by Marien Dore
About mid-afternoon, we stumbled across more than just flat land and the sight of a cluttered debris-filled beach. With each step, we noticed something in the distance standing out. There was a high point of some sort down the beach. A cliff or maybe plateau was more accurate.
We continued until we could take it all in. Mr. Rush froze before it, staring blankly up at it with me. Our eyes ran up the jagged rocks that stretched high from the tree line all the way out to the water. It was very daunting to see the land curve up like that deeper into the woods. Staring up at the open top of it, it was clear that on top of these massive rocks was a flat and grassy top. The rocks of this plateau stretched out into the water. The whole thing also seemed strangely familiar to me somehow too.
Mr. Rush backed up, sizing it up as he craned his neck. Was he considering climbing it? That would be dangerous. If we want to get past it by climbing it, our best bet would be to move further into the trees and go over it. Staring into the trees, though, it was clear that it would be a while before being able to safely climb up it. Plus, we didn’t want to get lost again either with how far back we might have to go into the trees. That would be a huge risk.
“What are we going to do?” I asked.
He studied it again, his eyes sweeping back to the water where the cliff stopped, as if out of nowhere. He sighed. “The best way would be to go in the water and move around it. If we hold onto the rocks, the current shouldn’t mess with us.”
I looked where his eyes were. The rocks where the cliff ended were not that far out. We knew it was deep, though, and the waves would be stronger. The wind they brought proved so as my hair brushed behind me in the breeze. Even though we were pretty beaten up, it didn’t look bad.
“That seems fine,” I said, studying it myself.
He nodded, looking up at the rocks again as we continued forward. We reached where the sand gave way to rocks when Mr. Rush stopped and looked me straight in the eyes. “Follow close behind me. The ocean is unpredictable.”
I scoffed, saying nothing and receiving nothing else from him. Sighing, he moved and turned towards the water, his feet eventually breaking the surface. Following behind him, I watched him closely, knowing that this was a serious situation.
It was clear that he didn’t like this route by the grave look on his face. Staring at the waves crashing into those massive rocks wouldn’t help anybody, though. “Hey,” I said, unable to help myself. “We will be okay. We have the rocks to hold on to and won’t be that far out.”
He nodded, taking a deep breath as he began walking further out into the water. We stuck close to the huge mountain of rocks in the water. Mr. Rush stopped once the water hit our chests, the waves starting to knock us back more. He grasped one rock with both of his hands before he turned back to me. “Hold on. I don’t know how strong the waves are going to be further out.”
With us actually out here… I never saw the waves look this choppy and rough. Yeah, great day to run into a cliff blocking our way!
It was a daunting task we were trying to complete. With each second that passed, my heart was beating harder. I did as he asked when I needed to, like hanging onto one of the huge rocks with a tight grip. Struggling along with our hands trailing along the rocks. Eventually, our feet couldn’t touch the bottom. It made us rely more on the rocks and our own strength.
The waves became harder to push against as Mr. Rush showed. He was hit with a wave that made his body slide back slightly towards me. He wasn’t prepared enough when it went over his head. It resulted in him letting out a few coughs, spitting the salty water out of his mouth.
We were both soaked by this point. His hair was a darker color from the water and curled back behind him. I could also see his arms were strained as he gripped the rocks harder. “You okay?” I gasped out, the waves hitting me harder too.
I heard a weak laugh then his voice. “I’m fine.”
Every few seconds, a wave would curve up, slamming us harder and make us nearly lose the grip we had on the rocks. Our bodies in the water would lift with the force, but our arms kept us going. I now knew why he decided to go first.
Staying close behind didn’t provide much coverage, though. Each wave pushed us back harder. It got to the point where my skin was sliding against the rough rocks, and all I could do was ignore it. I couldn’t let go, and we needed to keep moving. We were getting so close to moving around the point of it!
We took those last few moves slowly. We started to go around the curve of the end very gradually to the other side of the cliff. Once we moved around it and could see the land on the other side… the sight was overwhelming.
The beach was still filled with the aftermath of the storm. Logs, branches, seaweed, and leaves covered the smooth sand. It was clear that this side of the little peninsula didn’t get hit nearly as hard. There were more trees that were bent to the ground than just simply gone. That wasn’t what caught my gaze and drove me crazy, though.
“Oh my god,” I said in shock.
Mr. Rush was frozen in front of me, his hands resting tightly on a rock as he stared at the same sight. The waves were nothing compared to what they were on the other side, which allowed us to relax a bit as we gazed, absolutely stunned.
I nudged his shoulder and spoke frantically with excitement. “Go! Hurry! Haven’t we been waiting long enough for this!?” I was super flipping anxious! I needed this.
He jumped into action at my words, now making his way along the left side of the cliff. We moved at a much faster pace, slamming our poor hands into the pointy edges. The second our feet could touch the bottom, we let go of the rocks in a frenzy. We began swimming towards land with no interruption from rough waves. Rushing in the direction diagonal from where we gripped the rocks, we moved towards the one thing we needed most. And by the time we were racing up the beach, we discarded any physical pain we were feeling. My smile and his cured it all.
