Chapter Ten
The late afternoon sun was so warm and gentle that Jay decided to sunbathe for a while. Not having undressed for the one night she'd spent in this strange land, she had to work out how to unfasten her top. This turned out to be quite easy, with small wooden toggles and loop fastenings made of strong thin leather holding the front together like the buttons on a cardigan. Under her top was a wide strip of extremely soft and flexible suede, very snug around her, which was knotted at the front. She left this on not just for decency - there was no knowing who she might meet next, after all - but because it was so comfortable. She already knew about her leggings and what was under them, so off they came, leaving the garment that resembled a thong which tied at the sides. Very fashionable and grown up, had been Jay's verdict when she had first uncovered them, though she would have preferred elastic. It seemed that there was no such thing here.
Discovering that the grass was unbearably prickly on her bare skin, she spread out the leggings and top on the grass to make a soft place to lie on, and sprawled on her tummy with her head on her arms to look at the view. Gazing over a wide and airy landscape, she began to realise that she was seeing some of the country she had travelled over with the wild dogs. There was the woodland, pines closer, mixed woods further off; the sun was sparkling off a large body of water which was surely the crocodile lake. Beyond that was more woodland covering swelling hills, and further still she could make out snow-capped mountains which were faint with distance.
After a while, she began to look at what was close to her. Most of the grass was fine and short except round the larger boulders, where it grew coarsely and threw up long stems with stubby flowering tips. Busy insects scurried about their business in and out of the grass. A large bee lumbering just above her toes made Jay wonder how it could ever stay aloft. It was unlike any she had ever seen and reminded her rather painfully of bees in the park at home. She put the thought firmly away, looking around for something else to hold her attention. In places there were little piles of rabbit scat. She couldn't see any rabbit holes, so she wandered to the base of the cliffs to look; there were none that she could find. From here the ledge looked comfortably wide. She tried throwing pebbles to see whether she could get one right out over the edge, but it was too far and all her stones fell short.
Remembering that she'd noticed a small stream emerging from the cliff face not far from where the track had widened on their way up, she decided that she deserved some play time. She walked back to it, took off her remaining two bits of clothing and sat in the water, watching the play of light on the surface and on the pebbles beneath for a while before splashing herself all over. She was a little alarmed at first by the way the stream disappeared over the edge, though this was a hefty stone's throw away. Although the stream was too shallow to swim in Jay laid herself down anyway, wriggling so that the water could flow over her shoulders, and dreaming of building a dam to make a pool so that she could bathe properly.
When she had had enough, she got out and rolled in the grass to try and take the worst of the wetness off, but as this left prickly pieces of grass and seeds all over her she got back into the stream and splashed vigorously until she was smooth and free from irritating bits. The sun was so warm that she didn't worry about repeating the attempt to get dry, and she headed back damply towards her camping place. About halfway between the stream and the pile of firewood, she had a physical reminder of something else that needed to be done. A largish stone, fairly sharp, soon came to hand, and she dug herself a small trench for her waste, burying what she deposited with a light layer from the earth mounded up from making the hole, as the dholes had taught her on her first day with them. She stuck the digging stone in the pile for future use: it had proved to be useful as a tool for chucking earth as well as for digging.
She decided not to put her clothes back on yet after all. If anyone came, which she doubted they would, they'd just have to put up with it and look away while she dressed. The late afternoon was still warm, though the sun might disappear soon, and she wanted to make the most of her freedom. She started to wander back to base when she felt what she thought was an insect crawling on the inside of her thigh, but when she put her hand down to brush it off she found her hand was sticky with blood. She sat down, a little alarmed. Could she have cut herself in the stream? A perfunctory look didn't show any wound, not even a small one, but when she stood up to go on there was a sudden gush of blood down her thighs.
