NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9: Spring Activities
Year 0002, The Imperium
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Spring, the snow that has piled has started to melt away and with it, comes new life. The trees that have shed their leaves to conserve energy for the winter, has regrown its tiny leaves. And give it a couple of days, the entire forest will become a vibrant hue of colorful spectacle and the gloomy atmosphere would be washed away.
In Maya Village, the youngsters have now resumed their spring activities around the place.
He would tell Gel stories of his childhood as kong as he could remember and she would smile at him.
They would continue doing this until some of snow has thawed, a human carcass that was burried deep in the snow would resurface from her cold burial, she was lying there peacefully.
It wasn't much later when August found Gel's dead mother near the entrance of the village.
He was a bit emotional when he found her knowing full well that it could be the person who came with Gel that night.
After a few moments of deliberation wether to call the girl or not. He called for Gel to ask if she knew who that woman was.
There were no words that escaped Gel's mouth only tears ran through her cheeks.
He knew then that she was someone dear to her, he let her be for a while..
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A munite passed by he finally told her that they should burry her lest she'd rot or worse get desecrated by the predators.
But they need the snow to fully melt so they could give her a some resemblance of burial.
They covered her body with some fabric and wrapped it around her.
Gel was sobbing the entire time when she saw her dead mother again as flashbacks of the night assaulted her memory and her fragile emotional state did not help.
August felt pity for the girl, so he promised her to bury her mother near his kins graveyard when the snow could fully melt from the ground that was the only respect he could offer the dead, a place to eternally rest.
She only nodded in response.
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After some time has passed, he could finally see the grave where he layed his family to rest.
He started digging another solitary grave near his mothers. He made sure it was deep enough that the smell couldn't escape.
After a few hours of digging he brought the wrapped body of Gels mother. He told the girl to say her goodbyes and they both rolled her down the grave.
He covered up the hole and neatly placed some rocks on top of it.
The girl no longer could cry she had no more tears to give. Only the sadness in her swollen eyes lingered.
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After that endeavor, August asked Gel if she had a place to go to or any relatives that may look for them or take her in.
She only shook her head not uttering a single word as if she was a mute. But he knew she wasn't just ready to talk. Her swolen eyes and frail expression says it all.
He let her be for a while.
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Not knowing what to do with her, August informed her of his plans.
First, he would lay down the traps again and would scout the forest for scraps and any food he could grab.
To be honest they are almost out of their food pile considering he only rationed for himself not expecting company that winter.
To make the food last till spring he rationed their meals everyday.
Secondly, he would start planting the seeds he gathered the previous year. He couldn't start sewing since the invasion and his injuries prevented him from doing so.
Third, he would finally secure this place and probably build a fence around it. As to how he was going to do it ...
He only made some rough form of sketches in the ground last winter but he doesn't know how viable it was to achieve, only time will tell.
And since the system mission has no definite time to finish this, he could take it a bit slowly.
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A week has passed, Gel was now going out with August, after he gave her some talking. So she could occupy her troubled mind from whatever she was brooding and he would be needing every help he could get around the place.
Gel, was convinced of this and she would follow August around the place and do what he did or what he told her to do.
During their spare time he would bring her at the back of the house and teach her a few things that he knew about how to cultivate their food and how to care for them. She followed his instructions although she would fail sometimes but she still persisted.
August knew saw this as a good sign.
After their experimental period August remade the 8x8 garden at the back of their house. He and his sister were the once tasked to renake this every year. It was her mothers favorite past time fun taking care of her plants and their food back then.
After he finished cultivating the land they now have a small garden, he hasn't started farming yet it was impossible at that stage with just the two of them he knew how labor intensive it was. The garden would suffice for now and maybe he would add another section if he deemed it worth their while.
He tasked Gel in taking care of this area, he gave her some instructions to only plant edible plants so it could add some varying sustenance into their wild diet.
The land here was fairly rich in nutrients and the growth rate of the plants are doubled in this planet so he wasn't too bothered by it.
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This was their daily activity, since he wakes up early everyday to do his morning routine. After that he would go to the forest and reset the traps and scour the ground for edible fruit and mushroom like plants that he knew wasn't poisonous.
After that he would return home and would usually see Gel outside the house or at their garden taking care of the plants.
He would start cooking for the both of them since the girl couldn't cook for the life of her. A couple of days a go he taught her some simple meal that he knew. The result? A failure they couldn't afford with their current stockpile. So he was in command of cook duty for now but he would still let her practice from time to time...