18

Vaughn showed up the night I surpassed the longest record of being tied down on that damn pole. I know it’s Vaughn, despite my poor vision, because he’s the only person who walks that path in the woods.

He looks like he was carrying logs in one of his arms and something in the other. It was a satchel. He stopped his tracks halfway towards me, then motioned his head to leave the field after seeing my free state.

I felt like a newborn deer when walking towards him. I stopped a few times to stretch my wobbly legs.

He stared at my face for a while the moment I’m in front of him before walking away. I rushed to his side and matched his pace. He kept on glancing at my face the whole time we walked towards some place.

Tonight, the dimly lit moon made it harder for us to navigate through the thick piled-up snow. The soldiers had to rake the snow off once every 1 to 2 hours to even out onto the field. However, they leave the snow to pile up 2 hours before their training ends. Some soldiers