a deer in the clearing. It was a good spot according to Gerald.
Supposedly it could take some time for anything to show up, and so Gerald had them go and lay bait at a couple more locations he knew of to try and increase their chances of attracting something. Lewis just agreed with whatever Gerald wanted to do, seeing as his dad was the expert of the two in hunting.
It took around 40 minutes to lay all the bait, and now Lewis and Gerald were sitting behind a few bushes, around 30 metres from the clearing in silence. Gerald hadn’t said much once he’d gotten serious, and used hand signals instead.
‘Never thought my dad was the kind of person who could get serious.’
A tap on Lewis’ left shoulder pulled him out of his thoughts, and brought his attention to the animal which had wandered into the clearing. The animal was a deer, and it was being very cautious as it slowly stepped towards the bait.
Even the slightest movement or sound would alert the animal.
The deer continued to be extra vigilant as it moved towards the bait lying in the center of the clearing. The deer wasn’t as stupid as Lewis had thought it would be, it didn’t just stroll right into the clearing and start eating, but instead was making sure it was safe. It was aware of the fact that the situation it was walking into was suspicious.
Lewis realised that Gerald hadn’t actually tapped his shoulder, but instead had grabbed his shoulder to tell him to not move.
‘Well played.’
The deer started to move towards the bait, convinced that its surrounding were safe. It now wanted to check the bait which had attracted it to the clearing. When it approached the bait lying on the ground, it bent its neck and started to check it with its sense of smell. Finally, the deer looked pleased that everything was safe, and started to eat.
Lewis felt Gerald remove his hand from his shoulder.
The deer’s head was down as it ate the bait, but it was still alert, and ready to bolt away at any sign of danger.
Gerald slowly grasped the arrow he had left notched in his bow. He had to make sure he didn’t move too quickly or make too much noise.
The deer hadn’t reacted to Gerald’s action, so he continued.
Gradually pulling back on the bowstring to build up tension, Gerald drew the bowstring back until it was fully drawn. Once he’d done this he slowly started to stand to get a clear shot of the deer's vitals.
Lining up the shoot with the deer’s vitals with the goal of a quick and painless kill Gerald let the arrow fly.
Whoosh-
The arrow flew straight towards the deer, making a loud thwack when it hit.
The deer dropped dead instantly, the arrow pierced right through its heart.
“Wow, that was cool,” said Lewis.
“Haha! It is isn’t it Lewis?” said Gerald.
“Yeh.”
Gerald walked over to where the deers dead body laid, Lewis following after him. Gerald had some rope on hand so tied the deer's legs together. He then proceeded to pick the deer up and carry it on his back.
‘Like a backpack… that’s smart. Though how much does that thing weigh? Jeez.’
Gerald showed no signs of strain as he carried the deer on his back which had led to Lewis’ amazement at how the man carried the deer so easily.
‘Are there some physics I’m missing here? Cause that things looks heavy as hell.”
With the deer loaded on Gerald's back the two of them started their walk back to the village. On the way back, once they’d left the forest, Gerald struck up a conversation.
“So, what do you think about becoming a hunter?”
The question was unexpected and made Lewis stop for a moment.
“It’d be cool, I guess” said Lewis.
Lewis was a bit soft hearted, in that he didn’t really like the idea of killing things for a living. However, he did find the way at which Gerald hunted to be appealing. Gerald had made killing look like an art, not a job, each and every step from notching an arrow to letting it fly had felt graceful and efficient. The deer was killed before it could feel any pain, and no excess motions had been made.
Unlike Ella who showed proficiency in a wide array of skills, Gerald showed the opposite. He had showed Lewis the beauty of a single skill which had been mastered through time and practice, such that it had been streamlined and trimmed down to perfection.
For Lewis who had never dedicated himself to anything to such a degree, it sounded insane that his dad was asking him if he wanted to become a hunter.
“You guess?” asked Gerald.
“Well I don’t know if I could do it,” said Lewis. “Setting traps, shooting a bow… killing. I don’t think I could do it. Especially the killing.”
Gerald stopped walking to look Lewis in the eye.
“You sound more like you’re trying to convince yourself you can’t do it Lewis,” said Gerald.
“No I’m-”
“You see, settings traps and shooting a bow, those skills only take time and practice, anyone could do it” said Gerald. “But killing… that’s different, whether you’ve got what it takes to end a life is something only you can really know. You’re a special kid Lewis, I can see it in your eyes. If you don’t want to be a hunter you don’t have to, but I can still teach you the skills?”
‘He’s a good guy, not forcing me to do anything I don’t want to. Plus I take it this trip was actually so he could ask me this. Wonder if Mum knew?’ thought Lewis.
“I’ll be happy to learn how to shoot a bow Dad, and setting traps sounds cool as well,” said Lewis, this time with much more confidence.
“Great! We can’t do much until you get a bit older, but for now you can just come out with me occasionally to get an idea of things.”
“That makes it a deal then,” said Lewis, extending his fist out towards Gerald.
“Haha! Deal,” said Gerald, lightly touching his fist against Lewis’.