I felt my heart jump as we got closer. Dodging around the debris, we finally reached it. Slowing to a stop and taking it in… it was so beautiful! So beautiful to lay my eyes on this creek. I stared in awe at the clear water gliding downstream and into the ocean, small stones and rocks covering the creek’s floor. It was maybe only a few dozen feet wide; not too large or small. It was perfect!
The music of the trickling water tickled my stomach and ears. Trees, bushes, and long grass covered the banks on both sides. And the edges of those banks ended only a few inches above the waterline of the flowing liquid. It looked like the stream we saw before at the waterfall. I was nearly certain that this was the end of it.
We walked up to the grassy bank, stopping on the edge. Looking up, I was able to take in overpopulated brush and vines that hung over the water. Besides that, though, this area was quite open and grassy. Staring at where the water was flowing from, I could see that the creek was slightly curved and out of sight before rushing towards the ocean.
Gazing at the surroundings, I smiled softly. It was nice to see the storm didn’t affect the creek much at all. The grass and trees looked in perfect shape. To look behind me and see a cluttered beach and compare it to this… it was strange. I had to guess that the cliff shielded this part of the beach well enough.
“This makes me wonder about what kind of storm it was we were in,” I said, lowering my eyebrows in thought.
He nodded. “It felt like a hurricane, but if it were, that cliff would not have blocked it,” he said, gesturing behind us to the plateau we just went around. “And obviously, the cliff blocked a big chunk of it.”
I smiled softly to myself. “Either way, we got lucky. We finally found it.”
Though unsure of what kind of storm we experienced, it didn’t stay in my mind or his. It was surprising that it took this long for one of us to say something. After all, our throats were burning this whole time.
“I can’t believe we haven’t swallowed this entire stream by now,” he said, staring at the water in want.
“I’m ready to,
” I muttered, stepping down from the bank and into the fresh water. I felt goosebumps rise, which was saying something since we were still soaked from the ocean. It made me even more excited.
I noticed the water stopped at my kneecaps upon looking down. Then I saw Mr. Rush’s legs come into my view. We were both ready for this. I have been imagining myself drinking this cold and clear water for too long. Time for us to make it happen.
Chapter 22
We were both kneeling in the stream and facing upriver, the water pouring by us in long glass licks. After only drinking from my hands, it made me realize how thirsty I really was. That’s why instead, I dipped my head down, drinking the water like an animal. My lips grazing the water… oh man, there was already a stronger sense of relief.
I took in heavy gulps, tasting the fresh water and more. I was tasting more than water, but a bliss I have been craving for way too long. My throat sighed in relief, and it made me want more. The more I drank, the better I felt.
Suddenly, I felt a firm hand grab my arm and pull me back, ripping my mouth from heaven. Turning to see him next to me, Mr. Rush was kneeling like me, but he wasn’t drinking the water. Instead, he gave me a disapproving gaze. “Don’t go overboard. You will get sick if you consume too much at once.”
I groaned in annoyance but knew he was right. I couldn’t allow my body to take over my mind, even if all I wanted was water. I did as he said and went back to using my hands. Once I took in enough water, I didn’t hesitate to completely stretch out in the creek and drench myself. I wanted to feel as clean as possible, so I took full advantage of this, washing away the dirt on me and hopefully my stench. I even fully dipped my head into the water, which made me feel more refreshed.
After at least receiving the sensation of being clean, I pushed myself up and took a deep breath. I saw that Mr. Rush did the same and washed off, We stayed like that, relaxing in the water and avoiding each other’s gaze. There was a strong lack of conversation between us too. Though I wanted to be stubborn and keep it that way, it bothered me to the point where I found a reason to speak. “What now?”
He glanced at me before looking away, back up the stream. “We need shelter. We can gather up some vines here and find a good use for it. We also will need to figure out how to build our shelter.” He thought for a second when he paused. “Food will be hard, definitely.”
I understood that too well. “All we had was fruit, and that is not enough to live on.”
He nodded from where he was still kneeling across from me in the water. “Well… this gives us the chance to really commit to learning how to fish.”
“That’s another thing,” I realized. “We need to make another spear.”
He nodded again. As I tried thinking of other things, my eyes wandered aimlessly down. That’s when I noticed that my small cuts were clear, which made me smile. One more plus to freshwater: it doesn’t burn to clean out any cuts. Plus it’s safer to clean them too with this water.
“First, I think we should start with shelter. We aren’t going to be able to learn how to fish by the end of today so we might as well get something accomplished by then.”
“That’s true.” Both tasks didn’t sound bad, but I wasn’t looking forward to working on these things with him. Sighing, I stood up and stretched, walking up the bank. I sat down in the grass under a tree.
“We can’t do it here, though,” he said, standing up himself. I looked down at him from where I was sitting in the cool grass and lowered my eyebrows.
“We can’t do what here? Build the shelter?”
