Chapter 8

I began to make preparations to get back to my cave. I did make a friend I think. But the primary objective was to hunt a big animal. Since I couldn't do it it's obvious that I would need to get back home and try again in the shortest possible time. I can't afford to waste time if winter is coming since I don't even have the basic gear to survive in such a harsh climate.

I began trying to explain to the deer that I needed to leave this forest and, at least, get back to the place where I found it. It didn't understand me at first, and when it did it was two days later. To make matters worse it wasn't letting me go. Every time I tried to make it take me back it just whined and refused to see me.

- Why do you keep pretending that I'm not talking to you!? 

Finally, one afternoon I snapped at the deer. It just looked at me meekly with its ears down, as if feeling aggrieved. 

- Hey don't give me that look. I would not be able to survive if I didn't find something to keep me warm when the winter comes. 

I was feeling guilty for snapping at it, so I lowered the tone of my voice. Still, I needed to convince it to let me go. I couldn't just live off the deer, right? 

Thinking about it now, maybe it would be a good idea? The deer is extremely soft and warm, so sleeping with it might not be a bad idea during winter. My own living fluffy bed. That took a weird turn. 

But, that is beside the point of going back to the camp. There were some things I left in there that could be useful in the long run. I couldn't just forget everything because one gigantic deer was making hurt noises and trying to act cute. 

- Hey, can you at least let me leave for a while? I can come back later with everything I have.

The deer just eyed me with doubt. Or at least that is what I think it was. It was just seeing me straight in the eyes without blinking. In these last two days I was living together with the deer I got used to its company, it was comforting to be with someone even if it couldn't talk with me. Besides, it was quite comfy to sleep with it, and the cave had everything needed to survive in the middle of the forest.

The deer started to move and that got me out of my thoughts. Without turning to see if I was following or not it just started to move in the direction of the forest. By the time I came back to my senses, the deer was already entering the forest. In a hurry, I started to follow along it. Once again I was back in the forest, this time I was focusing even more to see if I could find this place by myself.

We walked for quite a while, and I ended up as confused as the first time I set foot in this forest. The deer walked me to the entrance and stopped a couple of meters before the border. I continued to walk for a while and then looked back. The deer was still there, unmoving. Maybe it was my imagination, but it appeared to be angry at me as if asking me why I wanted to go back if the forest was such a nice place.

I just weaved it goodbye, if I wanted to stay with the deer and coexist with it, then I needed to move completely from my initial cave. That, obviously, included getting to move all the tools I made with the passage of the weeks. It would not take much to move everything as I didn't have much to begin with. By tomorrow I would have everything set, and by sunset, I would be getting back to the forest. 

As I was getting attached to the deer I decided to turn back one more time to maybe hug it or something. But, turning back there was no one in sight. Trying to shrug it off, I once more resumed my journey back to the cave.

The journey, once more, was uneventful. There was not a single animal in sight, and my only company was the whistling of the wind and rustling of the grass. Here and there I would find some berries that were half eaten – maybe by some birds – and some others that I could pick up.

Time blurred for me – who knows how much time has passed – and by the time I came back from the clouds, I was already in front of the cave; with pockets full of berries. Smiling wryly I began to vacate said pockets. Maybe I began to care about the deer more than I'm comfortable sharing, and that little episode where it disappeared didn't help me.

I began to make some bags with the dried leather from the ferrets. Let's just say that the final product was difficult for the eye, and some craftsmen would cry tears of blood. What can I say, two weeks of trying to make improvements really show.

I made many knives during these two weeks, not all of them are masterpieces, or even usable, so at least I have the option to throw away most of them. On the other hand, the axe – or at least the prototype – is an irreplaceable piece for me right now. I do not even know if I will be able to create an axe, but I will need it down the line if I want to have comfort in this inhospitable world.

By the time I finished gathering everything it was already night. I tried to fall asleep in the little bed I made with some leaves. After all the work was done, my mind finally had time to think. I was beginning to think that maybe it would have been better to leave everything here. That right now I would be lying down in some fluffy fur as my bed and not the hard floor. 

Then it dawned on me, I was missing so much the feeling of having contact with something other than dangerous animals and plants, that at the first sign of something being friendly to me, I would become completely hooked to it. Like what happened with the deer.

I never had a pet back in my home, and if I hadn't been transported to this place I wouldn't have dreamed of ever getting one. It just didn't make sense to me to try and take care of another life while I was hardly having any time to myself.

In a sense, that has changed. I'm now hoping that I could be able to live with a deer, not as a pet, but as a companion. Abrupt changes really do wonders for the personality of someone.

A couple of thoughts kept swirling in my mind for the next few minutes and then sleep slowly took me.