The storm raged the whole day. So, Andor and Lilli lay in their tent and watched the deluge pour off the lip of their new cave home. Every few minutes lightning would strike. To pass the time they would make bets on where it would strike next. “I bet the next strike will hit the tall pine next to the gray boulder.” Andor said matter-of-factly. “Ah yes, it’s a good target. Alright I see your bet and raise you - it will strike the lake… Again.” “What!? Everyone knows lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice. What does the winner get?” “How about a kiss?” Lilli suggested “I guess…” Andor said dejectedly “I’ve already got a lot of those though.” “Sure but I haven’t and I feel like my luck is about to change.” A few seconds later there was a large crack and a bright white lightning bolt crashed into the lake sending a shower of spray into the air. “HA! My luck has changed. You owe me a kiss.” Lilli leaned over to accept her reward. Andor rolled his eyes and gave her a peck on the cheek. “You call that a kiss!?” “Alright, fine” Andor huffed as he scooted closer and gave Lilli a proper kiss. “That’s more like it,” she smiled. When the lightning game got old they rolled onto their stomachs and made up stories about the hieroglyphics and what the characters were doing. “That one is clearly spearing a mountain goat.” Andor said. “Oh obviously, but what is the one to the right doing?” Lilli pointed towards one off in the corner of the cave. “Hmmmm, maybe she’s playing the flute…” “She?” Lilil asked inquisitively. “Well yea look at the long hair and she clearly has a nice rack.” “What?! Those aren’t boobs. It’s just discoloration of the rock.” Lilli laughed. “Yea, sure it is.” Andor rummaged through his pack. “Whatcha looking for?” “I grabbed a deck of cards in the village before we left. It’s in here somewhere…” his voice trailed off as he stuffed his arm all the way into the pack. “Found it!” he exclaimed as he held the deck of cards up in the air as if he had discovered a priceless treasure. After several rounds of Go Fish Lilli announced “I think I am ready for a nap…” “That sounds nice. The soundtrack of the rain could lull anyone to sleep…” “For sure… and with the lightning and thunder having dissipated a bit I think I can finally sleep.” Andor reached for Lilli’s hand “You know I feel like I should be so much more freaked out then I am.... With everything going on in the world right now… So much death… So much destruction… Yet somehow this place evokes a deep and abiding peace.” “You’re right it does… I can’t put my finger on it exactly but something about this spot is soothing.” Lilli yawned. A few minutes later Andor and Lilli were both sound asleep and they didn’t wake until the next day. --- In the morning, the sun streaming through the cave opening woke them early. "We need to get a door," Lilli exclaimed as she yawned and stretched. Andor groaned in reply. After a few minutes, he sat up. _At least the sun feels warm…_ he thought to himself as he reached into his pack and pulled out his shirt. “What are we going to do today?” Lilli asked as she climbed out of her sleeping bag. "Well, I was thinking we should build a fireplace inside this cave…" Andor replied as his stomach let out a loud growl. "How much food do we have left?" "Not much," Lilli replied as she pulled their food stuff-sack out of her pack. "Looks like enough for two days. Maybe three." Then she dumped the contents of the sack on the ground. "How about we have canned giant baked beans for breakfast?" "Sounds good to me!" exclaimed Andor, mustering a smile. “I’m just grateful to be eating anything at this point, even if it was out of cans or dehydrated camp meals made over our backpacking stove.” “Me too…” Lilli said half-heartedly. *Easy for you to say, you lived off of MREs and tray rations for months…* she thought to herself. After the thought dissipated she was glad she hadn’t said it out loud. Andor took the cans and walked over to the smoldering fire, tossed a handful of pine needles on the graying embers and with a few strong breaths got the fire burning brightly again. Once the fire was going nicely he placed the two cans next to the fire. Lilli and Andor watched as the wrapper burned off, turning the flames a rainbow color as the ink burned. “Just like everything we know,” Lilli said out loud. “True but dark.” “I guess I’m just kind of in a funk this morning.” “I get it.” Andor poked the fire with a stick to stoke the flames.  “Maybe today’s projects will help quiet the uncertainty we are feeling this morning…” “I’m gonna go to the bathroom… be right back.” Lilli pulled on her jacket. When she got back Andor was taking off his shirt.  “What are you doing?” she asked inquisitively.  “I’m going to use the shirt to hold the cans while I open them with the can opener in my Swiss Army knife…. Breakfast is served!" Andor exclaimed. Lilli ducked into the cave and came out a moment later into the sunshine holding their only spoon.  “We’ll have to take turns I guess.” “Oooh gross…” Andor quipped. “Fine, you can eat with your fingers and I’ll use the spoon then.”  “I don’t think so!” Andor leaned over and tickled Lilli. When she squealed he snatched the spoon from her hand. “Ha!” He said triumphantly.  Lilli gave him a sad puppy dog look, sticking out her bottom lip. “Damnit! Fine we can share…”  Lilli’s lip quivered.  “And you can have the first bite.” Andor said sullenly as he handed her back their spoon. Lilli squealed in delight then took the spoon back. “Mmmm this isn’t actually that bad.”  “Beats the hell out of an MRE….”  After breakfast, Andor set the cans next to the fire “They might come in handy later…” Lilli grunted as she licked the spoon clean. "Do you want to help me, or do you have other plans?" Andor asked, extending his hand to Lilli. "I saw a bunch of edible plants during our hike up here. I am going to go dig them up and start a garden… There is a nice flat area down by the lake, which will make it easy to get water for the plants." "What a wonderful idea," Andor exclaimed. "You have an amazing knack for growing things… Having a garden will be a great source of food." Andor and Lilli walked down to the lake below their new mountain home hand in hand listening to the wind and the birds. “Have a nice day at work sweetie.” Lilli kissed Andor then with a toss of her hair she walked off towards her project. Andor chuckled and watched her walk into the woods to forage for plants. *Alright first I need a big piece of bark to collect clay with.* He thought to himself once Lilli had disappeared from view. Finding the bark was the easy part, digging in the muddy clay was not. After only a few short minutes Andor was sweating.  “Phew, it’s a warm day!” he said as he stripped down to his shorts. When he had enough clay, he carried the heavy bark to their cave. Next he began stacking flat rocks harvested from the surrounding landscape with layers of thick, gooey clay between them. After what felt like a hundred trips, he had a nice four-foot-tall dome of rocks with a wide opening at the bottom to put firewood into. “Perfect!” Andor stood back and admired his work. He’d never made anything from stone before but this project had gone so well he began to imagine what other things he might be capable of building.  --- Meanwhile, Lilli had headed down the shoreline to the plot where she wanted to put her garden. The soil was a bit too sandy but had decent sun exposure. She spent an hour or so pulling up the weeds and prying the rocks out of the ground. The digging was not too hard since they had just had a long soaking rain. Once the plot had been sufficiently cleared, she walked to the meadow and began digging up a variety of plants to be relocated to their new garden plot. “Oh look at these” Lilli exclaimed in surprise as she crouched to pluck a few nice specimens from the earth.  _Miner's Lettuce, Dandelion, and Mustard plants, these will make for some delicious salads._ Once she had transplanted those specimens she ventured deeper into the woods. She didn’t have to go far before she let out a shout of glee. _What! No way. Is that Wild Rose? Oh my gosh and Wild Strawberries, Twin Berries, and Ghost Plant too._ Lilli scampered back and forth carefully digging up the plants and marveling at their tiny leaves, and budding flowers. *This is amazing!* she thought to herself. Then as she was making her way back to her new garden she stumbled across several beautiful Mountain Sorrel and Knotweed plants. _Heather was right, these woods are chocked full of food. This Mountain Sorrel is  high in Vitamin C, and the Knotweed, we can use to make flour for baking!_ ![[foggyLake-iii3.jpg]] Lilli and Andor worked on their respective projects through the morning. However, in the afternoon, their grumbling bellies forced them to stop for a break. Lilli wandered back to the shelter. "Wow! You got a lot done. The fireplace looks great," Lilli exclaimed. "Now I just have to figure out how to build a chimney for the top of our fireplace," Andor mused as they both sat down and began digging through their packs for lunch. "How about you? What did you find?" Andor asked as he cracked open a can of chickpeas in lemon juice. "I found a lot more than I was expecting, to be honest. I even found Soap Plant, which normally does not grow this far north. I suspect climate change has something to do with its expanding range." “Great! It is nice to know we will have plenty of plants to eat!" Andor helped Lilli tear open a dehydrated meal she had chosen for her lunch. “Mushroom season is kicking off too. I bet you we can find some really good ones around here…” “Mmm… yea I bet you’re right. I’d love to find some morels, puffballs, and chanterelles," Lilli poured water into the pot and set it next to the fire. Once their food was ready, they ate in silence as they were both starving and eager to return to their work. In the distance, ominous thunderclouds began to form, and the clap of thunder filled their valley as it echoed against the mountains. "Looks like it is going to rain again.” Then with a smirk Andor playfully smeared a bit of clay on Lilli's neck. Lilli pulled away, giggling as she splashed Andor with a glob of the drying clay Andor had left by the fireplace. After her successful surprise attack she turned to run, but Andor grabbed her around the waist and pulled her towards him. Andor was gazing into her eyes and she felt the butterflies take off in her stomach. She leaned forward to kiss him. There was another crash of thunder, and then suddenly the rain let loose in a torrent. It was not nearly as cold as the other day; the rain felt surprisingly warm. Neither made a move to get out of the rain. They just stood there, kissing and holding each other while the rain trickled down their necks, back, and legs. They had always wanted to kiss in the rain, but it had not really been