Chapter 38 | MARSHMALLOWS AND MUSIC

When I wake up, the first thing I realize is that it's light out, so it's sometime in the late morning or early afternoon, and looking at my phone's time confirms that.

The second thing I realize is that it's the last day of November, and it's been two weeks since I met Vaughn.

Speaking of Vaughn...

I then realize that he is, in fact, outside somewhere, and I notice that Moose is gone, too. After eating and completing my morning routine, which is technically afternoon routine, I head out to find them, grabbing my hatchet and sliding my new knife in my boot.

Just in case that wolf isn't completely gone and is feeling like following and growling at me again.

Stepping outside into the cold, I zip my jacket up further as I scan the treeline for any signs of life. I keep looking around aimlessly for a moment before I decide to check in the cave, where I find the two giants by a small bonfire. Vaughn is sitting on a random big rock, and Moose is lying a few feet away from him.

Both immediately see me, the man lifting his head from looking at what appears to be a large bag of marshmallows in his hands. Moose wags his tail as a greeting when he sees me approaching.

I raise an eyebrow at the bag, silently questioning Vaughn about it. He immediately states: "They're not for me."

Sitting down by the fire, across from Moose, I nod once in the dog's direction. "He likes marshmallows?"

"Yes," he answers. "Catch."

I look up in time to catch the unopened marshmallow bag that he tosses to me. "You want me to give him some?"

"If you want," he answers as I open the bag, watching as Moose's tail instantly starts wagging. "Did you eat?"

Nodding, I tell him what I had as I take a marshmallow out and hold it up for the dog to see. Then, I ask Vaughn, "Does he know any tricks? Does he know how to speak?"

Before he can answer, though, Moose barks loudly, and so I immediately toss him the treat. Guess he can, then.

"Do you like marshmallows?" I ask Vaughn for no other reason than curiosity.

"No."

I'm really not surprised, to be honest.

Then, he asks me, "Do you?"

I toss Moose another one. "Only if they're roasted."

No reply.

But at this point, I've long become used to it.

"Mikaere?"

I look up at him, surprised. "Yeah?"

"How did you sleep?"

I shrug, confused as to why he's asking. "Fine. I woke up a few times throughout the night, but other than that, I slept well."

"What woke you up?"

"The wind one time, you putting a chunk of wood in the fire, and then Moose nudged me awake once only to try and lick my face," I laugh lightly.

Vaughn smiles slightly, "He does that a lot."

My heart feels like it skips a beat.

He smiled?

He smiled!

I play it off, though, deciding to ask him a question that's been weighing on my mind a lot.

"What do you honestly think the chances are of me finding that SD card?" I question randomly, genuinely wanting to hear his honest opinion.

He considers my inquiry for a moment before replying without any hesitation at all: "I don't think you'll find it."

Well, I guess I did want his honest opinion.

Nodding, I know that deep down, I totally agree with him. Still, I can't help but feel disappointed about facing that truth.

I'll probably never find out what really happened to John.

Vaughn then stiffly clears his throat, standing up swiftly and walking out of the cave, but not before telling Moose to stay where he is.

Otherwise, he definitely would have followed him. He does adore the man, after all.

Vaughn's gone for a bit, so I decide to see if Moose knows any more tricks.

I shuffle toward him on my knees, as I can't be bothered to actually stand up. The dog, however, rises when I near him, sitting down in front of me.

Leaning back on my feet, I grab a marshmallow and hold it up, simultaneously holding out my other hand for him to put his paw on. "Shake."

He doesn't do anything.

Well, okay...

Tilting my hand up vertically, I try, "High five?"

I watch as his paw lifts and swipes at my hand.

Smiling, I throw him the treat, which he quickly catches.

I spend the following minutes playing with and petting him, all the while keeping my choppers on. After all, it is much too cold outside, even by the fire.

At least for me. This probably isn't even that cold by Vaughn's standards.

When the man finally returns, I pause, because he carries with him a stick.

I tilt my head slightly as it is handed to me.

It's not just any regular old brown stick. It's a fresh-cut green branch, which looks to be from a birch tree. Long, sharp at the end, revealing that it's clearly been cut from a knife.

If I weren't so confused as to why he went, found, and made me a marshmallow roasting stick, I'd probably make a joke about him switching from Alaskan Ax Murderer to Alaskan Impaler or something.

But I'm too confused.

He doesn't say anything as he sits down, and I notice he has what looks to be a brown leather journal in his hands.

"What's this for?" I ask, holding up the stick.

He glances up. "For roasting marshmallows."

"Well, I know that," I reply. "I just mean...why?"

He looks back down at the book. "You seemed disappointed. Regarding the SD card."

Oh.

Did I really?

Well, this was nice of him either way.

"Thank you," I say to which he merely turns a page in the journal.

I stand up and walk over to my original spot with the stick and marshmallows in hand, Moose following closely after me. Then, I take my choppers off before putting the stick in the fire for a few moments.

Afterward, I start on roasting a marshmallow, keeping it low to the ground by the coals. Pretty soon, I have a perfect, golden toasted marshmallow.

After I have another one, I toss a final one to Moose before going inside to wash my hands and get some water.

When I return, I immediately ask the guy in front of me, "So any particular plans today?"

