stepped off of the front porch into the snow
and looked down. It felt cool against my feet and I squatted down
to be able to scoop up a handful. I held it close to my nose and
inhaled. The snow didn't smell any different than the air but it
really was the most beautiful thing I had seen in such a long time.
114
Unwound
"Do you like it?" Edison asked.
Lost in my euphoria I had forgotten that I wasn't alone and
turned to see him leaned over the side of the porch with his hands folded in front of him smiling at me. I nodded and let the snow
drop back to the ground.
"Good, because we will be working outside a lot now that
nature has given us this additional obstacle. I plan on making you strong. Stronger than you've probably ever thought possible. We'll get that last gleam of fear out of your eyes and get rid of that
slight hunch before I'm done with you," he said coming off the porch. "Follow me, this morning we're going to start."
He lead the way to the back of the cabin where there was a
stump of a tree with something lodged in its center.
"This is an ax," he said as I looked at it curiously. "I want you to pull this from this stump and chop down that tree," he said pointing to one of the smaller evergreens.
I laughed. I had too. How could he expect me to do such a
thing?
Edison gave me a sharp look for the first time since I had met
him which caused me to immediately cease. He pulled the ax
from its home and threw it at the tree with such a ferocity that it went through it. I heard the cracking of the tree as the damage he 115
Unwound
had just done to it started to slowly split it in half. The tree fell apart with one half of it landing between Edison and I. He
retrieved the ax and with one strong movement, hammered it back
in its place.
"Your turn," he said crossing his arms over his chest and looking at me.
I looked down at the ax. I was flooded with the memory of
ripping the door off the closet in London's home. I remembered
ripping the boards off the factory entrance, and I remembered
kicking a hole in them. I remembered pulling the small plastic
door off of the box that held the newspaper.
I looked up at the tree. It was much bigger and thicker than
either thing I had previously destroyed without meaning too, but I knew they were made of the same thing with the exception of the
plastic box. I stood there in a pair of black, flannel sleep pants that he had lent me for when my body rested at night, nothing on
my feet, and no shirt to cover my scar-ridden torso. With as
plainly as I looked, I knew I was so much more. I knew I was
stronger than I looked and I knew that I could do this if I set my mind to it.
My body tensed as I approached the tree. The ripples on my
stomach tightened as I stood in front of the tree. With everything I could possibly muster from deep inside of me I made a fist.
116
Unwound
"Caelum, you can't possibly --"
I never heard the rest of what Edison was saying to me over
the sound of the tree splitting as I hit it with all the force I had inside of me.
I was feeling completely proud of myself for what I had just
done and I glanced at Edison. He was shaking his head and
looking at me in disapproval.
"That was unbelievably careless. Look at your hand now," he said reproachfully.
I looked down instantly becoming horrified. The skin on my
hands looked like it had been torn to shreds and parts of the bone and mechanical things inside of me were showing through. I
didn't know what to do. By demonstrating that I didn't need the
help of an ax to bring the tree down, I wound up causing myself
injury.
"Let's go inside," Edison suggested seeing the pained look on my face. My hand was starting to burn a bit. "I can fix that but I'll need to go out and hunt for a bit."
I felt his hand on my back as he steered back into the cabin.
How could he fix what I had just done to myself? Why would he
need to go hunting to do so? As I let him lead me into the sitting
and looked down. It felt cool against my feet and I squatted down
to be able to scoop up a handful. I held it close to my nose and
inhaled. The snow didn't smell any different than the air but it
really was the most beautiful thing I had seen in such a long time.
114
Unwound
"Do you like it?" Edison asked.
Lost in my euphoria I had forgotten that I wasn't alone and
turned to see him leaned over the side of the porch with his hands folded in front of him smiling at me. I nodded and let the snow
drop back to the ground.
"Good, because we will be working outside a lot now that
nature has given us this additional obstacle. I plan on making you strong. Stronger than you've probably ever thought possible. We'll get that last gleam of fear out of your eyes and get rid of that
slight hunch before I'm done with you," he said coming off the porch. "Follow me, this morning we're going to start."
He lead the way to the back of the cabin where there was a
stump of a tree with something lodged in its center.
"This is an ax," he said as I looked at it curiously. "I want you to pull this from this stump and chop down that tree," he said pointing to one of the smaller evergreens.
I laughed. I had too. How could he expect me to do such a
thing?
Edison gave me a sharp look for the first time since I had met
him which caused me to immediately cease. He pulled the ax
from its home and threw it at the tree with such a ferocity that it went through it. I heard the cracking of the tree as the damage he 115
Unwound
had just done to it started to slowly split it in half. The tree fell apart with one half of it landing between Edison and I. He
retrieved the ax and with one strong movement, hammered it back
in its place.
"Your turn," he said crossing his arms over his chest and looking at me.
I looked down at the ax. I was flooded with the memory of
ripping the door off the closet in London's home. I remembered
ripping the boards off the factory entrance, and I remembered
kicking a hole in them. I remembered pulling the small plastic
door off of the box that held the newspaper.
I looked up at the tree. It was much bigger and thicker than
either thing I had previously destroyed without meaning too, but I knew they were made of the same thing with the exception of the
plastic box. I stood there in a pair of black, flannel sleep pants that he had lent me for when my body rested at night, nothing on
my feet, and no shirt to cover my scar-ridden torso. With as
plainly as I looked, I knew I was so much more. I knew I was
stronger than I looked and I knew that I could do this if I set my mind to it.
My body tensed as I approached the tree. The ripples on my
stomach tightened as I stood in front of the tree. With everything I could possibly muster from deep inside of me I made a fist.
116
Unwound
"Caelum, you can't possibly --"
I never heard the rest of what Edison was saying to me over
the sound of the tree splitting as I hit it with all the force I had inside of me.
I was feeling completely proud of myself for what I had just
done and I glanced at Edison. He was shaking his head and
looking at me in disapproval.
"That was unbelievably careless. Look at your hand now," he said reproachfully.
I looked down instantly becoming horrified. The skin on my
hands looked like it had been torn to shreds and parts of the bone and mechanical things inside of me were showing through. I
didn't know what to do. By demonstrating that I didn't need the
help of an ax to bring the tree down, I wound up causing myself
injury.
"Let's go inside," Edison suggested seeing the pained look on my face. My hand was starting to burn a bit. "I can fix that but I'll need to go out and hunt for a bit."
I felt his hand on my back as he steered back into the cabin.
How could he fix what I had just done to myself? Why would he
need to go hunting to do so? As I let him lead me into the sitting
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