“Yeah. It’s too close to the ocean, and it would be cold at night. We can now take advantage of the woods for cover. We have a creek to follow back to the ocean so we won’t get lost.”
I liked how that sounded. Anything to make the nights just a little less harsh. So with that came our first objective: finding a good spot. We needed to find a location that was upstream, but still close to the stream.
In no time, we were moving. We walked up the stream, moving deeper into the woods until it surrounded us and the creek. We didn’t speak a word to each other the entire time either. We just kept following it as it curved through the land and led us further in.
It felt like a long time passed thanks to the thick silence between us. More realistically, I would say that maybe ten minutes of walking went by. That was when we heard a distorted sound. It was faint with the noise of the creek next to us, but a new sound was there. He heard it too because he stopped walking with me and started looking for the source.
I followed his gaze upstream and noticed that, once again, the creek turned in a different direction. Whatever it was sounded like it was coming up ahead so we kept pushing on until it got louder. I had a good idea of what it was as we continued walking deep into the woods. Then, the creek stopped where I expected it to. We now stood where we were so many days ago.
I stared at the little lake that flowed out to the creek. I also took in where the sound was coming from — the waterfall.
“You have got to be kidding me,” I scoffed under my breath. It brought me back to when we first got here. Reminded me of how long it took us to find this the first time. “I thought this lake was miles from the ocean. It took us over a day to find it last time,” I said, recalling those first few agonizing days. “Didn’t even take ten damn minutes now.”
He finally spoke, trying to make me feel a little better. “Well before, we came from further down the beach. We must have been moving at an angle the first time and only thought we were going deeper into the woods.”
That made complete sense. It reminded me of the first time we actually saw this beautiful area. We had been staring down at it from a slightly higher area than this. My eyes instantly went to the right of the waterfall, where we came from the first time. I didn’t expect to see the suitcase we had recovered, but it was here!
Moving to where the suitcase was lying on the ground, I knelt down next it. It made me remember that we used it to hold some of the berries we picked from bushes close by. It was many days later, though, and those berries were rotten. It stained some of the now damp clothes in the suitcase too. But hey, clothes are still clothes and can be used!
My hands immediately grabbed something to put on. Rocking black shorts and just a bra weren’t doing it for me anymore. I grabbed some jean shorts and an olive green tank top. When I put the shirt on, I froze when I looked down at myself. Mr. Rush most likely noticed my distressed expression.
“What is it?” he asked. He appeared worried.
“Do you see anything different about me, about how I look?” I asked.
He must have because I sure could. I was skinnier than before — to the point where it was scary. Before all this happened, I had a few curves. Now, I looked much smaller. I hadn’t noticed it before, but now I do. I slid on a shirt that was my size and it was too big for me.
Waiting for an answer, Mr. Rush looked cautious and maybe a little guilty. “Well, w-what…” He trailed off before clearing his throat. “What do you mean? You look… okay.”
I rolled my eyes at him and wanted to laugh. “No, I meant do you see a difference in my weight?”
Understanding lit his features. He didn’t dare look at my body, probably feeling guilty enough about what happened a few nights ago. “I’ve noticed you’re thinner than you were before. It was expected, though; all we ate was fruit. I never heard of someone gaining weight by only eating fruit,” he chuckled weakly at his terrible attempt to break the tension. It grew.
I stared down at myself and the shirt. Grabbing the loose fabric, I frowned as he spoke. “Don’t be worried about your health. I have lost a few pounds myself.”
I noticed that about him too before he brought it up. I sighed. “How do you not worry about that? There are no hospitals, no medicine here. We have nothing to rely on,” I said, unbuttoning my black shorts. It made me sigh in relief. After so long in those shorts, I was happy to wave goodbye to them for now.<
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“We have each other. I patched up your back and feet. You wrapped my hands and cleaned up my cuts.”
Listening to his words as I pushed my black shorts down, I was not pleased. Even more so when I saw he was distracted by the fact that I was changing shorts. His eyes deliberately avoided me, and he was much tenser. It annoyed me that he had to act like a little boy.
“The second after you give me this teamwork B.S., you can’t help but be immature. So sorry it’s the end of the world if a girl who isn’t your fiancée changes her shorts in front of you.”
He stood there speechless for a moment. Then he shook his head. “All I can say is that I’m sorry. But you really need to get over it.”
“You think the word ‘sorry’ means much to me, sir?”
“I—” he cut himself off. “Whatever. We need to start on the shelter, and I think we should make it here. It’s far enough in, we have a lake of fresh water, and for fishing, and we can walk the creek back to the ocean. Will that be good enough for you?”
I felt like I was being just as big of a baby as he was, but I couldn’t help it. “What say do I have in it? All I am to you is some child,” I said simply. I saw him flinch at my words, which I didn’t expect but I wouldn’t complain.
He had about enough. A second later, he walked off and moved through the trees, his head tilted up and searching. Probably for supplies, we could use to make the shelter. It made me sigh. Why did I allow this to go on? If I had just sucked it up, we could have been a team as he suggested.