He doesn't glance up from examining the journal thing. "No."

"Can I practice shooting bow, then?"

"It's in the shed behind the cabin."

I nod, moving to go and get it.

However, after last night I make sure to continuously stay alert and as observant as possible to the area around me.

I'm sick and tired of being utterly oblivious to nearby dangerous wild animals.

When I get to the wooden building, it takes me a second to find what I'm looking for, but when I do, I'm quick to grab the items and close the shed door behind me.

Then, I start trudging through the snow towards where the target sits.

Hours later, when I've decided that I've practiced enough for the day, I head inside to eat and warm up.

I've only seen Vaughn once since early afternoon, and it was just him passing through to the cabin. However, he did stop to make sure I was holding the bow correctly and how my aim has gotten. He didn't talk much, except for when he said 'good' as I shot an arrow near the center of the target.

I open the door, immediately being greeted by the smell of whatever Vaughn's making and, as usual, firewood. The air begins to warm my face, and I quickly take off my winter clothes.

"Whatcha making?" I ask him from across the room as I check my tablet for the time.

After he tells me, I ask him if he needs any help, to which he replies: "If you want to, you can."

I don't want to, but I should.

So, I do.

However, before I get started, I also ask him if I can play some music while we work. I'm not actually expecting him to say yes, so when he does, I'm pleasantly surprised.

"K, sweet," I say, grabbing my tablet. "I'm just gonna put it on shuffle."

We work without speaking, for the most part, just like before. However, at least now, I have music that I can mouth the lyrics along to.

He doesn't comment on any of the songs. In fact, by the very concentrated expression on his face, I'm pretty sure he's drowned everything out thoroughly.

If I said anything to him, would he even hear me? I wonder if-

"Siara," he says suddenly, and I glance up to my right to look at him. His brows are furrowed slightly, and he seems...not as focused as before. "She listened to this song a lot the year I left."

I frown, realizing I'd been the one to be so caught up in distracting thoughts to not hear the song.

Fifteen by Taylor Swift plays.

Oh, that's right. Vaughn's sister was fifteen when he left.

I focus on chopping up the vegetables, trying to think of what to say back.

I mean, I guess a question is as good as anything?

Okay, not really, but I don't know what else to reply.

I bite my lip slightly as I keep my eyes on the task at hand. I ask softly, "You haven't spoken to Siara at all in eight years?"

"I've written letters to try to explain myself, but I've never been able to bring myself to actually send them."

"...Is that what was in that journal then?" I question, recalling the brown leather book he had earlier.

He nods but doesn't say anything.

"Vaughn?"

"Hm?"

"Do you plan on seeing your family again?"

Or, in other words, 'you don't plan on staying here forever, do you?'

He pauses, sighing quietly. "The longer I stay away, the more unlikely it feels that they'll forgive me for leaving in the first place, especially when it wasn't even their fault."

I consider his words for a few moments. I mean, yes, eight years is a very long time to not visit your family. But, it's not like he has just solely avoided them for whatever reason. He has withdrawn from everyone, almost as if he's punishing himself for something he did by remaining isolated here.

All I know is that I would do anything to have my family back, no matter how many years had come between us.

"I think..." I start, "I think they'll just be incredibly glad to have you back, Vaughn. No matter what happened."

He glances at me, but he doesn't say anything.

And with that, we go back to cooking, eating, and cleaning while listening to music. Afterward, Vaughn tells me he's going on a walk, to which I merely nod in reply.

Grabbing a newly bought book from my bag and a blanket from the cot, I plop down by the woodstove near Moose.

And then I dive into the book.

It's not as good as the one I started and finished last night, but it's certainly not bad, and I'm quite surprised by the plot twists and the characters.

When Vaughn comes back, he carries with him fuel for the woodstove. Stacking the pieces by the fireplace, he then glances down at the dog who is currently lying beside me, resting his head on my lap.

And, I think I have an idea as to what he's thinking at the moment.

The only reason Moose got to sleep inside with us last night was because of the bad weather. But now, it's just a usual chilly night, and he probably has to return outside.

Vaughn's eyes move up to meet mine, and I don't know how, but I try my best to look as friendly and sweet as possible. Silently trying to tell him, 'please let him stay inside.'

The man pinches the bridge of his nose for a split second, shaking his head lightly, and a random question pops up into my mind as I watch him. How does he look so cool doing something so boring and dull?

"He has to go out, Mikaere."

I frown, biting my lip slightly as I look down at the gentle giant who remains snoring lightly on my lap.

"Well," I shrug, going to state the obvious: "Moose is your dog. He'll listen if you want him to move."

Or, in other words, 'Fine. If you want to be heartless and order the poor dog out into the cold, just go and do it.'

Vaughn's head cocks to the side as he holds our eye contact. And, for some reason, my heart kind of starts to race a bit faster.

He really does look much better with a hair cut and thinner facial hair.

Then, he sighs in resolution, going to grab a few things from his cedar chest. I notice one of those things is a towel. He walks back to the door, "He can stay for a bit longer."

And then he's off to take a sauna, I presume, and I'm left to resume reading my book.

I smile to myself as I wrap the blanket around me tighter, trying to find where exactly I left off in the story.

This is nice.