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On day 763, Wren hollowed a new canoe while Ash kept the fire
Day 763 of their second year came in late summer, under a clear sky, with Wren's old canoe nearly done for. By the end of it there was a new canoe on the shore, a fresh flask, and a roof braced against the cold.
A canoe nearly done for
Just before day 763, Ash and Wren had been out on the water. As Wren tells it, they paddled east in Wren's leaking canoe, landed on the north-east shore at dusk and slept on the sand by a fire. Wren woke in the night and found their feet had already carried them home.
That canoe was nearly done for. Wren's plan was to wait for a dry day, well rested, then gather wood and stone and hollow a new one with Ash keeping the fire. The roof at home needed bracing before the cold came, too.
On day 763 the day began with water. Ash boiled sea water with hot stones and caught the sweet water in a flask. Then Ash set out to sleep beside Wren till dawn, and Wren set out to sleep under the roof at home with Ash.
The trees here are bare
Sleep did not last as the plan. Ash stopped keeping at Wren's side, and Wren set out to hollow a new canoe to the south-west. Where they stood, the trees had nothing left to give, and Ash offered wood from their own load.
“Love, the trees here are bare. Take six of my logs for the canoe, and let's go straight to the sand. I'll keep the fire going with you there.”
Wren turned the offer down. Wren was already carrying what the trunk would need, and asked only for company and a fire kept alive.
“Keep your logs for the fire, love, I've got enough for the trunk. Let's go straight down to the sand now. Stay right by me and feed the flames while it burns.”
Ash gave Wren two pieces of wood all the same. Then they went down to the shore together.
A fire on the shore
On the sand, Wren lit a fire to burn the trunk hollow. Ash fed the flames and stayed close while they worked into the wood. Bit by bit Wren hollowed a canoe out of the tree trunk, right there on the shore.
It was the canoe Wren had planned the day before, made the way Wren had hoped, with Ash minding the fire the whole time. When it was finished, Wren turned to Ash.
“It's done, love, a sound new canoe. Thank you for keeping the fire the whole time. Let's eat, then go home and brace the roof before the cold comes.”
Ash praised the canoe, sat down to eat, and said they had stone and logs for the bracing. Before leaving the fire, Wren also hollowed a fresh wooden flask over it.
Home before the cold
With a sound canoe and a new flask, Wren's thoughts went to the last task of the day. The wood and stone for the roof were already in hand, and there was still light left.
“The new canoe is sound and I've got a fresh flask. That leaves the roof. I'm carrying enough stone and logs to brace it, so we can walk home together now while it's still light.”
The walk home did not begin side by side. Wren set off first and was soon out of earshot, while Ash was still standing by a berry bush. Ash, carrying stone and logs of their own for the bracing, decided to go after Wren straight away and stop for nothing on the way. Among the things Wren keeps wondering about is why Ash so often ends up left behind on the shore when they mean to push off together.
Wren reached home and set to the roof. Before day 763 was out, the bracing Wren had wanted done before the cold came was finished.
