I awoke the next morning, sore and tired from what happened last night against a tree, my eyes were swollen from crying so much that I didn't get much sleep. I hid from the settlers a ways away, worried that I might be found and killed. I got up and stretched a bit before making my way back to the now burned ruins of what was once my home. The village in the distance was blackened with smoke and ash and what was once my home, filled with life,love and laughter, was now gone just like that. I slowly made my way to the village, carefully searching for any signs of the settlers still being there, but there was no sign of them. Whatever happened after they attacked the village, they were long gone and miles away by now. The only traces that they were ever here was the footprints from their horses and their boots that surrounded the ashes of the village. As I walked through the village, I could see the blackened remains of the huts mixed with the remains of the bodies of everyone I once knew. A eerie silence fell over me as I tried to take in the sight of a home that I could no longer return to.

I could hear sounds of some huts falling apart as I walked, too burned to hold anything up or some even crumbling to ash as I did so. A slight breeze blew through here, clearing ash and smoke away with it. I could smell the burnt wood or the faint smell of other objects or bodies among the ruins. I stopped walking and just sank to my knees and screamed out in pain before I cried. I cried for a while before wiping my tears away, and getting up. I didn't know that I had tears left after last night but the pain and shock must have been to great to bear and just took me like fish trapped in a bear's mouth during the autumn months. I then decided to see if there was anything worth saving from the ruins that I could bring with me, for I knew i couldn't stay here long and who knows if and when those settlers would return and with more of them.

I looked around in the ashes and piles of rubble, carefully examining each one as I did so, to see if maybe I could find a arrowhead or something similar to use as a weapon or something else that was useful to me. But all I found was ash and burnt huts and the charcoal bodies of the people who once lived here. After my less than desired search, I decided to drink some water and look for some berries I could eat before I set off in into the woods. The woods would have water and food but my only concern right now was how I was going to hunt or even find shelter for the night. I had no weapons or anything to store food or water in case, I got thirsty or hungry on a long journey. For the time being, I went to the woods and found some blackberries to eat. I then took whatever vegetables and other food we had grown nearby and stored them in a nearby hallowed out tree while I got some big branches that fallen off some trees and looked for a spot where I could place them in a way where I could be protected from the elements.

I found a couple of trees that were close enough to where I could place branches in between above my head, and then take some leaves stems to tie them together until I found something more sturdy to hold them up. Once I was done making the shelter, I went back for my food and placed the food a burned tree stump that had a big enough hole in it near the shelter. Now that I had food, I was fine for maybe a few days til I needed to go out and hunt. The trees creaked as wind blew through the branches and I. could hear the birds chirping and on occasion flying around. Bugs moved around on the ground, on the trees and some even flew on occasion.  Next I needed to find a river to for water but in case I couldn't find one, the lake nearby would be a great comfort for me as well. My next problem was where I would store water in. I had no baskets to help bring water back with. I could make a basket out of bark or branches but with nothing to hold anything together, if would be difficult to keep the water from seeping out onto the forest floor. So for now, I decided to drink from the lake nearby until then.

I needed to make a weapon. But should I make a bow and arrow or a spear? A bow and arrows could take a while and I needed to think fast if I was going to survive spring let alone winter later in the year. For now, I decided to make a spear made out of a long tree branch and would use a sharp rock to help sharp one end of it so I could hunt. I knew I would need to make more than one so I started to gather branches that were good for hunting and easy for me to use at a distance. I then went around the forest to see if there were any rocks that were good for sharping until I found one near the lake and brought it back with me. By the time I got back, it was the afternoon and decided to eat some of the food I had stored before I started working on the spear I needed to use for hunting. I took one of the branches and began working on making the first spear I would use.

I had seen the men in the village making spears before and had watched them as they made the spears long and sharp using the tools they had on hand. It was a long process and by the time, I had got a good amount of work done on it, it was almost nighttime. I stopped working on it for now and began getting a few small twigs to start a fire for the night and ate whatever berries I had saved for dinner. Tomorrow I decided to see if I could go and hunt a small rabbit in hopes, I would have a little more to eat while I made the spears to hunt bigger game with. It was a little cold that night and I didn't have any warm fur to help me keep warm other than the fire I had started. I stayed close to it, under the cover of the shelter while doing my best not to shiver from the cold and the wind blowing ever so slightly. I needed a Buffalo or otter pelt so I could make a dress or maybe a blanket for the cold nights ahead. I laid there taking in the warmth of the fire, until before I knew it, I had closed my eyes and it was morning again. The birds were chirping and frogs croaked in the distance and crickets still chirped away, making a soothing sound as if it was a lullaby.

