by Marien Dore
Sighing and pursing my lips, I stared at him through the trees. He stopped and was standing under a vine he found, studying it. Despite my personal issues with him, we did need to get work done and build a shelter.
I tried preparing my cheeks to stay their normal color as I started to approach him. By the time I got to him, he had managed to snap the vine, making it fall to the ground. Ignoring me, he started wrapping it in loops, making it easier to carry. I followed him as he made his way to the next vine a few feet away. I felt like I was going to be sick with embarrassment when I spoke. “You got to give me something to do,” I mumbled.
He looked at me with a raised eyebrow. His mouth was set in a tight line. “Oh, so you just out of nowhere decide you want to work with me?”
“I don’t want to work with you or be a team. Since trying to run away didn’t help much last time, I’ll need to do my half.”
He eyed me, no doubt looking for some sign that said I was joking. He must have seen the truth there because he shrugged. “Fine. Make a big pile of those huge leaves we found before,” he said, voice icy. I retreated quickly from him, happy I could do something that didn’t require interacting with him.
It didn’t take me long to find the leaves I was looking for. I gathered the massive leaves after snapping them from the bushes and started dragging them back. I let them go in an open area by the bank, unsure of where we should have the shelter.
I found Mr. Rush had several vines with him. They hung around his neck (probably because he gave up trying to roll them all up). He walked up to where I stood and dumped his treasures next to mine. We were already sweating. I could only imagine how hot we are going to be when we actually start to build the thing.
“Where are we building this?”
He scanned the land that surrounded us. I followed his eyes when he turned and looked behind us. There were trees scattered in the grass before the woods became thicker. “Well, maybe we should build it among these trees. Maybe build it right off the lake, have it a couple yards into these trees. It would give us a lot of room and give us cover at the same time. And a nice view,” he said, gesturing to the waterfall and lake behind us. “Question now is how,” he muttered, refusing to meet my eyes.
“I think I might have a way,” I said after a long moment in thought. Looking at the spacious and durable trees in this long grass, it gave me an idea. “All we really need is protection and cover. A roof and one wall blocking the wind or rain would do. So I was thinking something like a lean-to shelter. We could use two of those trees that are only a few feet apart from each other,” I said, my gaze looking over the area before us. “If we can find a thick and sturdy branch and somehow nail each end to both trees, it could hold anything. The two trees and the branch hanging between them could act as a support for a leaning wall we could make.”
Mr. Rush put on a serious face, trying to picture what I was saying. Standing beside me and looking at the trees too, he was silent for a moment before speaking. “So… you’re saying use two trees as posts? Then connect something between them so it could hold everything we lean against it?”
I nodded to him, smiling softly at the rush of possible ideas in my head. “Yeah, but I mean after we have that acting as a wall and a roof, we can hang stuff around it for more cover.”
Finally giving in, he turned his head and looked down to me. His eyes clear of what happened earlier, they were wide with excitement. “That actually is a very good idea. We could maybe make the wall out of thick logs or branches, bind them together and go from there.” He nodded and scoffed at how easy that idea was. Of course, we weren’t actually building it yet. I’m sure we would run into complications.
“We are going to have to make this thing very sturdy and safe. This isn’t just a shelter for a few days. We are going to need to depend on this for a while,” I said.
“Right,” he agreed, looking over the area again. This was going to act as our new home. Thinking it sounded crazy but it was true. Mr. Rush continued with another idea to contribute. “We can always use the logs and branches that are on the beach from the storm too. That would save us a ton of work. It’s going to be hard hauling it all the way up here, but it will be worth it.”
Hearing that made me smile. It was as if everything was set into place perfectly for us. It made me a little excited to get to work. That’s why we didn’t stall in jumping right into it. It was nice that we had a chance to be this productive. After all, this could be a great distraction and something to keep us busy. It’s not like I was all ‘buddy-buddy’ with him now; I didn’t want to be. Survival comes first as we have learned.
Chapter 23
We stood before the kingdom of debris, scanning over the place. I took a deep breath. There wasn’t much compared to the other side of the cliff, but there was enough. For what we were looking for anyway.
We decided that the best way to do this would be to make the wall out of thick branches or smaller trees instead of massive logs that were impossible to carry. Our concern was that the branch we will be hanging between the two trees won’t be strong enough to hold a wall made out of huge logs. Not to mention, this branch we hang will be five or six feet up and attached to the two trees. It needed to be light if we want to be able to lift it that high.
