Chapter 4

The sun came up over the eastern mountains, shining in the window by the fireplace. She woke up with a start, wondering where she was. Panic started to rise within her but she quickly remembered that she was in his cabin. The memories of the past two days were still very fresh in her mind and the sorrow of her loss started to overwhelm her again. She silently sobbed, covering her head in the sleeping bag as she dealt with her loss.

He was already awake but not out of bed. He heard her sobbing and surmised what it was about. Memories of the loss of his parents came back to him, and, even though it wasn't as traumatic as what she had experienced, he still understood her pain and wanted to comfort her. He started to get out of bed but hesitated. Maybe she didn't want him to be close to her at this time. He would wait until she quit crying.

Julie finally came to herself and wiped her tears away. Uncovering herself, she looked around and saw Tom looking at her. He seemed to have a different, softer expression on his face, almost like he understood what she was going through.

They looked at each other for what seemed like a long time, though in reality, just a few seconds passed. Unspoken communication passed between them but neither one of them really recognized it at the time. At an unconscious level, it almost seemed like they understood each other.

"Well, are you going to stay in bed all day?" he said. "I've got a lot to do today and I could use some help if you're up to it."

"I ... I'm not sure if I can do what you need done. What is it that I can help you with?"

"There's a lot that needs to be done. Chop wood, carry water from the stream, scrape the hides ... Well, I'm not sure you're ready for that one, but the wood and water are OK. With two of us to feed, I'm going to need some help gutting and skinning the game, but I don't suppose you know anything about that, either, would you?"

"N ... No. You really want me to help you with dead animals?"

"Yes eventually, but not now. You need to get used to being up here. Doing the wood and water will be OK for now."

They ate a small breakfast in silence, just looking at each other. No questions were asked but each one of them had plenty of questions running around in their heads. After a while they finished eating, washed the dishes and started the day.

After getting instructions about fetching the water for the cistern and retrieving wood from the pile in the back, she set to work. Her initial enthusiasm quickly waned after she saw how much work was involved and how sore and tired she was becoming.

"Can I quit now?" she asked. "There's plenty of water and wood for now."

He looked at her efforts. "Actually, there's a lot more water that needs to be carried in, and the wood rack by the fireplace isn't even half full. You've got a lot more work to do before you're done."

"I'm not your slave, you know. You can't treat me this way!"

"You're right. You're not my slave, but you are eating my food, drinking my water and sleeping under my roof. And you're not paying anything for the privilege. There's an old saying about 'she who does not work, does not eat'. I guess that it applies here, don't you think. What you've done so far gets you one meal today – and you've already had it. And tonight you can sleep outside on the porch. Get the message? Now, get back to work!"

She was stunned that he could be so cruel! Didn't he remember that she had just lost her parents and that she was a long way from home? What a ... a ... an ASSHOLE! She thought. He doesn't care about anything ... or anyone!

Sighing, she turned around and started getting more water. It was going to be a long day.

He couldn't understand why he was so hard on her. After all, she had lost her parents in a really horrible way. She probably watched while they were being eaten! Their screams while they were being eaten alive probably affected her more than I can imagine. Why am I so hard on her? I guess she reminds me of me when my parents died. After all, I was left alone to deal with all that crap. At least their lawyer was there to help me through all the legal stuff and their burial. No one came to the funeral, but I guess I expected that, too. Maybe she and I are more alike than I know.

He thought about giving her a hand with the wood, but decided not to. After all, nobody helped him while he was carving out a place to live up here in the wilderness. She'll have to learn, just like he did.