Following
Footsteps
Nick
Devin
Pa got me up
before the rooster had awoken and crowed his cries of a winter morning. He told me it was time to get ready. My bed was warm, and by the looks of it my
teddy was still enjoying his sleep. I
looked around our house and saw that everyone was still asleep. Mary-Sue and William were sharing their bed,
and Ma was in bed with baby Jack. The
fire that kept us warm all night had died down to little dancing sparks. I rolled out of my small bed and fought
against the bitter chill that shocked my bones.
I decided to put more logs on the fire so that Ma had plenty of heat to
cook my brothers and sister breakfast.
Even though I am the second youngest, I like to think that I am just as
old as William and more grown up. I
found my winter coat and put that over me and pushed my feet into my boots. I whispered bye to my bear before I opened
the door; I didn’t want to keep Pa waiting.
The cold sent another shock through me as I stepped outside. Pa was already calling me to hurry
along.
Our footsteps crunched the snow as
we set off into the trees. Pa was
carrying his pack with his rifle over his shoulder. I could see a small line of yellow and orange
blur across the sky. It was too far away
for me to feel any warmth, so I wrapped my arms around my chest as I followed
the footsteps Pa had already created. I
was walking much easier in the tracks that were already made for me, so I could
worry more about keeping myself warm. I
didn’t know how long we’d be out today, but I was glad to be away from the
house. Ma said that I had to study my words
today, which is never exciting, but instead Pa had taken me out. Even though the cold is making my bones
shiver, it’s better than learning my words.
As
we walked along the mountain side, Pa continued to power on with no rest. My legs were beginning to become stiff and
sore and I needed to sit down. I asked
if we could stop and rest, but Pa said no and continued on. He didn’t look back. He only looked into the distance where we
were heading. I looked up at the sky as
I shrugged it off, noticing the thin yellow and orange line had grown bigger
and brighter and had now almost filled the sky.
Clouds began to form and the moon had almost turned invisible. The sunlight on my face scared away the
shivers from my bones. As I let go of my
breath, I watched the misty air float up and become a part of the sky.
I still followed Pa’s footsteps
through the snow, hearing the crackle of his boots meeting the earth in front
of me. Even though the sunlight had
warmed me up, a small chill was still in the air and it made my ears throb. I had no way of protecting them from the cold
air so I cupped my hands over them as I walked.
I looked at how Pa walked in front of me, wondering if he too felt as
cold as I was. He walked at the same speed
as when we first started, ploughing through the snow and the cold air. I knew Pa was strong, but as I watched him
walk with his heavy pack and his rifle along his shoulder, and his legs
stretching across the snow, I wondered how I could become like that. I decided to break away from his path he had
created and started to step through the deep snow. It was harder than I had thought, and my legs
were aching with each long step I took.
My boot had become stuck in the snow, and I had fallen back onto my
tracks. As I tried to push my frozen
foot into my boot, I felt a large hand pick me up from my back and put me on my
feet. Pa didn’t look too happy and he
let go of my coat. He told me to stick
behind him and not to fall behind as we headed deep into the tree line.
The forest was always scary to
me. My brother and sister told me it was
where the monsters make their home. Along the forest floor the shadows of the
tree top created horrifying images in my mind.
Large teeth of the creature with its claws, almost as sharp as the knife
Ma uses on the hens, patterned the floor.
I noticed scratch marks along the trees and I wondered what beast could
do this? Strange noises bounced off of
the bark and echoed in my ears as I looked around into the distance. The leaves began to move and shake,
frightening me more, so I ran to catch up to Pa. The sky couldn’t break through the tops of
the trees so the air become colder again.
Pa didn’t seem to worry about the shadows or the scratches or the noises,
he just kept walking through the snow. He
began to watch his step as he knew that we were coming close to our prey.
Our pace had slowed down and Pa told
me to watch where I stepped. I noticed
tiny hoof prints in the snow alongside where I was placing my boots, realising
that we were following them. We were
following the trail just like following the breadcrumbs in the stories Ma reads
to me. Pa whispered to be quiet as we
tip toed through the woods. I could hear
movement behind the bushes as we moved closer.
My frozen feet began to hurt the slower I walked on them. We crept down beside a bush. Pa pulled aside the leaves to show a large
deer grazing at the tall grass that broke through the snow. He gently lowered himself onto his knee and
told me to do the same. He didn’t look
away from the deer at all. I knew what
Pa was about to ask me, but I didn’t want to hear it at this time. I had never been so close to a deer before in
my life. His soft brown fur had traces
of snowflakes brushed across it and its antlers stretched further than my
reach. I knew what I was being asked to
do; I knew from the moment Pa woke me up this morning. Pa had taught me how to shoot before. I had shot at foxes around the paddock, but I
had never shot anything as big as a deer before. I didn’t want to miss the shot and I didn’t
want to know what Pa would think of me if I missed. I wanted to be strong like him and not let
the noises and shapes in the forest frighten me. I wanted to be able to walk by myself and not
fall over in the snow. I wanted to be
like Pa. My eyes began to fill up with
tiny tears, becoming cold as they fell down my cheek. I quickly wiped them away with my
sleeve. Pa hadn’t noticed me
crying. He was still watching the
deer.
The
only time Pa looked away from the deer was to hand me his rifle. He whispered for me to breathe carefully as I
aimed and reminded me not to miss. Silence
had fallen over the forest and was broken only for a second as the click of the
hammer was pulled back into position. I
pulled the gun up against my shoulder just as Pa showed me. I began to breathe slowly so I could watch
the deer. For a moment, the cold air
became invisible to me and all my feelings had gone numb. I pulled the gun back tighter into my
shoulder and wondered what Pa was thinking.
Another thought of upsetting Pa entered my mind as I focused on the
deer. My knees began to shake and my
arms had lost all their strength and began to wobble. This is exactly what I didn’t want to happen;
I won’t be like Pa at all. As I tried to
straighten up, a hand gently patted my shoulder and Pa whispered, “You can do
it son.” A smile stretched across my
face as I tightened my grip on the rifle.
The loud bang of the gun bounced between the trees followed by the soft
thud of the fallen deer. My heart felt as
if it would break through my throat as I looked up at Pa with my smile even
bigger now. He looked down at me with
the same smile on his face and patted me on the back. I knew I was responsible for the smile on his
face.
I helped Pa wrap up the deer so it
was easier for him to drag back home. My
heart was still racing in my chest with excitement and joy. “Hey son, how about you lead the way back
home, and I will follow your footsteps this time?” Another smile reached across my face as I
began to set off into the snow.
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