to walk away. His cabin was not too far off; he could see the smoke rising from the chimney into the frigid mountain air. He walked a few paces before turning back to Tuvallus.
“Sir, my mother has a warm fire and she is sure to have some rabbit stew boiling. Would you like to step out of the cold for a while and warm your belly with the best rabbit stew you’ve ever eaten?”
Tuvallus finally stopped and looked up from the dead elk. His face was completely covered with hair so Jonas could not read his expression. After a few moments of silence he spoke.
“You be invit n’ me to ur cabin? A man you don’t know, who just put a blade to ur throat?”
“Umm…yes. We don’t have lots of food, but it is very good. I can assure you of that,” replied Jonas confidently.
Tuvallus shook his head grunting and went back to dressing the elk. Jonas shrugged again and turned back around. He walked a few more paces before Tuvallus called to him.
“Hey, boy!”
Jonas turned around to face the trapper.
“Bring this to your mother,” Tuvallus said, tossing a large piece of elk meat toward Jonas. The bloody meat landed in the snow at his feet and Jonas picked it up with a smile. It was wet with blood and still a little warm. Jonas had never had elk meat but he had heard it was the best.
“Thank you, Tuvallus,” Jonas said excitedly.
Tuvallus simply grunted and went back to work.
Jonas put the piece of elk meat into the cloth satchel he carried on his back. He had to take out the loaf of bread so the blood from the meat wouldn’t spoil it. That was okay though; he could carry the loaf in one hand and still use his crutch since their cabin was so close. Jonas turned around and walked toward his cabin. He smiled, for he had two gifts to give his mother on this day.
Jonas set his crutch down, his hand awkwardly freeing the door latch. The door swung open and the warm air from within covered him like the summer sun.
Lorna, his mother, was adding some spices to their stew that was boiling in a heavy black cauldron hanging over the fire. She was a strong woman with a beautiful face despite the slight wrinkling caused by many years of hard work in the sun. She wore her long dirty blonde hair pulled back and tied with a piece of leather. She had seen over forty hard winters, many of which were laced with bitterness and scorn from her town, but she was content with her life and she smiled often, which lit up her face and made Jonas feel safe.
“Jonas, it’s about time,” his mother said thankfully. “I was beginning to worry about you.”
“I’m fine, Mother. You know it takes me a while to walk back home.” He plopped his tired body on the wooden chair that his mother had made him. The seat cushions were made of many rabbit hides stitched together and stuffed with straw. It was very comfortable and Jonas loved to rest in it before the crackling fire.
“Here is the loaf. Gorum said he would love some of your dried rosemary as payment. He said to bring it by tomorrow if you have any and he will get us another one.” Jonas handed the hard loaf to his mother and she moved to the wooden cutting board on their table.
“Thanks, Sprout. We’ll go into town tomorrow,” his mother replied as she cut several large slices from the loaf.
Jonas smiled at the nickname. He always loved how his mother did not focus on his disability; she always tried to treat him as a normal boy, including him in everything that she did. She would wait patiently for him as they picked berries in the forest, tended their garden, or set their rabbit traps. They were all each other had and he loved her dearly. Jonas smiled excitedly as he pulled out the slab of meat from his satchel.
“Mother, look at what I have.”
Lorna turned from the loaf of bread to look at the piece of meat Jonas had in his lap. “What is that?” she asked curiously.
“It is elk. I met Tuvallus the hermit on the path here and he gave me a slice of his kill to give to you,” Jonas said with a broad grin.
Lorna moved towards Jonas with a beaming smile. “Really? Tuvallus gave you that?” she asked as