Chapter 007

Tired but Satisfied

I opened my eyes to the gentle sound of the Old Lady River's flowing waters. The comfort and refreshment I felt were indescribable. I felt a bit lazy and wanted to stay asleep a little longer, but I quickly dismissed the thought.

I planned to set off at dawn this morning, as I had decided yesterday. I didn't want to meet anyone here, in the middle of the rainforest; I would leave that until I reached the river's mouth town. But being on this bank increased that possibility, so to reduce the chance of it happening, I would set off at dawn today, after packing my things.

I stepped out of my modest tent into the serene world of the forest. I stood for a while under the gentle sunlight on my clean, white skin. I was overwhelmed with a wonderful feeling of comfort and tranquility, but it couldn't compare to the comfort brought by the refreshing night bath. I'm not used to bathing at night, let alone in a river in the middle of a forest. It felt more like a dream, but it wasn't. The flowing river in my sight was enough proof of my experience.

I suppressed the urge to strip off my clothes and jump into the clear river water, reminding myself that I would have other opportunities to have the same experience.

With my excitement calmed, I headed to where my father's old horse was tied to check on him. The fire I had lit for him last night had already turned to ashes, and he stood beside it, looking at me as if I was already late for our appointment.

Under his intelligent gaze, I ran my hand over his shiny brown fur. I untied the rope from the tree I had tied him to last night. Then I led him to my camp to prepare for our departure. First, I would move away from this bank, and once I found a suitable spot along the way, away from human eyes, only then would I be comfortable enough to have breakfast. The same applied to the horse.

After a few minutes, we were already on our way. The path was smooth enough for me to ride my father's horse comfortably, something I did whenever I had the chance.

***

Three days passed in relative peace, just traveling with the river, taking care of myself and the horse, and one night bath.

Today's campsite was another riverbank, much smaller than the first or second. But what distinguished it was that it was heavily hidden by the giant, dense trees surrounding it from all directions.

The midday sun was high in the sky, but the thick tree cover barely allowed a little light to pass through. Usually, I would be moving at this time, but today I decided otherwise after finding this hidden bank. The main reason was that I was less than half a day away from reaching the river's mouth town. If I continued my journey, I would arrive just after sunset. So I postponed my trip to the next dawn, so when I arrived, I would have time to do everything I wanted to do there.

And now I was on a riverbank hidden from human eyes. I had already completed all the tasks I needed to do before setting off tomorrow. Cleaning the horse, taking care of his gear, and so on. Except for the night bath, there wasn't much left to do.

So out of boredom, I decided to catch my own dinner, something I had never done before. I couldn't use my trusty stick because it didn't have sharp ends, and I didn't want to sharpen it because I still thought I might need it more in the future. Even if I did, I couldn't walk around the downstream town carrying a spear.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

So I searched for a suitable piece of wood, and the forest was a great help too. After finding it, I sharpened it based on my memory of my father doing this on our farm.

I entered the river without shoes and in shorts. I knew getting wet was inevitable in what I was trying to do, but at least my clothes wouldn't get too wet.

I stood in the middle of the river with my legs apart for stability. The water tickled my knees lightly, but I ignored the pleasant feeling and focused on my goal.

I had never caught anything in my life, whether wild or marine. So I had to teach myself. Even my father's stories, which he used to tell us about how he and his friends caught fish in the river, weren't much help because they lacked details. But they gave me ideas to guide me in the right direction. As for the rest, I had to rely on guessing, my abilit to innovate, and original thoughts.

So I held the light wooden spear in my hands, the sharp end pointed downwards, I expanded my vision forward, waiting for a suitable prey to pass by.

Although the water was clear and pure, the visibility wasn't that great, mainly due to the reflection of the red color from the giant trees in this hidden bank. But I didn't let that discourage me; I stood my ground, waiting for my first opportunity.

Soon enough, I spotted a group of small, colorful fish. I didn't try to hunt them because their small size wasn't helpful, but the main reason was that I didn't want to scare the medium-sized fish at the back of the group.

I stood cautiously and quietly, making no sudden movements as I watched the small fish pass smoothly and slowly between my feet. I waited for the fish at the back, which seemed more cautious about its surroundings. But eventually, it moved forward behind its group; there was no other way anyway.

I held my breath as I saw the fish enter the range of my wooden spear. With a quick and calculated move, I aimed my spear accurately at the fish.

The water around me became disturbed, limiting my vision. I couldn't confirm what happened underwater, whether I succeeded or failed. I moved the spear a little, but its weight confirmed my failure. The water returned to its usual clarity, and all that remained in my sight was the spear that had pierced the soil and red algae below the water.

The fish I tried to catch disappeared from my sight. I understood what had happened. The flow of the water had distorted my perception of space and direction, so my strike didn't pierce the fish but its reflection on the water above.

I renewed my determination and learned from my mistakes to try again. And so, time passed quickly. Most of my attempts ended in failure. The surprising thing was that I didn't feel angry or impatient; all I felt was enjoyment and joy from this new experience.

In the end, after all the attempts and mistakes, I ended up catching a large orange fish. My wooden spear had pierced it accurately, limiting its movement. With a quick move, I threw both the fish and the spear towards the red grass beside the river.

I stepped out of the river with large strides. I felt a big smile forming on my face as I looked at the big fish. 'My catch, my first catch.'

I gently removed the spear from the fish's body, not wanting any wood splinters to remain stuck there. I looked at the fish with happiness. I wouldn't say it was beautiful by any means, but It felt like it. I carried both the spear and the fish towards my camp. My father's horse was watching curiously; he had been watching from the beginning. I gave him a big smile as a sign of my happiness and continued with what I wanted to do.

First, I had to clean the fish inside and out. This wasn't a problem because it was part of my mother's teachings on the farm. So I quickly cleaned the fish and took it to the river to wash it before hanging it to dry until sunset, my dinner time.

The sun set faster than usual. I liked to think that my excitement for tonight's dinner brought the sunset, but that wasn't true. Time was what brought it. I had wasted a lot of time teaching myself how to fish; I just didn't feel it because the process was enjoyable. After that, I had to wash and hang my fishing clothes for the day. Prepare the ingredients and tools I would use to cook dinner. And other things. My busyness distracted me until sunset arrived.

I prepared dinner; it wasn't anything fancy, but for me, it was the most beautiful thing. Even the taste seemed different than usual, more vibrant. I knew this was probably just my imagination, but I was happy with the result.

As soon as I finished dinner, I felt tired from the day's events. Tired but satisfied. But what would make this day more complete was a night bath in the calm river to wash away the fatigue before going to sleep.