The fire had died out and there was nothing but a hint of smoke and ash in the fire pit that morning. Dew fell from the trees and lightly covered grass as I got up and out of my shelter and stretched my arms and legs. I then ate some carrots and potatoes, before I walked to the lake and drank some water. The sky was cloudy and the sun was barely peeking through, warming bits of the earth down below. The grass under the sun's light glowed a bright golden color as a breeze came through, making the grass sway. While at the lake, I bathed in the cold water and cleaned myself of the dirt and mud caked on my skin. The water became murky and brown as the dirt and mud slid down my bare skin and into the clear water down below. Once I cleaned my body of the mud and dirt, I quickly dunked my face and hair in the water to get clean before I started making my way out onto the bank of the lake. Crows flew over head, cawing loudly as they went. As I got out of the water, I could see in the distance, a camp of women and children not too far away. I quickly gathered my clothes and hid near huge rock formation as I didn't want to be seen. I quickly put on the clothes I had with me before I slowly peeked out from behind to get a good look at the camp. From where I was, I could only see women and children with horses, wagons and other belongings I had never seen before. The men I assumed were off hunting or making sure the area was clear before moving on. They probably saw the remains of my village and assumed everyone had died or just the women and children got killed and didn't want to risk being killed by the men who were probably alive unaware of the events that took place just the night before.

I decided not to approach them for now, seeing as they could have weapons and might not be so welcoming towards me, made me go back behind the rock formation and quietly and quickly duck back into the woods towards my own camp site where my makeshift shelter and food waited for me. After finishing up a couple of spears, I decided to try throwing them to get used to them and picked a nearby tree to practice aiming. I then used a rock to mark a spot out of the tree so I knew where to aim and focus on while throwing. I grabbed a spear and began practicing throwing and aiming it at the tree. At first I wasn't very good since I had never used a weapon and usually women in my village didn't go hunting very often if not at all, so I had no one to really teach me when everyone was alive. I gave it a few more tries before I called it quits for today and decided to look for more berries for dinner that night.

But as I was looking, I could hear a branch snap in half and I quickly turned around and saw a woman standing right behind me with a few branches in her hands. We both jumped in surprise and she accidentally dropped the branches that were in her hands. At first either one of us moved and just looked at each other, waiting to see what either one of us would do next. She then quickly grabbed a few branches that were on the ground before running away, looking behind her at me as she went. I didn't know for certain if she would go tell the other people at her camp about me and have them come and kill me or even take me hostage. Either one wasn't a good choice and I decided to keep my eye on the camp for the time being, to see what they did. I waited a bit before I went to the camp hid in the tree line to see what they did, but all I saw was them setting up camp for the night and them going about their day like normal. No sign of them being aggressive or hostile in any way, so I assumed the woman either never said anything or if she had, she probably was told to keep quiet and not to cause panic among the others. I then quietly creeped back into the woods and went back to hunting for berries. As I was carrying some berries back with me, I noticed something that was in my shelter. At first, I thought a wild animal of some kind had gotten into my food or made it's home there but upon a closer look, I realized it was clothes, some beads and a knife.

I set the berries down on a tree stump and looked around the area to make sure it wasn't a trap before going through the items that were placed there. The beads were made of a bright red, yellow and green color and strung together using a single piece of thread, tied together in a knot on the back. I set the beads down next to me before I then looked at the knife. The knife's sharp edge was made of a hard animal bone which was a bit worn and tied with a small piece of rope to a small wooden piece big enough to fit in my hand. I looked at the knife for a bit more before I sat it next to the beads and looked at the dress which was the final item that was left here. The dress were a deep blue color and had colorful patterns weaved into it all over. I put the dress up against my body before trying it on. I knew it was white man's clothing but out here in the wilderness, one must do what one must to survive. If the woman had truly given me these items then I had to thank her in some way but with what?

I looked around for something I could give to show my appreciation and saw the feather I still had wedged in between a twig and a tree trunk and thought I could give it to her but to me, it was the last piece I had of my people and decided best not to. I ended up thinking the best way of thanking her, was to use the items she gave me until I could make new clothes and make more weapons in the meantime. A part of me, thought she took pity on me for being out here alone and another thought she did it out of fear. Either way, I couldn't blame her. If I was in her place, I would be the same. I put on the dress and decided to wash my old clothes of the mud and dirt that they were caked in and hung them to dry on a branch close to the ground that I could reach from a tree's trunk. Once that was done, I sat there humming to myself, as twilight began to fall upon the sky and the birds chirping and chased each other among the trees and I hear the frogs and crickets chime in as well. Then I heard a owl off in the distance, crying out as it flew off, whoo whoo, until I couldn't hear no more and all there was left me, the forest and the sounds of the night echoing in the distance.