Mason
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
I could see its eyes clearly, and they weren't panicked.
They weren't curious.
They weren't blank.
They were fixed.
It lowered its head a few inches, not to graze, not to sniff, but like it was deciding where it wanted to put its weight.
Caleb stood up and shouted at it, loud and sharp.
The deer didn't jump.
It took one step forward.
Caleb picked up a thick stick from the firewood pile and hit it against a rock.
The deer watched the stick.
Then it opened its mouth.
I don't mean it chewed.
I mean it opened its mouth wider than an animal should.
Like the hinge was wrong.
No sound came out at first.
Then something came out that I still have trouble describing without feeling ridiculous.
It wasn't a bleat, it wasn't a snort.
It was a voice that started as air and ended as a shape of words, and the words were my name.
Not yelled, not whispered, said in a flat tone that matched the rhythm of the footsteps from the night before.
It said my name once, paused, and then said Caleb's name.