Now she understood what the moss was for. She hadn't believed the dholes when they told her she was soon to be a woman. Grieving for her childhood which she now had to accept would soon come to an end, she yelled again and again in frustration. Her voice echoed off the rocks as she raged along the ledge, right up to the white cliffs and back to the piles of firewood. Furious with everything in this world and every other, she kicked the empty pack round the stone circle and into one of the firewood piles. Her thighs developed a butterfly of blood as she stormed futilely around. Soon her back and arms began to get sore with the beginnings of sunburn. She finished with her storming, picked up the moss, stuffed it into the pack which she had emptied, tucked her clothes under her arm and trudged disconsolately and uncomfortably back to the stream, where she wetted some of the moss to clean the blood from her thighs. She stuffed a large handful of moss into the thong and put her clothes back on although she still wasn't quite dry. Now she felt quiet and thoughtful and more than a little gloomy. Shadows were creeping towards her along the ledge, and she returned to the piles of firewood.
She stood for a while, considering what was missing, then scrabbled away to clear a rough fireplace, using a stone to grub up as much of the grass and roots as she could. By the time she had finished the light was fading fast. Picking up the clay pot from the ground where she had dumped everything from the pack, she was relieved to find that it still held smouldering charcoal. She was also relieved that she could remember what the wild dogs had showed her about starting a fire. After a couple of panicky failures she got a small blaze going and settled down for supper.
This time the pack yielded some dark meat, already cooked, with a selection of crunchy leaves from no salad she had ever seen before. However, she was getting used to not being able to recognise the pack's food, which had always proved delicious and satisfying, so she tried them. Although the leaves were slightly bitter, Jay was so ravenous that she wolfed them down, with the meat, in short order and looked for something for dessert. Another wrapped packet contained a dark, spicy, richly fruited cake and three small apples, and the flask yielded something which tasted quite like hot chocolate.
Satisfied and rather full, she put a couple more bits of wood on the fire and curled up to gaze into the flames. As night drew an invisible cloak over her surroundings, she began drowsily and tentatively to touch her thoughts about Grace, wondering whether she had been left here to confront the feelings about Grace's illness which she had so determinedly hidden from herself. She was totally unaware of falling asleep; but sometime during the night she half woke and realised that Bear was curled up around her as though she was a cub. She snuggled deep into the warm fur and fell back into a deep and dreamless sleep.
When she awoke, the sky was bright with sunrise, the fire was a smear of black charcoal, and the Bear was gone.
The late afternoon sun was so warm and gentle that Jay decided to sunbathe for a while. Not having undressed for the one night she'd spent in this strange land, she had to work out how to unfasten her top. This turned out to be quite easy, with small wooden toggles and loop fastenings made of strong thin leather holding the front together like the buttons on a cardigan. Under her top was a wide strip of extremely soft and flexible suede, very snug around her, which was knotted at the front. She left this on not just for decency - there was no knowing who she might meet next, after all - but because it was so comfortable. She already knew about her leggings and what was under them, so off they came, leaving the garment that resembled a thong which tied at the sides. Very fashionable and grown up, had been Jay's verdict when she had first uncovered them, though she would have preferred elastic. It seemed that there was no such thing here.
Discovering that the grass was unbearably prickly on her bare skin, she spread out the leggings and top on the grass to make a soft place to lie on, and sprawled on her tummy with her head on her arms to look at the view. Gazing over a wide and airy landscape, she began to realise that she was seeing some of the country she had travelled over with the wild dogs. There was the woodland, pines closer, mixed woods further off; the sun was sparkling off a large body of water which was surely the crocodile lake. Beyond that was more woodland covering swelling hills, and further still she could make out snow-capped mountains which were faint with distance.
After a while, she began to look at what was close to her. Most of the grass was fine and short except round the larger boulders, where it grew coarsely and threw up long stems with stubby flowering tips. Busy insects scurried about their business in and out of the grass. A large bee lumbering just above her toes made Jay wonder how it could ever stay aloft. It was unlike any she had ever seen and reminded her rather painfully of bees in the park at home. She put the thought firmly away, looking around for something else to hold her attention. In places there were little piles of rabbit scat. She couldn't see any rabbit holes, so she wandered to the base of the cliffs to look; there were none that she could find. From here the ledge looked comfortably wide. She tried throwing pebbles to see whether she could get one right out over the edge, but it was too far and all her stones fell short.
