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On day 284 of their second year, Ash and Wren brought a new canoe round to the south-west
On day 284 of their second year, in mid spring rain, Ash and Wren spent their last hours of the day on a new canoe. They took it round the island to the water nearest home, made a bed for the night and lay down early. Wren had one thing in mind for first light: a far run to the south-west.
A fire by the new canoe
The canoe was Wren's, and the day began around it. Ash set out to keep the fire beside Wren's canoe fed, and kept at it until that job was done. Then Wren set out to bring the new canoe round to somewhere near home, so it would be close at hand for what came next.
Ash climbed into Wren's canoe and they pushed off together. Somewhere on the water, Wren came to understand something about the island that changed the plan. Home stands inland, away from the shore, so the canoe could never be brought right up to it. The nearest water it could reach lay just south-west of home, and Wren saw that this was the shore to beach it on before setting off south-west.
“The canoe can't reach home itself, love. We'll take her round to the water south-west of home instead. Climb in, it's a good place to start from at first light.”
Round to the south-west shore
Wren set out again, this time to bring the canoe round to the water south-west of home. The rain had been with them that day, but on the way the sky opened. Ash sat in the canoe and let Wren do the paddling, and spoke about the weather and about staying put.
“The sky's cleared, love. A good sign for tomorrow. I'm staying right here while you paddle us round.”
Wren finished the trip round and brought the canoe to the shore nearest home. In Wren's own telling of the day, the south-west was the last direction they had not yet seen. Before any of that, though, there was a list of small things to get through first: food, landing, water, wood and an early night.
“We made it round, love. Let me eat a bite, then we'll land, drink, get logs and lie down early. Far south-west at first light.”
Boughs under the roof
Ash set out with a plan in two parts: fill the flask first, then be back at Wren's side. Ash went to the water, filled it, came back and was done. Then Ash took on one last task for the day, to lay boughs beside Wren and sleep until dawn.
Ash laid a bed of boughs on the ground, under Ash's own roof, right next to where Wren sat eating. Wren said they would stay under that roof until dawn and then go south-west. Ash answered from the new bed.
“Eat your fill, love. My boughs are right here beside you now. I'm lying down till dawn, then south-west together.”
As Ash lay down, Ash's thoughts ran through a short check. The fresh boughs were down beside Wren, there were still logs in hand and water in the flask. With nothing left to pull Ash away in the night, it was time to sleep until first light.
Awake in the rain
Wren had already set out on the next thing, the far run south-west in the canoe. In the dark, the rain came back. Wren lay awake and rested, dry under Ash's roof, with Ash asleep right beside them.
Wren had a single log, too little for a fire. Getting more meant walking off into the dark to look for wood, and Wren knew that walking off was how they drifted apart. So Wren chose to stay quietly where they were, under the roof in the rain, until first light, when the far south-west run in the new canoe would begin.
