2. Deeper

I don't know how far down I am. I don't even know how long I have been digging. I just know that it keeps getting hotter the deeper I go. When they told me that some eggs are close to the liquid fire I didn't expect it to be this close. I'm actually starting to get thirsty. Soon thereafter, relief was coming. I was already far enough down into the hole that I couldn't see the daylight. But I could see shadows of clouds as the wind carried them in front of the sun. Now the clouds were thicker and the smell of rain slowly drifted to the bottom of my hole. I tipped my head back and tried to taste the air but I just got a mouthful of heat. That is when the first drops of rain trickled down into my hole. I thought this might cool things off a little for me. Feint little wisps of steam curled upwards after hitting the floor. Its as if they were trying to escape the heat themselves. A few more trickles made their way down. Then some more. I could hear the echoes of thunder clapping above. The trickles were gathering into small streams. Soon small puddles were forming around my feet. This is just what I needed. After 6 days of digging this hole it is filling with water and I have no egg to show for it! How deflating. I had to think fast. So I scampered back up the hole as quickly as I could. The way up becoming more treacherous as the walls became more slick. But I managed to crawl out the top in time to see the last of the sun duck behind a set of heavy clouds, darkening the mid-day sky to something resembling twilight. Small streams were now coursing into my hole. So I dismantled my tent as quickly as I could and covered the hole. I placed the heavy stones from the fire pit around the tent to keep that water out. Now I just had to wait for the rain to stop. I sat in the dry spot where the tend was and wrapped a blanket around myself as well as I could. The rain was cold. Very cold compared to the heat in the hole. As I was sitting there my thoughts took me back to my sister, wherever she may be. I peered skyward and hoped that she was sitting under the same clouds somewhere getting just as wet as I was. Maybe she was even thinking of me. I tried to curl up and lie down. I must have drifted off for a while because when I woke it was night. The rain was still falling and more wind arrived. My tent was fluttering in the breeze and some more water was seeping into the hole. As I was sitting there an idea struck me. But it was hard to see in this dark. I had no fire. There was no moon or star light. Only the occasional flicker of distant lightening. I figured doing something was better than sitting here doing nothing. I gathered some of the boards I had scattered about and quickly fashioned a makeshift bench across the top of the hole and then set up the tent over that. Granted, it was quite ugly. The top of the tent frequently drooped just enough to annoy me. But the tent was true. It didn't leak. And only a little water was trickling in under the edges. My little platform was sturdy enough to accommodate my length. Its times like this when I'm glad to be of small stature. My father used to joke that my mother must have been drinking ale while pregnant with me, that's why I remained short. Kea never failed to remind that I was not only her younger brother, but her little brother too. I chuckle about that now, but I wasn't always so good humored about it. So, here I sit, damp and nameless, short but strong. Holding on the memories of my family helps keep me warm. Oh, and yes: Have I mentioned that its dark? More than once I thought I heard something outside. Nothing too worrisome, but noticeable, nonetheless. I didn't bother to go investigate. I wouldn't be able to see much anyway. So I sat quietly and waited. It was still dark when I woke for the second time. But the rain had slowed to a sprinkle. I was a bit stiff from sleeping on the boards but at least I was relatively dry now. The heat from the hole had been drying me off. How convenient! I lifted one corner of the tent and felt a feint draft of rain-cooled air. It didn't feel bad now. It was a nice change from the summer heat. I crawled out to stretch and look around. As I turned toward the east I noticed the crimson glow of dawn creeping over the hills on the horizon. That was a good sign. That meant the clouds had passed. As daylight broke I rummaged through my chest and took inventory. There wasn't much left in the way of food. But I collected my flint and straw and some fire dust. I put them in my purse, strapped my purse to my belt and slung it over my shoulder. I made my way toward the small patch of woods a short way north of here and checked my traps. The traps were empty. None had been tripped. No meat for breakfast today. I plucked a few berries wild grapes and headed back to the hole. From the distance I could see some vapor escaping the hole. After eating a little I made my way down the hole to continue digging. I looked around for my gear when I realized that I left everything at the bottom in my haste to get out. Oh well. As I reached the bottom I was hot again. The water was up to my hips. But it was quite nice now. It was like taking a hot bath. I looked over my arms and torso and thought a bath would do me some good. So I removed my breechers and boots and soaked in this bath for a while. The heat from the water felt so good. It seemed to penetrate my bones and warmed my core. I felt myself becoming relaxed and rejuvenated. Sometimes good things can come from an otherwise unfortunate event. With renewed vigor I climbed out of the hole again and laid my clothes out to dry in the sun. I dropped back into the hole and collected the tools. I hauled those out too. Now that I had everything I began emptying the hole using my buckets. It took some time, but the water came out readily. Once my boots and breechers were dry I resumed to the digging. The last little bit of water was seeping through the rock at the bottom of my hole. The water softened the earth a bit. The digging went faster than it ever had before. I was making good progress and I became more hopeful that I would find an egg after all. But when? I must be deep enough. It was hot enough to simmer a sausage down here. I thought I might start cutting into the walls and stop digging down. So I started carving out chunks of rock and dirt for the walls of the hole. Its easy to lose time down here. With the softened ground the digging was almost easy. Large chunks of rock tumbled out of the walls with only a little prying. One by one I hauled the small boulders out of the hole. The pile was getting larger. I almost had enough rocks excavated to build a small shelter. But still no egg. As the sun was nearing the western edge of the world I stopped digging. I hauled my gear back up and made my way to the traps again. Two had been sprung this time. One of them had a strangled hare in it. Finally, dinner! I returned to the hole and prepared the fire. I sprinkled fire dust into the fire pit and ignited it with my flint and knife blade. It wasn't too long before the scent of roasting hare wafted toward my nose. My hunger grew as the smell thickened. As I was eating I checked the sky once more. No sign of clouds. Tonight would be dry. I set up the tent where I had it before the rain. I left the fly open so I could feel the night air. It didn't take long for me to drift into a peaceful sleep. My first dream was of my parents and Kea. I was a child again living in the new home I last told you about. Kea and my mother were collecting vegetables from the garden and my father was smoking his pipe by the fireplace. I practicing my reading at my fathers insistence. A stew was brewing in the cookery and the smell was very familiar. It was a pleasant dream. I don't remember much else. Soon I was in a deep comfortable slumber. But it wouldn't last. It seems my nights of peaceful sleep were coming to a rapid end. That's when it happened...