Page 34 of Baby Me

“No, no, no. You’re not old enough to manage through the winteryet!”

I ran after him. The forest floor was littered with damp leaves and moss, and I slipped a few times, losing my balance, but continued. The fawn would stop every once in a while, look up, and then take off again. The land sloped downhill. Cameron had told me there was a valley between the cabin and the town, and judging by the steep terrain ahead, I must have been near thebottom.

When I spotted the fawn again, he was standing still, ears perked, looking ahead at the stream. A group of deer with younglings were grazing the grass near the water. I held still as the doe’s head flew up and she stared in the fawn’s direction. He took a hesitant step forward, and she showed some more interest, coming toward him. Not wanting to frighten them, I didn’t move a muscle. The fawn called out to her, and she stepped closer. He repeated his cries until she reached him, sniffed him, and then licked around his muzzle. She then turned and walked away, letting him follow her. Soon, the remainder of the herd circled the fawn, accepting him as one of theirown.

“Aww, you found a new mama.” My heart drummed harder at the sweet moment, and I wished that the fawn’s brother was there to join the family. I couldn’t wait to tell Silvia the good news. If the family came back, I’d try to bring the other fawn by aswell.

I waited until the herd crossed the stream, and then I hiked up the hill on the other side. It was steeper than the way over, and I caught the first glimpse of Cameron’s cabin near the top. But when I turned around to go back to Silvia’s, I tripped on a rock and landed near a fallentree.

“Shit!” I tumbled down into a trench concealed by overgrown ferns and shrubs. My arms were scraped and I was sure I’d have a new bruise or two over my ribs. When I gathered myself together, I looked up at the old trunk of an oakoverhead.

“No, no, no.” I tried to climb out of the steep bank, but the ground was loose. Tree roots scraped the side of my face and fresh soil moved underneath my feet each time I attempted to get out. I grasped at some twigs but only managed to tear those out in the process. The hollow trap around me was dark and cold. Chills spread over my body as the first thought of possibly having to wait until a search party was sent out became morerealistic.

“I’mstuck.”

I gripped a root on the other wall but had no luck there either, as that area was even more unstable. If I moved too much soil, the trunk above me covered with moss and vines couldcollapse.

“Oh, this is notgood.”

Somewhere in the distance I heard the leaves rustle. I froze, straining my ears. Another swish sounded, and I jumped up. With my luck it would be a bear or a lynx. I backed into a corner and then saw something drop into the enclosure. More leaves rustled, and then it was quietagain.

“Please, God, let me live through this. Dying in a ditch would feel so wrong.” I wouldn’t give up. I couldn’t.Iwas spared for a reason and it certainly wasn’t to die alone in a ditch, so long as my heart kept beating I would try to get out of there. It must have been at least a good fifteen minutes before I was brave enough to see what had dropped into the ditch. With my back against the wall, I shuffled my feet toward the opening. When I touched the rope, I couldn’t believe it. I tugged it once, then again, and it held inplace.

“Thank you,God!”

I gripped the rope and climbed out. For the first time since the incident with Cortez three months ago, I felt the lack of muscle strength in my leg and my arm, and I wished I’d exercised more. Exhausted, dirty, and cold, I crawled on all fours until I was a safe distance from the trap. The rope was tied to a tree, but no one was around. “Hello? Is anyone out there?” I called out a few times, but no onereplied.

“Whoever you are, thankyou.”

I rushed back to Silvia’s, retracing my steps. My hands and jeans were soiled, and I was certain that the sweater was ruined as well. Moments later I was back at the house telling Silvia my story. “I have no idea who helpedme.”

“You know, for years there’ve been rumors that there’s a sasquatch in thewoods.”

“Like…Bigfoot?”

“I don’t believe in Bigfoot. Those who have seen him say he’s a hairy old man living in thewoods.”

“That’s sad. Someone should go out there and bring him in. Winter’scoming.”

“Kate, not everyone wants to be helped. If he’s survived years out there, he’ll be fine. You should keep your distance. God only knows, maybe it’s an ex-con.”

I felt shivers run down my back as the thought that it could actually be Cortez crossed my mind. But Cortez wouldn’t have helped me. He would have killed me and left me in that hole torot.

“Maybe we can take the other deer out tomorrow to look for the herd? That mama adopted the fawn without a secondthought.”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea. I don’t usually release them this early, but if the mother took him in, that’s great news. I’m sure she can teach him how to live through winter much better than Ican.”

“I also didn’t get a chance to see George. He’s going to beupset.”

“Oh, don’t worry about George. He actually stopped by when you didn’t show up and after he smelled my cinnamon rolls and I saw that he had an appetite for one, we shared acoffee.”

“Oh, well. That’swonderful.”

“I promised to bake a fresh batch for him and to bring it over this afternoon. I’m pretty sure my buns made George forget all aboutMerrill.”

I was pretty certain that Silvia’s buns – not only the cinnamon ones – had definitely swayed George’sdecision.

“That’s great news for Merrill. Did you hear anything else fromCameron?”

---