Remembering that she'd noticed a small stream emerging from the cliff face not far from where the track had widened on their way up, she decided that she deserved some play time. She walked back to it, took off her remaining two bits of clothing and sat in the water, watching the play of light on the surface and on the pebbles beneath for a while before splashing herself all over. She was a little alarmed at first by the way the stream disappeared over the edge, though this was a hefty stone's throw away. Although the stream was too shallow to swim in Jay laid herself down anyway, wriggling so that the water could flow over her shoulders, and dreaming of building a dam to make a pool so that she could bathe properly.
When she had had enough, she got out and rolled in the grass to try and take the worst of the wetness off, but as this left prickly pieces of grass and seeds all over her she got back into the stream and splashed vigorously until she was smooth and free from irritating bits. The sun was so warm that she didn't worry about repeating the attempt to get dry, and she headed back damply towards her camping place. About halfway between the stream and the pile of firewood, she had a physical reminder of something else that needed to be done. A largish stone, fairly sharp, soon came to hand, and she dug herself a small trench for her waste, burying what she deposited with a light layer from the earth mounded up from making the hole, as the dholes had taught her on her first day with them. She stuck the digging stone in the pile for future use: it had proved to be useful as a tool for chucking earth as well as for digging.
She decided not to put her clothes back on yet after all. If anyone came, which she doubted they would, they'd just have to put up with it and look away while she dressed. The late afternoon was still warm, though the sun might disappear soon, and she wanted to make the most of her freedom. She started to wander back to base when she felt what she thought was an insect crawling on the inside of her thigh, but when she put her hand down to brush it off she found her hand was sticky with blood. She sat down, a little alarmed. Could she have cut herself in the stream? A perfunctory look didn't show any wound, not even a small one, but when she stood up to go on there was a sudden gush of blood down her thighs.
Now she understood what the moss was for. She hadn't believed the dholes when they told her she was soon to be a woman. Grieving for her childhood which she now had to accept would soon come to an end, she yelled again and again in frustration. Her voice echoed off the rocks as she raged along the ledge, right up to the white cliffs and back to the piles of firewood. Furious with everything in this world and every other, she kicked the empty pack round the stone circle and into one of the firewood piles. Her thighs developed a butterfly of blood as she stormed futilely around. Soon her back and arms began to get sore with the beginnings of sunburn. She finished with her storming, picked up the moss, stuffed it into the pack which she had emptied, tucked her clothes under her arm and trudged disconsolately and uncomfortably back to the stream, where she wetted some of the moss to clean the blood from her thighs. She stuffed a large handful of moss into the thong and put her clothes back on although she still wasn't quite dry. Now she felt quiet and thoughtful and more than a little gloomy. Shadows were creeping towards her along the ledge, and she returned to the piles of firewood.
She stood for a while, considering what was missing, then scrabbled away to clear a rough fireplace, using a stone to grub up as much of the grass and roots as she could. By the time she had finished the light was fading fast. Picking up the clay pot from the ground where she had dumped everything from the pack, she was relieved to find that it still held smouldering charcoal. She was also relieved that she could remember what the wild dogs had showed her about starting a fire. After a couple of panicky failures she got a small blaze going and settled down for supper.
This time the pack yielded some dark meat, already cooked, with a selection of crunchy leaves from no salad she had ever seen before. However, she was getting used to not being able to recognise the pack's food, which had always proved delicious and satisfying, so she tried them. Although the leaves were slightly bitter, Jay was so ravenous that she wolfed them down, with the meat, in short order and looked for something for dessert. Another wrapped packet contained a dark, spicy, richly fruited cake and three small apples, and the flask yielded something which tasted quite like hot chocolate.
Satisfied and rather full, she put a couple more bits of wood on the fire and curled up to gaze into the flames. As night drew an invisible cloak over her surroundings, she began drowsily and tentatively to touch her thoughts about Grace, wondering whether she had been left here to confront the feelings about Grace's illness which she had so determinedly hidden from herself. She was totally unaware of falling asleep; but sometime during the night she half woke and realised that Bear was curled up around her as though she was a cub. She snuggled deep into the warm fur and fell back into a deep and dreamless sleep.
When she awoke, the sky was bright with sunrise, the fire was a smear of black charcoal, and the Bear was gone.