practical in the suburbs where the neighbors could see. The lightning flashed, striking a tree a hundred feet away or so from their camp. It was so close they felt the heat, the crashing thunder drowning out their yelps of surprise. As suddenly as it began, the rain subsided, and the sun came out. "Let's go down to the lake and go for a swim," Lilli bent over and stripped off her wet clothes, leaving them in a pile on the ground. Andor pinched her bare butt and Lilli let out a squeal and took off in a run towards the lake. Andor was close behind her a few feet from the water he caught up and took her hand. Hand in hand they plunged into the cold and clear water, swimming, splashing, and laughing. The water was frigid and they could only swim for a minute or so before they were forced out of the lake. Together they laid down on a flat rock, drying themselves along with the rest of the forest under the soft warm sun. It did not take long until they fell asleep. --- Andor awoke with a start. _Did I hear something?_ He thought to himself. Then as if to answer his question there was a faint grunt. Andor blinked to clear the sleep from his eyes. After a few seconds, he caught a flicker of movement on the far side of the lake. At first, he couldn’t make it out, then it walked onto the beach. _It's a bear!_ Andor quickly looked over to make sure Lilli was still asleep. She was. _That is a big bear!_ Andor thought to himself. _Good thing it is on the other side of the lake._ The bear waded into the water. Then it froze and peered into the water intently before diving under the water, only to emerge a few seconds later with a large fish in its jaws. Then it turned and ran off into the forest with its dinner. Andor let out a sigh of relief and sat up. _I should make a weapon, something to protect us with._ Andor thought to himself. He looked around; there growing near the water not too far from where they had dozed off was a stand of young poplars. _I can make myself a spear._ Andor stood up and walked over to the stand of saplings.  While Lilli snored peacefully he whittled the branches off and began smoothing the shaft with handfuls of sand. _That’ll make a nice spear… and it’s laser straight._ Andor thought to himself as he eyed his handiwork. _The balance is perfect too._ _I would prefer not to throw off the balance by adding a heavy element at the end. What should I do?_ Andor thought to himself as Lilli began to stir on their sunning rock at the edge of the lake. "What are you doing?" Lilli inquired as she sat up and stretched. "Making a spear," Andor replied. "I am not sure how to finish the business end, though, without ruining the balance…" "How about you try fire hardening it?" Lilli offered. "Oh, interesting idea. Let's give it a shot!" Andor exclaimed as he picked up his knife and returned it to his sheath. “What do you say we head back to the cave and get dinner started?” “Yea, I’m tired from digging up plants all day.” They walked back to their shelter and moved the fire into their newly built fireplace.  “How does fire hardening work exactly?” Andor asked as he stared blankly at his spear. “Well I think you should bury the spear tip into the sand near the fire so it will dry slowly. Don’t put it too close though or else it will burn. You just want it to char lightly.” “Hmmm okay. Then what?”  “Well from what I’ve read once it’s dried out a bit you can sharpen it on a rough stone before burying it back in the sand close to the fire. You’ll have to repeat the process several times… but in the end - theoretically - you’ll have a razor-sharp, rock-hard point.” “Okay, it’s worth a shot and if I mess it up there’s a lot more poplar saplings I can harvest down by the lake.” “I feel like we got a lot done today.” “Yea with your garden it’ll be a lot easier to harvest and forage for food… I think we are going to have to make another supply run to our tree fort cache though soon.” “While the spear is hardening in the coals I’m going to see what I can forage for dinner,” Lilli stood and put on her boots. “Plus I’m going crazy just sitting here.” “I’ll go with you!” Andor said so suddenly Lilli gave him a strange look. “No, it’s okay. You’re busy with the spear…” “You know what all these plants look like. I have no idea. It would be good for me to be able to identify them.” Andor offered.  Thankfully Lilli conceded “Okay. Good point…”  Phew I don’t want her going anywhere alone until I’ve finished this spear. Next supply run I’m going to bring up that bear mace we found too. Andor thought to himself as they wandered into the woods each carrying a bean can leftover from the morning's breakfast. “Oh my gosh look at all those wild strawberries!” Lilli exclaimed in surprise before they had even gone fifteen feet. “Where I don’t see them?” “Umm, first off they grow on the ground, not in the trees.” Lilli chuckled. Sheepishly Andor looked down at the ground. “Oh yeah. Dang! There’s a lot of them!” For the next several minutes they eagerly  filled one can to the brim with wild strawberries. “What is that!?” Andor asked and pointed towards a large tree which was just starting to bud. “Oh wow! Looks like several large puff ball mushrooms! Oh and a lovely bunch of wild onions and dandelion greens too, great find babe!” “We are going to eat like royalty tonight.” Andor exclaimed, licking his lips. ### Next Chapter: [[22 - The Cave Home 🛁]] ### Previous Chapter: [[20 - New Beginnings 🌚]]