When they were getting close to the river, Luis became more cautious.
The most dangerous place in the forest wasn't the dense woods, but the river. All the animals in the forest came to the river to drink water, and many predators would hide near the river, waiting for prey to walk into their trap.
When they were not far from the river, Luis told Ran to stay where she was. He walked ahead to check the area carefully. After making sure it was safe, he brought her to the river. Seeing how careful he was, Ran felt lucky to have met Luis. If she had come alone, she probably would have run to the river excitedly without even thinking about the danger around.
Luis started using his army knife to skin and clean the animals they had hunted. Once again, he saw how sharp the knife was—it easily cut through the animal skin, unlike the stone knife they used before, which was hard to use. Meanwhile, Ran washed the vegetables she had picked earlier. After that, she took out her toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, and towel.
She brushed her teeth first, washed her face with soap, then buried her face in the soft towel. Ran let out a long breath of relief. She had never known that washing up could feel so good.
Luis was watching her curiously. Ran handed him an extra toothbrush and said, "Luis, you should try it too. It feels really nice."
Luis had seen her using it and knew it was for cleaning teeth. He pointed to a patch of grass near the river, then pointed at his teeth. Ran turned to look and noticed that it was a large patch of mint. She hadn't even realized it before.
It seemed like Luis and the others usually used mint to clean their teeth. Ran picked a mint leaf, chewed it, and felt its bitter and cool taste. She decided to pick a bunch to take back with her. Her toothpaste wouldn't last forever, and when it ran out, she'd need to use these mint leaves instead. Besides cleaning teeth, mint also had medical value.
Although Luis said he didn't need it, Ran still put some toothpaste on the toothbrush and handed it to him. These modern items were limited, but she wanted Luis to enjoy them too.
Luis looked confused, not knowing how to use it. Ran walked up to him, took the toothbrush, and started brushing his teeth for him. As she brushed, she explained, "You just hold the brush like this and move it up and down. You have to reach every corner…"
While brushing, Ran noticed that Luis was staring at her face. His focused gaze made her feel shy, and her cheeks turned red. Embarrassed, she shoved the toothbrush into his hand and said quickly, "Anyway, that's how you do it. Brush it yourself, I'm going to do something else!" Then she rushed away, not daring to look at him again.
Seeing her reaction, Luis chuckled softly. It felt like a feather had tickled his heart.
After Luis brushed his teeth and washed his face, Ran handed him the towel. It was the first time Luis had touched something so soft. He wondered what kind of animal skin it was made from to feel that gentle.
Luis went back to cleaning the animals, and Ran, after finishing her tasks, started looking around the river. The river was long, with no end in sight. It was probably the main source of water for all the animals in the forest.
She noticed that while they were at the river, several small animals kept watching them from a distance, not daring to come closer. Judging by their size, she realized that they were probably afraid of Luis and didn't want to get near.
Ran tilted her head, curious about Luis's past.
Based on how he had fought the tusk beast earlier, he seemed very strong and intimidating. That must be why the small animals feared him. But why was he living alone in the forest? He didn't seem very old, yet he knew so much about surviving here and was always alert to danger. How much had he gone through to become this calm and capable?
Thinking about it made Ran's heart ache a little. She felt sorry for Luis.
Then she suddenly noticed that Luis was barefoot. She was wearing sneakers and still felt the ground was rough and uncomfortable. Yet Luis had been walking barefoot all along. How could he stand it?
She decided she had to make him a pair of shoes.
Ran looked around the riverbank and finally found a type of grass that seemed right. It looked like a kind of grass she had seen before—Ula grass. Its leaves were long, soft, and strong, which made it perfect for weaving sandals.
She cut a bunch of Ula grass and used the ruler on her Swiss knife to measure Luis's foot. Seeing Luis's curious gaze, she explained, "I'm making you a pair of grass shoes so your feet won't get hurt."
But Luis didn't understand. He thought she was just playing with the grass out of boredom. He said, "Ran, I'm almost done with the animals. Just wait a little longer." Then he worked faster.
Even though they didn't understand each other, neither of them felt frustrated.
Ran didn't really know how to make grass shoes. She tried again and again, failing many times before finally getting something that looked like a shoe. But when she put her hand inside, it was rough and painful. She had no choice but to take it apart and try again.
When Luis finished his work and came over, he saw that her hands were covered in small cuts. He grabbed her hands, looking serious, and stopped her from continuing. "Ran, what are you doing? Your hands are hurt."
He remembered that Ran had some small patches in her backpack for treating wounds, so he held her hand and led her back to the tree hollow.
Ran got up, following his lead. She picked up the Ula grass, planning to keep working on the shoes later. Luis frowned at the grass that had hurt her hands, clearly not liking it, but still took it from her hands and carried it himself.
He carried the hunted animals on his back, held a stone pot full of water, and walked with Ran step by step back to the tree hollow.