He awoke to silence and sighed, knowing that today was finally the day to go out. Not wanting to linger in the cold empty bed he stiffly lifted himself and reached for his breeches lying on the dust ridden ground. He cringed at the pain of his sore muscles, and though he knew the returning soreness would recede with a few hours of rest, he couldn't waste time. After the harsh winter and the past two days of constant rain he knew the snow would have diminished to mud and puddles, and not knowing when the next rain would come he needed to go retrieve food now for fear that he could once again be trapped in his own home, leaving him and his daughter to sit and wait in hunger.
He stretched, hoping to nullify the stiffness, only to cause a sharper sting across his body. He pushed the pain to the back of his mind and slowly started to lumber out into the hallway towards the slightly ajar, deteriorating wooden door. He attempted to be as silent as possible so as to not awake his little girl. As he shifted the door slightly wider, he could make out her closed eye and her young resting face in the dim light of the morning. Some days it hurt to see the face that resembled too much of his wife, but then again, everything reminded him of her these days.
Shifting the door back to its previous position he trudged into the disheveled, run down kitchen. He ignored the urge to eat knowing there would not be enough for two, and instead he grabbed his rifle and walked onto the porch, instantly being hit by the still chilly temperatures. The outside of the cabin was in a similar state of distress as the inside. The snow and wind had not been kind to the structure, nor the trees surrounding it. With his hurt body, he had not been able to complete much maintenance in many months.
He began his journey as the sun was barely peeking through the trees in hopes to make it home before lunch to present a feast for his daughter. The winter had been harsh on them both, and they had worn throw nearly all of the rations they had. He moved as swiftly as he could, but his limp made it difficult to travel with speed and still be silent enough to sneak up on a weary animal.
He quickly realized that this hunt was about to be harder than he had anticipated. The consistent splashing of his feet in the shallow puddles was enough to startle any beast within hearing radius. After hours of wandering, a slight motion in his peripheral vision caught his attention. He proceeded with caution, taking slow and easy steps until he was within gunshot range.
A short time before...
She had wandered too far, and everything was happening to fast, too soon. She had ignored the signs, having known that it was not the right time, as none of the other does had even begun to be ready. She had not followed her instinct and now was in an area obvious to predators. There was no time or way to get safer grounds, for the pain that she was feeling through body told her that it was happening now.
There hadn't been enough food for herself, and she hadn't had the energy to provide for her young, for the winter had been harsh on all. She needed more time, nature needed more time. She couldn't stop it though, there was no way to delay, and here in the middle of the massive field she was giving birth to her fawn.
After only 3 hours of labor, the young was fully released. She quickly started cleaning and chewing to fully release the fawn from its amniotic sac so it could have the ability to breathe its first breaths. She successfully tore it open and continued to lick and chew to free the rest of her young's limbs, not stopping to notice any abnormality. She licked and nibbled continuously until the sac was no longer on the fawn, then continued to lick, cleaning and cleaning, waiting for the moment when her young would finally attempt to rise. On and on she went, now adding nudging to her licking hoping that would evoke a response.
She knew she had been at the unsafe area for to long, for the rains had stopped and the soft feeling of the approaching dawn fell over her. She knew it was unsafe for her to remain there with the oncoming day, but she could not leave her young when it had not yet proceeded to stand. On and on she continued to groom.
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The doe, though looking somewhat weak and skinny, would provide for him and his daughter for many days. Somehow she had not heard him trampling through the forest, and now here she was, not even remotely aware of the presence of the man. It was as though she was an omen from God to tell him to go on and provide for his family.
He knew this was not the best time for hunting does, he knew that most would be with young. Looking at this doe, though, it was clear she was far too thin to hold a fawn. He had not yet seen what it was doing, blinded by prospects of having a full meal for his daughter's dinner.
He shifted his feet hoping to get a little better of a view only to step on small twig, startling the deer enough for her to lift her head but not enough for her to run. With her head raised he could see what had been hidden under it.
There under her head was a freshly born fawn.
After a few minutes of him being still and silent the doe returned to her grooming. The hunter could not take down a mother, for if there is no mother the young would not live for the future needs of nature or man. He decided this would be a good a place as any to take a rest, for maybe if there is one deer now more would possibly pass by as well. He sat under a maple on the cusp of budding with his loaded rifle by his side, drinking from his canteen while he watched the doe continue to stir and groom her young.
It was amazing watching the bonding of a mother to her child, especially since he had not been able to see one foraged between his wife and his own daughter. Despite the fact that it was just deer, he was mesmerized. One minute flowed into another, then another, and after a period of time he noticed the fawn still had yet to attempt to stand. He knew from every horseman and hunter that deer, like most large prey animals, should be on their feet in minutes so that predators never get the upper hand. He had to have been sitting here for nearly an hour, and the only movement of that fawn was from its mother's force.
It hurt to watch her. He knew the pain of losing a loved one all too well.
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The doe was stressed. She could hear movement in the forest, and could feel the presence of multiple creatures, but her fawn was not yet ready to move to safety. It was not yet ready to lift itself, it was not yet ready to breathe. She had to wait and continue with her task of waking up her young.
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Once the hunter realized what had just occurred for this mother doe, the interaction became hard to witness. Knowing the doe's attempts to wake the fawn were futile, each of her nudges made him cringe. He lifted his creaking body and took a step, making the motion to turn around and leave, and a loud twig snapped under his shifting feet.
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The doe finally reacted, the instinct and distressed feelings finally winning over her need to wake her young. She lifted her movements and tried limping away from the area as fast as possible.
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The hunter, seeing her struggle, felt even more uncomfortable. If he left her here, another would surely take her life, let it be a wolf or bear or any other predator. She would likely not even last the rest of the day. He grabbed the rifle he had rested against the tree. Lifting the barrel he took aim, at this distance, with his shaky hands his bullet landed in the middle of her flank.
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She tripped and tumbled to the ground. After the long labor and the struggles she had gone through earlier, she didn't have the energy to do anything but lay there and breathe with struggled heavy breaths. The pain was unbearable.
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Walking up to the fallen animal, he noted the pain in her eyes. He hated watching this, hated the feeling of ending a life, but he need to provide, and to provide he needed to take. He pulled out the skinning knife he had been carrying in his back pocket, and quickly ended the suffering of the poor animal.
After laying laying the carcass on a old blanket for easier maneuvering he began the journey home, dragging the body behind him. He knew that seeing the light in his daughter's eyes as he brought their next meals through the door would make him forget all the pain the day had brought.
