Woodsmen

We first take the limbs, climbing to the top and cutting them off on the way down. Then we bind them with ropes, and make a canopy over the ground for shelter in the nights. After our temporary home is erected, we get the props in place, waiting to be raised at the proper moment. My brother and I are on the saw, the others waiting to hoist the beams to catch out prey. Back and forth we push and pull, all the while being covered in oversized grains of rough sand from where our blade hits.

The cracking and bending means it’s time for the next part. Poles are raised while my brother and I finish our job, and the poles catch the trunk as we guide it down. When we know it’s secure, we proceed to skin our prey, give it edges. The round has become flattened on four sides, and shows us its bare flesh.

I climb it to the top of its incline with my new blade, and cut lines down its length. These are where we’ll cut for boards. Beneath me, my brother sharpens his saw in preparation for the next one and our companions sit, idly awaiting their next step in the process. I move from top to bottom several times before I notice the change. The conversations beneath me have ceased. I pause in my work to glance down, and the gazes of my companions are fixed in the direction of Fuji. I look that way myself, and see what has silenced the others. From our view in the Totomi Mountains, we can see the fire that ravages our town. We will need much more wood than we thought.