“You know if the villagers want soaps and shampoos, you should make some,” Lily said that night as we sat around the firepit watching the stars. The night was cool, but the fire kept us warm enough. Sara chuffed. My familiar killed my protest before I could even voice it. “See! Sara agrees.”

“We don’t need beeswax despite what Trinity thinks to make soap or shampoo,” I mused.

“That’s good. I don’t think the elder would be willing to share any honeycombs,” Lily said.

“Me either,” I agreed.

“What else would you need to make soap and shampoo?” Lily asked from where she sat beside me on the ground.

“You could just look it up.”

“I know. But I like it when you explain things to me,” Lily replied giving me a smile while pulling her knees up to her chest.

“Well, we need hardwood ashes to start,” I said rubbing the back of my neck.

“We have that,” Lily said pointing to the firepit.

“Yeah,” I replied nodding my head. "Then we need good, clean water. Rainwater is what mom always used.”

“Hmmm. The well water should work instead,” Lily said. “We tested it before letting you drink any and it was extremely clean and soft.”

“Soft?”

“Basically, that means the water is free from harmful minerals and chemicals,” Lily explained. I nodded my understanding. “What’s next?”

“An oak barrel. Any wooden barrel would probably work though,” I answered. “And that’s something I’ve overlooked since we have the storage device.”

“Barrel for storing things?” Lily asked. I nodded again. “Guess we need to visit the cooper in Stonecroft. His name is Hank Cooper.”

“Did all humans take surnames based off what they do?” I asked while laughing.

“Yeah. It’s something people used to do in really ancient times along with using where they’re from as surnames,” Lily answered. “Then the population exploded into the billions before…well, humanity nearly died out. After that fall, people started taking surnames like they did in those really ancient times again.”

“Billions of people?” I asked in wonder.

“Uh huh,” Lily sadly answered.

“I’ll refrain from asking about the fall of humanity since you have that look on your face you get when we start talking about things you shouldn’t be telling me,” I said.

“Thanks!” Lily happily replied.

“You’re welcome, My Lily.”

“Ohhh! You copycat!” Lily said. We both laughed. “So, what’s next after getting a barrel?”

“It needs a hole drilled into the bottom and something to cork the hole with. Then it needs to be placed on a platform, so it’ll be easier to drain,” I replied. “After that, we need to fill the barrel with gravel or rocks, straw or grass, the ashes, and water.”

“Sounds like it could get messy,” Lily said. “Couldn’t you just use water and ashes though?”

“Probably,” I answered. “But I explained how mom taught me.”

“Ok!”

“I’ll need gloves for the next part since it is collecting the lye water that drains out of the barrel,” I said.

“It’s a good thing we took all that lab gear. There are gloves, goggles, and even masks amongst the stuff we took,” Lily reminded me.

“True and thanks for the reminder,” I said. She beamed a smile at me.

“Should we test the pH in the lye?” Lily asked.

“I’m not familiar with that term, but mom always used a potato to see if it floated in the water,” I replied. “If the potato floats, the lye is ready, if it sinks, the lye needs to sit for a while longer.”

“That’s neat! I want to use the potato method instead of using the pH test strips from the lab!” Lily said. I laughed. “What do we do with the lye after that?”

“Store it until we’re ready to make soap,” I answered.

“Teach me to make soap!” Lily ordered. I yawned and a minute later, Sara and Lily yawned. “Traitorous yawning!”

“Traitorous? Nah, contagious, yes,” I countered.

“That too!” Lily said.

“What time is it?” I asked looking up at the stars once more.

“Midnight,” Lily answered as her gaze followed mine. “That’s the Milky Way.”

“All the stars?” I asked.

“Yep.”

“Almost looks like a rip in the sky,” I said.

“But it’s beautiful,” Lily replied.

“Too true,” I agreed before yawning again. “Let’s put out the fire and go to bed.”

*

“Jase, I’m going to stay home this morning to work on something,” Lily announced when I said I wanted to go into the village to buy some barrels.

“Ok. You’re going to trust me on my own?”

“As if!” Lily retorted. “Some of the others will be watching over you and Sara is going as far as the village gate. But she’ll be hidden from sight.”

“Going to tell me what you’re working on?” I asked.

“Nope. I’ll show you when you get back though,” Lily answered flying over to me to kiss my forehead. “Just be careful and stay safe.”

“You too,” I replied.