by Jill Wilder
Chapter 7
After removing his boots beside the stream, Keith was shocked with his first step into the cold water. He sharply sucked in his breath until his lungs were full and he could hold it no more. As Keith began to accustom himself to the rushing cold, he could then feel the moss on the rock beneath his feet as well as the gooey feel of the mud as it crept through his toes.
Keith began reflecting upon a story he heard of a hunter standing quietly in a stream at the mouth of a pool. Keith positioned himself in just such a spot. He held his spear in his arms like a baby, and quietly became one with all that surrounded him. This was a lesson taught by Keo to all fighters. “Always know you are equal, not better, not worse, simply a part of it all.”
After a few moments of meditation, Keith raised his spear above his head and directed his attention to the clear pool just before his feet. As his eyes began to adjust to the waving water he could see all colors of red and brown in the clumps below the surface, but some were moving! With a swift down stroke of the makeshift spear, Keith lost his balance and fell in! The fish all scattered at the splash.
Keith sat in the water for a moment, overcoming the shock of the cold and wet. Sitting there he looked up to the sky, and the thought of Shell entered his head. A tear began to fall down his face as he realized the ache of never seeing her or his Father again. Before his eyes could become cloudy, the sky hosted to a beautiful creature that immediately caught Keith’s attention.
Her beauty was beyond compare. She made her spiral circles against the darkening blue of the early evening. Her brownish black wings held a perfect arc as the feathers ruffled in the wind. Her strong white neck and fierce head bestow her the look of a graceful warrior. The golden eyes, scanned the Earth below waiting and looking for what Mother Earth was going to give her today. She manipulated her flight with the full fan of her white tail., as her yellow talons hung below her in anticipation. She was a fully matured Eagle. An Elder of her kind.
Immediately upon recognition, Keith stood up out of the water, letting go of his spear. It was before he was born that the Solar Star Base released a dozen Eagles they had to the Earth. This was the first time he had seen any of those Eagles, except for the pair that remained at the Reservatory! He became very mesmerized by the flight she took, spiraling forever until she took a plunge down into the near by river and came back up with a fish in her talons.
Keith could not help but let a smile creep across his face. Despite being cold and wet, he felt blessed to have seen Her. However, his attention to the Eagle was not helping his hunger pains. So after a short bit, he reached across the pool for his spear and again became one with all that surrounded him.
This time, Keith would not slip. With spear drawn overhead, he focused on a dark orange brownish and red movement below the surface of the water. His eyes darted the direction the fish swam. Keith readjusted the grip on the spear. Never leaving his eyes off the trout, Keith came down with the spear, parting the water and striking the fish. Though the knife was through the fish, the fish still put up a struggle as Keith pulled his spear out of the water. With the pole occasionally jerking, he carefully walked back up the bank and headed to camp.
The rainbow trout was removed from the spear and placed on a forked stick now leaning against one of the rocks. Keith untied the knife from his makeshift spear and placed back into his boot. Still wet, Keith began to build up his fire by adding more wood. The candle had long since gone out. He never had any opportunity to build fires on the Solar Star Base. He had been given lessons on how to, but never really tried to start one. There were some things they were limited to on the Solar Star Base.
