9 Calm before...

The night flies by.

The temperature starts to fall.

It's still night when I hear dad knocks on my door.

"Alex, wake up. We have to prepare everything"

"What? This early? The sun isn't out yet" I'm still asleep.

"I will wait for you downstairs"

'I can't deny that I slept pretty well, much better than the last days'

I pull myself up and get out of bed.

'Now I have to choose clothes to wear'

I go to my closet and I open it.

'It's not so cold, but I should look for something to cover me a little'

I start looking.

'How about this?'

A thin jacket, is black with some details in indigo.

'Looks good'

I choose a black t-shirt to put under.

Now I'm looking for pants.

'Let's see how is this...'

I grab a gray jeans.

'Perfect'

I take the first panties I find.

Before I leave, I look for some hunting boots, but I realize that I don't have any.

'It seems I'll have to ask dad for some, he must have many'

I leave my room with my clothes on my hands and go to the stairs.

"Hey dad, could you lend me a pair of your boots?"

"Sure, I have a pair right here"

"Thank you. I'm going to take a bath"

I take a quick bath and I finish getting ready.

I go down the stairs and go with dad.

"There they are," he says as he points to the boots.

I go to them and I put them on.

"Do they fit you?" dad asks.

"They're a little big, but they're fine"

"Excellent. Now come here"

I go with him.

He shows me a bow.

"We will hunt with bows. You will use this one"

He gives me the bow.

"It's impeccable, is it new?"

"That's your mom's bow"

It is made of wood, it has some strange marks all over its body.

"It's beautiful" I say amazed.

"I'm glad you like it"

He gives me a quiver with 15 arrows and I put it on.

He takes his bow, another quiver and a backpack.

"Everything is ready"

He walks to the door of the house and I follow him.

We leave the land and follow the path.

"Shouldn't we get out of the path?" I ask.

"It seems that the smart girl read her hunting books. I know a place"

We keep walking and the sun starts to rise.

"Here we'll get out of the path" says dad.

We start walking to the side.

All the time I go with my bow ready to attack.

"Alex, it is not necessary to be defensive, we will only hunt small animals"

"Yes, I'm sorry"

'It's the first time I go hunting, I'm a little nervous'

We continue for a while, the sun is already illuminating the landscape.

"We arrived, this is my place"

Dad usually hunts from time to time while I do housework.

'I guess this is his favorite place'

"Alex, one of the most important rules of hunting is to be patient, you have to wait for the best moment"

He puts his backpack on the floor and takes out some food.

"Take this, Alex, put it in a place that we can easily watch"

He gives me the food.

I don't go too far and place it in an open space.

I turn to see dad and he raises his thumb indicating that it's okay there.

I return with him.

"Perfect, now we have to wait for some animal to fall into the trap"

We wait for 20 minutes and nothing happens yet.

"Dad, was mom's name Alyse?"

I surprise him a little.

"Yes, a beautiful name, is not it?" he replies cheerfully.

"Yes it is. I also had another question..."

"Alex..."

"Yes I know. Tomorrow"

Another 10 minutes pass by.

"And now that you have more confidence, can I go to the city soon?"

"Sure. You can even make some friends"

Hearing him saying that makes me very happy.

"Thank you. I don't imagine how hard it was to hide all this while you took care of me, all by yourself"

"Very hard, the worst was when you were a teenager. I just hope we fix the problems we have and we can have a father-daughter relationship as it should be"

We smile at each other.

We hear that some bushes move.

"Look, Alex..."

A rabbit approaches the food.

"Perfect. Alex, aim with your bow"

"Me?" I answer exalted.

"Sure, you've already shot with a bow, right?"

"Yes, but I haven't done it for years"

"Don't worry, I'll help you"

I lift the bow, grab an arrow and prepared it to shoot.

Dad holds my shoulder and arm to stabilize me.

"Good, a little higher..."

I concentrate as much as I can.

"Calm... a little more... Now!"

I let the string go and the arrow gets launched.

A direct impact on the body of the rabbit.

'What? I hit it at the first try?'

"Well done! Let's go for it"

We approach and observe the shot.

"It could have been better, but not bad for your first try"

"Thanks" I say flattered.

A movement behind dad catches my attention.

"Oh no ..." I let go.

"What?"

I point to some little rabbits behind a bush.

"It seems he had a small family..." I can't help but feel guilty.

"I understand how you feel, it's always sad to see something like that"

I get close to the rabbits.

"Alex?"

"I can't leave them here alone, they're going to die"

"Alex, unfortunately, that's part of nature..."

"I don't give a shit, I'm taking them home"

"… I understand"

'Well, now, how can I take them?'

Dad comes with a towel in his hands.

"Here, you can accommodate them here"

"Thank you"

I grab the towel and fold it.

I put the bunnies on it and I pick them up.

"Will you keep hunting?" dad asks me.

"After this, no thanks. But I'll accompany you"

"Thank you"

We spend the morning and afternoon hunting, with little success, but enough for a good meal.

We are returning, the sun is beginning to hide.

"2 rabbits to eat isn't bad. By the way, you know you'll have to take care of them right? " referring to the bunnies I adopted.

"Obviously"

"You'll have to name them"

"It seems that they are 2 females and 1 male"

"Can I name one of them?" dad asks.

I didn't expect that, but I don't mind.

"Sure"

"Athena, I would like one of the females to be called Athena..."

'It seems he had been thinking about it for some time'

"I like it. Now it's my turn, I'll call them Andrew and Alyse"

Dad smiles when he hears the name.

We walk a little more and arrive.

We enter home and I leave the bunnies in the living room.

Dad leaves his stuff.

"Well, I'll leave the rabbits we hunt outside"

He leaves the house.

I'm petting the bunnies.

'They are so adorable that I would eat them... not literally...'

Dad comes running to the house and slams the door.

"Alex, run to your room!"