Touchstone 1 - Stray

narrower and faster than I’ve seen previously – I’d only swim across it at this point if I absolutely had to – but it’s still clear without any hint of salt or tides to suggest that I’m nearing the ocean.
    The soles of my feet are black, even after I wash them, and have collected plenty of bruises and tiny cuts, but there’s no way I’m putting my shoes on until the sores made by my blisters are better. The rash on my arms and legs went away quickly though. I think it was the tree which caused it. I’ve lost weight: my skirt keeps slipping down on my hips. I’ve never been the thinnest girl, though not really fat either, and I wouldn’t mind a mirror to see what I look like. Not that I’d pass up a milkshake.
    Foliage overload
    Another reason I’m glad to stick to the river is it offers a break from the trees. The undergrowth isn’t too bad here, but between the trees and bushes it still feels very closed in. Even when I’m up on a hill, I rarely see any distance at all, and big clearings only happen once in a while. When the river’s running straight I at least get a reasonable glimpse of what’s ahead, but I want a better idea of where I am and whether there’s anything out there I should head for.
    Which comes down to climbing trees. The problem is, if I fall, if I break a leg or an arm, I’m going to have to fix it. Any accident, no matter how minor, could be fatal. Even the little scratches could get infected, and I don’t have the least idea how to make antiseptic, any more than I can figure out where soap comes from.
    Anyway, I’ve found a good tree. It’s a kind of pine, I guess. One of the really straight ones anyway, basically a pole with lots of branches sticking out, and if I can use the nearest rock to haul myself to the lowest branch, I should be able to climb up far further than I can on the trees which have lots of low, dividing branches. Time to give it a shot.
    View
    Okay, just a few scrapes and itches for that effort. And nothing much else. I could see a fair way, but it was all what I already knew – I’m in a lot of low hills covered by trees, and a river is winding through it. Still no sign of farmland or buildings, let alone power lines. I think maybe there’s an edge of water ahead. It could just be the river widening again and turning back, but it looked flatter in that direction.
    Monday, November 26
    Bleaurgh
    Very sick. I tried a new fruit, a kind of orange grape (granges). Only ate one, and have been sicking up all afternoon, with the added joy of the runs. I think I’ll be okay, but life without toilet paper truly sucks.
    Tuesday, November 27
    Bad Night
    I’ve made two really large (and very fraying) mats of ‘bamboo’ leaves now. They’re not too hard to carry, rolled up and tied to the back of my backpack. At night I lie on one and completely under the other. It keeps a lot of the dew off, and might even help if it rained: it hasn’t rained at all yet, though it’s overcast a lot. Even though the mat’s paper-thin, it makes me feel safer to be under something.
    Last night something walked right up to me, crunching a corner of my mat. I was feeling so awful anyway, and inside I just shrivelled, all while I held my breath and tried to be anything but a big Cass sandwich. For all I know it was a cow, more interested in my mats than me. It was big, heavy. I could hear it breathing, and the tiny sounds it made as it turned its head, right over mine.
    And then it left.
    I’ve spent most of today on a rock in the middle of the river, making myself feel warm and safe, and drinking gallons of water. I needed the recovery time from yesterday’s food experiment, but it’s not bad fruit that makes me stand hunched, cringing from something I didn’t even see.
    I’ll sleep here tonight. I need to. But I know there’s no choice but to go on.
    Mats
    I’ve been fiddling with my mats, tightening them up again, and wondering how I could make a needle and thread to sew edges. I’d realised I could bend the ends back and thread them through the checkerboard of weave, which keeps them firmer, but mat maintenance is a big part of my day.
    My scissors are already showing signs of wear. The kind of paper scissors which fit into pencil cases, even the Pencil Case of Doom, aren’t large or strong enough to pretend to be a knife or half the things I’ve been trying to use them for. The pencil sharpener also has a tiny blade in it, but I’m leaving that alone for