Ari

Chapter 8: Threads and Fabrics

After waiting for the silkworms to finish creating their cocoons during autumn, I checked the ones that I put inside the cups and I was so happy about the output. It is already winter time and it has become a perfectly shaped cocoon.

I decided to ask my father to make a small wooden reel similar to a fishing reel and a mini weaving tool. It would be hard to explain how to make these tools, because papers and pencils are not yet invented so I can only use smooth wooden planks and carve the drawing using a knife to show my father the output I want to make.

I waited for my father to go back to the elder healer's treehouse from his daily routine during dinner to show him my drawings.

He went home earlier than usual, but he seemed like he was in a bad mood and he was covered with snow all over his hair, beard, coat and foot.

I welcomed him with a huge hug with my small little arms and wings spread wide while my tail was wagging on my back and showed a cute and lovely smile.

His face suddenly brightened up as he saw his cute little hatchling waiting for him at home.

Since the day my mother avoided my father and I, he never slept in my mother's treehouse and stayed at the elder healer's treehouse with me. I can see him feeling exasperated every now and then due to my mother's indifference to us. All I could do to console him was just hug him and smile to lighten his mood, then divert his attention to other things.

There are times I wanted to talk to my mom to ask her why she was avoiding us, but I decided not to go near her since she was always surrounded by her two beloved males but every time I stood near her, Dov or Drake suddenly pulled her away. Even when she saw me, she never approached me and avoided my gaze. So I gave up and only looked at her from afar as she took care of my siblings and her male partners beside my father.

I decided to tell my father about my plan after dinner to give him a little more time to adjust his mood.

Elder healer prepared the dining table upon seeing us approach the dining area and heated the already cooked meat soup prepared for dinner.

We sat and ate our food quietly. The elder healer was watching my father, observing him as he ate quietly while feeding me.

"Was there any trouble in the tribe? You looked exasperated." Elder healer Lony asked as she tried to cut the silence during dinner.

"It's nothing much. I am just exhausted due to the continuous load of work. Also, I tried to persuade Freya to spare some time for Ari but she still refused saying she is busy with her other hatchlings, especially the new hatched ones." He answered while gritting his teeth and furrowing his eyebrows while looking downward showing his anxiety.

"Father, play with me tomorrow, let the other tribesmen work less and rest. You all had worked too much lately and the winter is already starting. Rest for a day and play with Ari please. I want to make a toy with you tomorrow." I suggested and pleaded for his time without telling him the truth about the toys I was planning to make.

"Okay, I'll spare some time for you tomorrow and let the other tribesmen get some rest too." He replied as he smiled sweetly.

The next morning, my father went to gather the tribesmen first, then informed them to take a day of rest and spend time with their families. The tribesmen were elated and excitedly went on their own ways to enjoy their one day vacation.

When he got back to the tribe, I showed him my drawings and explained to him what we needed and what we should do. He was so baffled at first while making them and thought they really were toys since it has a mechanism, then when you move one part and the other parts move too. My father enjoyed making them since it was new to him and it looks magically amazing.

It was so easy for me to design a mechanism because my father in my previous life was a mechanical engineer and he used to teach me about mechanisms during our bonding time since he cannot hold me or touch me so playing with him was quite tricky. Learning mechanical amuses me so I had so much fun when he taught me how to build simple machines. He also used to think that I would end up being an engineer like him.

The day after my father Lev and I made the mini weaving tool and the mini reel, I started working on the silk thread. I told the elder healer that I won't be able to accompany her again on collecting herbs because I need to relocate the cocoons of my silkworms so they won't swarm around the house ones they manage to morph. She agreed without doubting what I was about to do.

When they all went out to do their own tasks, I started to dry the cocoon by placing them in front of the fireplace since the sun won't be coming out until spring arrives while preparing for the things I needed. After drying them, I cooked the cocoons in a pot until the fiber loosened up. Then, I used two bamboo chopsticks that I made and stirred the cocoons slowly in a circular motion till the thin fiber of the cocoons sticks to the chopsticks.

I pulled the long strings of fiber and used the reel I made to turn them into thin thread. I used a wooden guide to keep the cocoons in the pot while I'm reeling the thread.

My father and elder healer were terrified when they arrived before lunch time and saw me cooking the cocoons and reeling the threads.

"Father! Elder healer! Look! I made a silk thread! We can make clothes using this thread.", I proudly showed them the product of my experiment.

They were confused but they hurriedly took over the reel to prevent me from getting hurt due to the hot pot because I am still too small for such work.

After winding the thin thread, I combined a few threads and reeled them again to make a thicker thread while the elder healer heated the food we will eat for lunch.

My father brought me to the dining table to eat our share of food after the elder healer finished heating the food.

They scolded me during lunch and told me not to do such things again because I might get hurt. I hugged them while saying sorry for worrying them and promised not to do it alone anymore.

After eating, I asked my father to help me make the fabric while the elder healer concocts medicines for the younglings and the ill members of the tribe.

We used the mini weaving tool to make the fabric, then after we finished the product, he was so surprised.

"I wish we could make a bigger one, the silk fabric looks so beautiful. I want to make fashionable clothes from this." I mumbled in amazement while looking at the output of my hard work.

My father hugged me happily and promised to make me a bigger one with the help of the tribesmen.

We also made a chakha or a spinning wheel used for making threads from different types of fiber materials such as cotton, wool, rabbit fur, spider webs and other similar materials.

It took us 3 months to make a bigger weaving machine so we already made enough threads to make bigger fabrics by that time.

It took us years of trial and error before we could make better machinery to produce a more quality set of fabrics.

Using the machineries we designed, we started making fabrics. My father assigned the male younglings to operate the machinery and make threads and fabrics while the female younglings are assigned to breed the silkworms.