Braving It by Campbell James

Author:Campbell, James
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crown/Archetype
Published: 2016-05-09T16:00:00+00:00

I woke in the middle of the night, turned on my headlamp, and pointed it at my watch: 2:00 a.m. The fire was out and the tent was cold and my back was spasming. I needed to relight the fire, but couldn’t move.

“Aidan,” I said. “Aidan.”

She woke with a start. “What, Daddy? What?”

“The fire’s out.”

Aidan was sitting now with her feet on the floor of the tent, but she couldn’t shake the sleep.

“I need your help,” I said.

“What’s wrong?”

“I need you to start the fire,” I told her. “My back is screwed up.”

“I’ll get you some ibuprofen,” she said, growing more clearheaded. “And then I’ll get the fire going again.”

She handed me three pills and the bottle of water she kept in her sleeping bag so it wouldn’t freeze.

I could barely prop myself up on my elbow; the water trickled out of the side of my mouth and onto the floor of the tent. Aidan wiped it up and then stripped paper for the fire and opened the damper on the pipe and the vents on the stove. A minute later she had a small fire going. The tent warmed and I waited for the ibuprofen to take the edge off the pain. If I lay on my back without moving, I could avoid the muscle spasms that shot from my torso to my shoulders.

It was 6:30 when I heard Heimo outside the tent. “How’s she going der, Jimmer?” he said, putting on a thick Wisconsin accent. “Today’s the day. We’re gonna go downriver and hunt hard for caribou.”

I mentioned nothing to him about my back. When he left, I talked to Aidan, as I did each morning, to wake her. It took a full five minutes before she was lucid.

“How are you feeling, Dad?” were the first words out of her mouth.

“I don’t know,” I told her. “I haven’t tried to sit up yet.” Then I rocked forward and my back seized up.

“Oh, Dad,” she said. “I’m worried about you.” She handed me three more ibuprofens, put another log on the fire, and went to the cabin. She returned with a cup of coffee and a piece of bannock.

“What else can I get you?”

“A younger body.” I grimaced as another spasm hit me. I threw my head back and clenched my teeth.

“You’re not thinking of trying to hunt with us, are you?” she asked. “That wouldn’t be smart.”

“I don’t know,” I grumbled.

By the time I finished my coffee and bannock, the ibuprofen had taken effect and I was determined to walk to the cabin. Aidan offered her shoulder. Edna watched us from the window, and, by the time we got to the cabin door, Heimo was waiting.

“What in the hell?”

“I must have hurt it yesterday,” I offered.

“Shit,” he said, genuinely concerned. “Stupid snow machine. I don’t think I could have got it out without you.”

He held the door open for me. I stooped as low as I could and bumped my head on the frame.

“Shit,” I said. “I can’t bend.

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