Jaak shivered. He approached the door and knocked gently.
In reality it was only a moment, but in what felt like an eternity he heard the footsteps of someone approaching accompanied by a tap, tap, tap. Jaak’s thoughts raced, was Layan some kind of crazy peg leg pirate?
The door opened and the light from within spilled out on to the deck where Jaak continued to shiver in the cold.
A slightly weather worn, rustic looking snow leopard holding a wooden staff stood in the doorway and briefly appraised his unexpected evening visitor.

 

 

Jaak still slightly in awe of his situation, stumble-tumbled his way in to the warm and cozy cabin.

 

Jaak’s words tumbled out like his stumbled entry into the cabin.

 

It was then that Jaak began to take in some of the sights and smells of the cabin. A delicious fishy aroma intermingled with aromatic spices was indeed wafting up from a heavy cast iron pot gently bubbling away which was sitting on the wood burning stove. Jaak suddenly realized he was ravenously hungry. He had not had anything to eat since lunchtime and his late afternoon hike up the hill.

 

In little time, Layan had extracted two wooden bowls out of his side table, ladled a generous serving of chunky fish gumbo into each of them and set them on a small table.  

 

In typical teenage fashion and with little thought to polite conversation Jaak eagerly and ravenously devoured the contents of his bowl.   It was delicious.   Layan was patient with his young guest and waited until he was finished before speaking again.

 

Layan posed this last question with a knowing glint in his eye and with the faintest hint of a slight toothy smile. He knew only too well that Jaak would have been unlikely to get any reliable signal even up on the ridge, and that he certainly would not have any signal further down at the bottom of the valley where he lived.

 

 

Jaak looked at Layan with a slightly bemused and skeptical expression.

 

 

Layan walked over to what looked like a plain hutch dresser that looked entirely in keeping with the basic furnishings of the cabin.   Then with a small click the panels slid open and to Jaak’s utter astonishment there appeared a bank of blinking computer displays, a keyboard and other modern electronic computer equipment. There was also what looked like a vintage ham radio with a pedestal microphone attached.

 

Jaak suddenly realised a moment too late that perhaps he should moderate his potty mouth in front of someone he had only just met. Layan for his part didn’t seem offended.

 

Layan flicked some switches on the old ham radio and turned a couple of the dials. In a few moments once the valves inside had started to warm, a faint hiss and crackle began to emanate from the speaker. A few more adjustments were made and finally the hiss faded. Layan then took the large microphone in his paw and activated the push to talk switch.

 

Hiss.  Crackle.  Knob adjustment.

 

Hiss. Crackle.

 

 

 

Jaak still watching and listening to all this wide eyed, was certain he caught a chuff-chortle just as Tenzing’s last over clicked off.

 

With that, the radio gave one last defiant hiss, and with a slight crackle Layan flipped the power switch and it fell silent.

 

Layan and Jaak then managed to maneuver the cot down from the rafters, without disturbing any of the myriad of other accoutrements stored in the rafters that may have fallen on their heads during the extraction.  The cot was the old wooden type with cross legs and a canvas hammock.  A few grey wool blankets and a patchwork quilt later, and the cot looked invitingly ready for a tired cub to curl up into for the night.

 

Layan tapped is way back over to his computer equipment and a couple of keyboard taps and mouse clicks later he turned to Jaak.

 

Jaak eagerly fished his phone out of his pocket, and to his delight it showed full bars of signal!

 

Jaak then curled up on his bed and opened up his video calling app.   Soon a familiar mop of orange hair and wet nose appeared on the screen.

 

Episode 4 – Tet-Net