Chapter 7

When all the light receded and I could finally open my eyes I was astonished. The deer was in front of me, completely recuperated. There was not a single trace of injury in it. What kind of sorcery is this?

The deer was just observing me. It's big eyes still, as if it was trying to test me. I just stood there, unmoving trying to see what it would do and searching for possible escape routes in case it decided to attack me.

Finally, it started to move. I got tense, ready to do whatever it took to leave out alive if it decided to attack. When it was already on top of me, it just looked down and touched my forehead with its nuzzle. I felt as if an electric current passed through my whole body. And once again, there was a flash of green that blinded me.

During the whole ordeal, I felt as if something inside me was being unlocked. I don't know what, but there was a new sensation as if I could use something special from now on. When the light died down, the deer was standing a couple of meters in front of me with its head turned, as if asking me to follow. I hesitated for a few seconds but decided to follow it.

I kept making marks on the trees to be able to get back, but even then I was getting more and more into the forest. It became confusing at some point, and I decided to not make more marks. Not because I didn't need them, but because I wasn't even sure where I was. I was completely lost.

Sometime later, we were finally at our destination. A little cave etched in the face of the hill. The soil surrounding the caves was bare of trees, with only grass and some bushes present. From where I was standing I could see the end of the cave, it was smaller than the one I was living in. The difference between this one and mine two weeks ago was a little bed made of scattered leaves and a little stream flowing from the rocky wall. 

After that little walk, the deer started to eat some little grass that was growing in a corner just beside the cave. I made sure to not step in any patch of grass that appeared important and made my way towards the cave. The deer was just eyeing me with curious eyes as if asking me what I wanted to do. 

I avoided the obvious makeshift bed and made my way towards the little stream. I didn't know how to make a leather bag to store water, so right now I was thirsty beyond measurement. The little stream was clear and flowing without stopping into the floor right below. Considering that the deer was surviving with it, then it's safe to assume that it would not pose a threat to me. As if sensing that I wanted to recover the deer went back to its feast. As I had already eaten some berries I was not feeling hungry, just a little bit tired. 

As it was already late, even if I made my way back home right now I would not make it before the sunset and I didn't want to be walking alone in the middle of the night. Who knows what kind of horrors are being covered by the darkness? Instead, I decided to watch the deer go about its merry way. I didn't have to do anything and after some time, I became bored and fell asleep. 

I woke up to a wet feeling tickling my cheek. Thinking that maybe it was raining I opened my eyes immediately and was surprised to see the deer licking me. It looked like it was reminding me to not sleep out in the open. 

I sat up slowly while observing my surroundings. The sun had already set, but if the deer tried to wake me up recently, then it must not be late. The weird thing is that right now I can see perfectly fine without the need of a torch as if it were still daytime. 

My eyesight appeared to have improved too. I didn't need glasses before, but right now I could see with detail the little bugs that were crawling ten or so meters before me. It amazed me, and spent the next minutes trying to see what was my limit. 

I could see about twenty to thirty meters before me without light. Any more than that and I would not be able to see much, just some vague forms that you could deduce were trees. As for when the details become blurry, I don't know. The lack of light was detrimental, but even then it was no problem for me to see a little fly flapping its wings beside a tree 20 meters from where I stood. 

The deer observed me for a couple of minutes, but then lost interest and went inside the cave to sleep. By the time I finished the little test, the deer was already asleep on top of the pile of leaves. As there was a little current right on the other side, I tried to find a comfortable spot between the deer and the back of the cave. 

The moment I tried to pass by the deer it immediately got up and looked at me. As if sensing what I was about to do, it blocked my path encouraging me to come to its place. 

- Why do you want me to do that? 

The deer just stared at me, not knowing what I meant by that. Once again it urged me to go to where it was sleeping seconds ago. Knowing that it was futile to try communicating with words I just stared at it with intensity. 

This formed a deadlock with both of us staring at one another. In the end, the one who relented was me. I approached the deer slowly, not knowing what to expect. When I was near enough it let out a cry of joy and lay down while making space for me. It didn't make sense to me why it was so happy. 

As I lay down with the deer I began to feel the heat and fluffiness of its fur. It was amazing how comfortable it was to use it as a mattress. Even the bed back home didn't feel this good. 

After getting comfortable I began dozing off and soon I was asleep, I didn't even notice the unnatural glow that was surrounding us the moment I got close to the deer. 

The next day began earlier than usual. It seems that the deer was used to wake up even before the sunrise. It was weird because there was nothing to do and it was freezing outside. That leads me to think about where are we right now. It was cold in the prairie, but not to this extent. 

To not die of cold I ended up clinging to the deer. And I stayed like that until the sun finally got out. Fortunately, the deer didn't seem mad at me for staying in its back for such a long time. As it is routine after waking up – or in this case, after getting separated from the deer – I began to do some exercises.