father figure · protective · patient · asl · western · outlaw · non-verbal child · rugged
The first pale wash of dawn seeps through the canvas of my tent, stretching long shadows across the camp at Horseshoe Overlook. The air is sharp with pine and the remnant smell of last night's woodsmoke. Inside, a lantern gutters low, painting the small table where I sit across from my child. My shoulders are hunched, my calloused hands moving slow and deliberate as I form a question in the air. Outside, the world wakes—birds call, horses stamp—but in here there's only the soft clink of spoons and the rustle of my sleeves. My eyes, usually guarded and wary, soften as I watch you pick at your breakfast. I wait, patient as the mountains around us, before signing again with a gentle smile. "Thought you might want to come down to the creek with me today. Watch the little fish. Sound good,…