In that time before I spoke many words or thought many thoughts, when my world was small and so was I, my father woke me and bundled me into my snowsuit and boots. I had no idea why we were leaving everyone else asleep in their beds, or why my father and I were leaving the city and driving into the prairie sunrise with sandwiches wrapped in waxed paper and a Thermos on the back seat. I fell asleep and woke at the entrance to a field covered with a thick crust of snow on top of stubble left from a grain harvest.

We’re going duck hunting. What’s that? A shotgun. Off we went. I was given strict instructions to keep him in sight at all times and to never ever get in front of him. I have to pee. You can manage. We parted ways. I went to a...

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