The story begins in a little bedroom in the attic of a little cabin in the mountains on the first first days of spring. It’s early morning, and sunlight shines through a small window and warms young Ava’s face as she wakes up.
“Ava! Ava, are you awake?”
The voice resembles that of Caden!
“Yes dad! It’s fine, you can come in.”
When the door opens, a tall, middle-aged man with a thick gray beard can be seen. He sits next to Ava in bed and lightly caresses her face.
“Time to rise, princess; the sun’s already up."
“But you said I could stay in bed until late, but it’s my birthday today!”
“You’re right, but if you do you’ll miss the big surprise i’ve prepared for you”
“What is it?”
“Come downstairs, and I’ll show you!” he smiles.
“Is that pancakes I smell?”
“Your favourite! Your mother made a special breakfast for you today!”
In a hurry, Ava gets out of bed and puts her clothes on. Caden waits downstairs in anticipation of her reaction..
“There you go! Happy Birthday!”
He finally shows whatever he was hiding. It’s a small, handmade wooden bow with Ava’s name engraved on it.
“I know you’ve been practicing hard, so I thought you deserved your own bow by now!”
“Thank you, dad!” She smiles and gives Caden a big hug.
“Enjoy it, you’re only 10 once.”
“Ava! Come eat your breakfast!” Adeline shouts from the kitchen.
“I’m going!”
“Happy Birthday dear!”
“Thanks mom!”
As she watches Ava eat, Adeline smiles.
“I think it’s about time I taught you how to hunt! What do you think?” Caden says.
Ava nods and barely eats with all the excitement.
“We’ll go when you’re ready!”
After breakfast, she grabs her red coat from the hanger, puts her boots and gloves on, and rushes out the door.
“Let’s try hunting some rabbits for a start, i know a good spot up north.” Caden suggests.
“How can we see the rabbits in this fog?”
“We can’t, but let’s hope the fog clears up when we get there!” he smiles.
“What if it doesn’t?”
“Don’t worry, just stay close to me, and you’ll be fine!”
“What do i do when i spot a rabbit?”
“You get your bow ready, make as little noise as you can, and keep your eyes open. While carefully following the rabbit, you look for his hiding spot. When that occurs, you wait until it is still before drawing your bow and shooting at its head.”
“How long till we get there?” Ava impatiently asks.
“We’re close. From now on, do as I taught you, and try not to get too far from here. There are wolves around here.”
When they finally reach the hunting spot, the fog is still dense. Caden sees a few rabbits, and so can Ava, but she clumsily scares them away.
Caden stays silent and let Ava find her own path. Despite having taught her everything vital for her survival, he is still concerned. She is still only a child, and a lot of things can go wrong.
He tries to focus only on his hunting. Even though the fog is hindering the hunt, Caden is an experienced hunter, and manages to easily capture a few rabbits.
When the fog finally lifts, Ava is nowhere to be seen.
Damn it, i told her not to wonder too far from here. Maybe she got lost because of the fog. She can’t be too far away.
Caden tries not to worry too much, but he can’t. He traces her footsteps as they go deeper into the woods and finds a few arrows scattered along the way, and later Ava’s bow and quiver.
Something happened here, she wouldn’t leave her bow for no reason. Her footsteps are wider here, almost like she was running from something.
Caden hears howling in the distance and then a scream.
“Dad, help me!”
He desperately tries to detect where her voice is coming from.
“Ava! Where are you? Talk to me!” he shouts.
“Hurry, they’re catching me!”
Caden continues to follow the trail. He finds wolf tracks.
Wolves, this is bad. I must hurry!
He discovers Ava unconscious and laying in a pool of blood at the trail’s end. A wolf is standing close by, encircling Ava, with blood on his snout. He growls at Caden when he sees him and keeps him from reaching her.
To be continued...
