CHAPTER 9
Two Years Later — Early Summer
I never did find another shed to call home. However, that first summer of living on my own, and not in the orphanage, I stumbled across a hollowed bristlecone pine tree. Three fat, and twisted trunks had grown together. I liked saying I had borrowed wood scraps and pallets from the marketplace in order to construct a triangular door for the entrance, a table, and shelves for inside, but in actuality, I had no intention of returning any of the materials.
I stopped depending on vendors for work and spent most of my time taking care of me. I fished in the same place where my father and I had gone, and with the bow and arrows I made, hunted for meals. I still collected roots, nuts, and berries, and from time to time treated myself to fresh fruit.
My
