Chapter 4: Breaking Ground

X continued putting the words onto the page.

Some of his earliest childhood memories had been of Up North. His parents had purchased a parcel of land near his grandpa’s cabin on the Middle Inlet Creek. He remembered going to the plot of land on sunny morning with his dad, brother and mom. They parked on the road in front of the land and hopped out of the truck. On both sides of them was thick dense forest. The woods were mixed with large oaks, pines and poplar trees. Small brush of growing saplings grew from the fertile forest’s floor. X’s dad grabbed some cutting tools from the back of the truck and handed them to the family. Then he’d said, “Ok! Start cutting!”

With the small pruning shears in his seven-year old hand, X began cutting the little scrub brush on the land. He’d remembered being side by side with his Mom, cutting the small trees down. It had seemed like an endless task for the boy because there were so many trees. But, one by one, after a long day, an area began to take form. This area had eventually became the site of his Dad’s creation, the cabin. X walked with his Mom onwards; cutting whatever had been in their path. Then, standing on the top of a small hill with the pruning shears in hand, X had seen the Middle Inlet Creek flowing for the first time.