![]() ![]() Figures of hunters form in the gaps between the trees. The sun bathes the tips of trees in gold as it begins its descent, dipping between the distant mountains. To a passerby, the building would be as inconspicuous as a run-down shack.Īs Flo tugs at some weeds, I lean back on my heels and gaze across the clearing at the tree line. With one, sole building aboveground, the rest of the clearing consists of gardens and a thin stream before a large, clear area that separates us from the reaches of the forest. The village we live in doesn’t look like much. The sun glares down at us as we wander toward the vegetable patch behind it. Let’s weed the garden while we wait for the stew to boil.Ĭhucking the carrots and the rest of the potatoes into the simmering pot, Flo follows me out of the wooden shack we use as a kitchen. While everyone else had some freedom starting at sixteen, Charles kept me here, wanted me safe. My entire life, I’ve been prohibited from venturing into the forest. Flo peels the potatoes, as there’s nothing she can say to make me feel better. And then you’ll get your wish.Įveryone else only had to wait until they turned sixteen. You turn twenty soon, she says without looking at me. Charles let you hunt the moment you came of age. Flo picks the bucket of potatoes up off the floor and dumps it on the wooden countertop. Who would’ve thought that I’m days away from turning twenty and still stuck on cooking and gardening?Ĭome on, Millie. Still, I’m slicing the carrots as thinly as I can manage. I know the hunters are important, but I’m pretty sure how thin the carrots in the stew are is the last thing on their minds when they get back." The matron turns on her heels, grabs Darius’s hand, and drags him outside, the door swinging shut behind them.įlo’s shoulders slump, red hair spilling over them. Make sure dinner is prepared and ready in the tunnels. You have an hour before the hunters return, two before the sun sets. All the vegetables need to be sliced and in the pot. I couldn’t go more than a few hours without having to pick dirt from my fingernails. ![]() The only time I ever talked back to Cynthia, I was put on cleaning duties for a month. My best friend, Flo, who stands beside me, warns me to keep my mouth shut with a shake of her head, and I bite my tongue. You’re turning twenty this week, child, yet you still don’t know a slicer from a knife." In charge of food preparation, Cynthia has been bossing me around for half my life now, so her disapproving tone barely affects me. ![]() ![]() Darius, her thirteen-year-old son, lingers behind, pulling a face behind her back. Her gray hair pops up from behind the wooden countertop, her thick eyebrows pulled together as she eyes the hacked-up carrots in front of me. The carrots on the chopping board lie in crooked chunks beside the blunt knife. I was wrong.ĭid you slice the carrots, Milena? Remember, Charles likes them extra thin. That I’d already have ventured farther than the tree line that guards our village. I thought that by the time I turned nineteen I would’ve been able to hunt like everybody else. I wake up, venture from the tunnels, serve breakfast for the hunters, weed the gardens, make lunch, clean the tunnels, and then cook dinner.Īnd finally, the most important step-go back into the tunnels and don’t leave until sunrise. An excellent addition.Creatures of the Night Creatures of the Night Grace Collins wattpad books logo ContentsĮvery day is the same mind-numbing routine. This selection will attract nonreaders with its gorgeous images but will also be of interest to older children, though students doing anything but the most basic research reports would need to supplement this book with additional materials. The collection contains many mammals, but there are also plenty of birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects, too. Some of the highlights are a capybara so lifelike that it begs to be touched, a raccoon staring into the camera soulfully, a little brown bat that seems to be coming right off the page, a charming fennec fox whose sweet expression will evoke squeals, and a hedgehog rolled up into a ball. Each image is accompanied by unique information written for a higher level reader than most photobooks. The book features 42 nocturnal creatures, many depicted through multiple shots, laid out on a black background, allowing the details and features of the subject to pop. Scott once again taps into her creativity and photographic genius, compiling remarkably intimate images. ![]()
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