Chapter 2

Amaya:

"Come on, come on" I coaxed the shy brown squirrel forward with a plump, tasty looking acorn. It was a beautiful day. The sky was as blue as an aquamarine, and there was a soft light breeze that kissed your face while you listened to your footsteps pounding the ground. It was perfect for a little adventure.
I woke up early in the morning, just when the darkness of the night was replaced with the vibrant colors of dawn. Sensing a nice day, I threw on my tie- dye T- shirt. I always saved it for days when nature would appreciate it. Before I left I grabbed a piece of scrap paper off my desk. I glanced at what was written on the other side to make sure it wasn't important. It was an old shopping list. Every day, once a week I walked around the neighborhood and collected the paper my neighbors normally would throw away. Sometimes you can learn a lot about someone based on their trash. I wrote "Forager" on the blank side of the paper and taped it on my door next to my "The Earth is what we all have in common" poster. I draped my bright organic cotton bag with the fabric peace sign that I hand stitched on over my shoulder, and opened the front door.

Here I paused to take in the beauty that was hiding behind the walls of my home. The low smooth hills spread out before me and disappeared into the horizon that was now filled with the brightness of the fiercely rising sun. They were covered in grass that was damp with morning dew. I reached down and touched a blade. It was cold in my fingertips and screamed freshness. I took in a breath of morning air.  It smelled rejuvenated, like this was its first chance at life, and so far it was succeeding. I started to walk across the fields. Clusters of birds bolted out of the long overgrown grass as I explored the area, collecting anything I found on the ground that I thought would be useful. Rocks, sticks, leaves, even the occasional bug. By the time I reached the woods my bag was stuffed with things, including the acorn I now held in my hand.

I edged closer to the fluffy animal and it immediately turned around and scurried back up the tree. "Hmmm it's still too skittish." I thought to myself slightly disappointed. I could catch any squirrel easily, using my supreme animal powers, but this one was special. Every day - for as long as I remember- when I came out here, it would be waiting for me. It would just sit there staring at me eating or reading a book, but every time I tried to get near it, it would run away. I sighed. What did it want? That's what I intended to find out. But first I had to gain its trust. It was my biggest challenge yet. And I don't usually give up skill building chances such as these. I got up off the stump I was resting on and started hiking up to the pond on the hill. The dry leaves under me were making a crunching noise, as they broke into millions of pieces. I wove in and out of the twisted trees, constantly looking around, worried that I'd miss something nature intended me to see. I didn't stop walking until thirty minutes later when I reached a small pond tucked between two small boulders, which had a large fallen tree running, slightly tilted, across them. This made for a perfect make- shift bridge. The entangled tree roots spilled out on the right. For the tree, it was a scar of toppling over that it would live with for the rest of its life.

For me, it was a ladder perfect for climbing up to the trunk that lay slightly above the water. I grabbed hold of a single hard root and hoisted myself up while using my feet to push. When I got close enough, I wrapped my arms around the end of the trunk and used all my energy to push myself up over the edge. I lay there for a moment, smiling, and looking up at the sky through a small part in the trees. There were a few birds hypnotizing me as they flew in a swirling motion above. Around and around and around, I shook my head, to break my trance and sat up. Looking down at the water, I could see that it was clear the way any water that came up from an underground spring was supposed to look. It was perfect! I flipped open my bag and pulled out a solid aluminum water bottle. Crouching down so that my knees where bent I started to creep towards the edge of the trunk. I didn't want to lose my balance on the slippery moss and fall into the cold water below.  After I felt comfortable and stable I stretched my arm that was holding the water bottle sideways out over the water, and using my well practiced scooping motion, I filled the bottle to the top. I bent back up, and screwed the cap back on. There, that was easy, now just to get back down.