[skillya_glowi]

Chapter Five.

At this point, there seemed to be no possible alternative. If only the directions given to him were a degree less vague…The Almighty Raisin could not drive out the Woulks. Neither could his Ratz. He couldn’t imagine what else he could do.
Ikha entered with a ripe fruit. Dropping it into Sami’s hand, he said,
“Farewell.”
Sami nodded, thanked him, sighed, and started hopping toward the exit.
It was early in the morning. The inhabitants of the forest were making the minimal noise, one that could only be heard by concentrating. The birds, however, were in full swing. Sami supposed it was interchangeable — birds in the morning, crickets in the evening. Squinting at the sun and spending a minute or two thinking, he finally figured out which way the south was, and headed in that direction.

The fruit turned out to be succulent, but not very fortifying. In a few hours, Sami was hungry again. It could be miles to the nearest lake, or maybe even more.
Walking warily through the forest, he could not help but notice the trees growing less dense. Sunlight in large amounts was starting to leak through the forest canopy, and here and there he could see the sky through the trees. Perhaps he had walked right through the forest, or turned and took the way out. He hadn’t expected it to be so small, but he was glad it was over.
At last he walked out and saw the blue sky for the first time in three days. Unable to control himself, he giggled with glee and dashed forward.
After frolicking for several hours in the grass, he remembered what he set out to do. His task was to find the Almighty Raisin, not to jump around the fields, screaming like a little idiot. His eyes, once again, snapped to “alert” mode, and his dark thoughts began to haunt him again.
With much effort, he moodily started making his way up the hill.
It was beginning to darken, and the sky was transforming into a rich sapphire blue. Unfortunately, this also reduced visibility, which Sami could barely cope with. He needed to be on the lookout, but how was it possible to be on the lookout when you cannot see two inches beyond your nose?
It was fortunate that Sami found his way out of the forest. Using the light spot on the horizon from where the sun set, he checked his direction and adjusted it.
Crickets ground Sami’s ears as he continued on his nightly walk. He gritted his teeth and moved forcibly.
Suddenly he stumbled into a thicket.
“You…” he swore.
Struggling to untangle himself from the spiny weeds, he noticed that the ground beneath him was somewhat squishy. When he freed himself from the vines, he stood on tiptoe and peered over the cattails. Water!
Instinctively he lunged forward, but then stopped.
That’s water, all right, he told himself. But you don’t know what might be in it. There could be more Woulks infesting the lake, or worse. Sami sadly turned away. He would have to wait until morning. Now, he had to concentrate on finding a place to spend the night.
After searching for about a quarter of an hour, he gave up his attempts and started to dig a pit in the earth. After discarding several worms and pieces of wood, he hit stone with his stick. He laid it out with moss, involuntarily remembering the comfort of his bed back home. He sighed as he made himself comfortable in the hole and covered himself with a few spare leaves.

Fortunately, he was not discovered during the night by any carnivorous species. This was the first thing he realized when he woke up. The second thing he realized was that there was a pond nearby and he was wasting his time lazing around in a pit in the ground. Sami stretched and yawned, and crawled out of the hole.
It seemed to be very early in the morning. The sky had not yet lost its dawning pallor, and the sun was cool and clear. The lush grass still held on to its last drops of dew.
Eagerly Sami approached the pond. The water was very clear, and even the round pebbles at the bottom could be seen with little effort.
Apart from a few small fish, the water was tranquil. Sami decided to risk it. Taking a deep breath, he slipped into the water.