So our objective right now: find a ton of thick branches. Some of the small trees that the storm pulled from the ground were acceptable too, but only if the tops of them were broken off.
We were successful and fast with it. Once we found long enough branches, we dragged them to the pile we were making next to the creek. Which wasn’t hard; we had enough options thanks to the storm. Staring down at the pile of thick branches and some skinny logs, I added one more to the collection with a grunt. It would be hard to get these back to camp. It was a hassle just carrying some of them to this pile. It’s not like we’re gathering sticks. Sure, they needed to be light enough so we could lift them but they also needed to be heavy enough to protect us and form a sturdy structure.
“It’s going to be hard carrying all this back,” I said as he dragged another long branch over to join the rest. Groaning as he let it go, he glanced at me as I continued.
“Well, it shouldn’t be too bad if we each grab an end, considering we are still sore.”
I hated how well his ideas were. I didn’t want to offer him any credit, but I nodded in agreement. I did want more details. “So we are going to have this as one wall. Other than that, we will be wide open. What if it rains or the wind comes in from a different direction?”
“I figured that we could stitch those long leaves up along the sides and maybe hang some in front,” he answered. “We have a lot of options actually.”
After talking over other ideas of how to get this done, I was ready to get the bad part over with: carrying it all back. Which is what we did for the next few hours. We each grabbed an end like he suggested and started walking the ten minutes it took up the creek and to camp.
When we dropped the last one and sighed in relief, I turned towards the creek instantly. It was painful to be sweating the whole time and not jump into the water. I was dripping at this point and could cool off with our job done. However, as I turned more towards the creek, something caught my eye. It was a little daisy. And before I knew it… a memory came to me. One that I can’t believe I managed to remember.
“Mommy, this is crap,” I whined, throwing my small pink gardening gloves off. My pigtails were pulled behind my ears to keep my hair from sticking to the sweat on my chubby cheeks. The sun was as hot as it was on this island today. Back then, it was the first year of our flower garden.
My mom took me to the store and let me pick out all the flowers I wanted. I pointed with an excited finger to all the bright tulips because they instantly caught my attention. She bought those, and when we actually started, she gave me the job to dig the holes and put the plants in. She practically made me do it all because that was about all we had to do. The soft soil was ready
and, as I dug my first hole, I saw that below the dirt lied thick roots that were coming from a tree close by. I couldn’t get through them with my little arms. Of course at that age, what do you do when it gets hard or boring? Give up.
However, mom had a different idea. She set the red tulips beside me and brought out the mulch as well. She got down beside me and spoke. “Baby girl, unscrew those tight lips.” I flicked my eyes at her, thinking I looked tough and cool with my arms crossed. Her smile made me falter. It always did.
“But, Ma! It’s too hard and hot. Alex can help you instead,” I said.
“Well, fine by me. But do you know what that means?” she asked in a goading voice.
“What?”
“You can’t say you helped because you didn’t. If you want something done, you need to do it and be proud of yourself. Everyone needs to work for it. Did Alex ask to make a garden with me?” she asked as she shifted so we were facing each other fully in the dirt.
“No,” I said quietly.
“Well, then who did?” Her smile lit her face. What could be accusing words came sweetly to her lips and innocently.
“I did. I want to build a garden with you, mama. But,” I sighed dramatically to get my point across. “It’s just so, so, so, so hard!”
She slid next to me and pointed to the back of the empty garden. Or what I thought was empty. I couldn’t see it before since it blended in well with the color of the dirt. But there was a stem that could be mistaken for a stick. It was slumped down and nearly hit the ground. Its top revealed it used to be a flower, the petals holding barely any color other than the yellow of dryness. “Why is it still in here?”
“It was here when we first moved into this house, honey.”
I gasped. “It’s been there for that long?!” Long meaning older than I was at the time, which was a gasping six years!
“Yes, it has.”
“But why didn’t you get rid of it?”
She bent down and whispered in my ear. She used a voice that said this was top secret information. I leaned in eagerly and felt her warmness when her hands rose to cup over my ear. “To see if you have the power of the green thumb,” she said even quieter.
My large eyes fell on her when she moved back. She looked at me with her white smile and excited eyes, which convinced me she was serious about this. “What’s a green thumb?” I whispered.
“It’s a power some people have when gardening. If you have the power of the green thumb, you can make almost anything grow.”
My mouth dropped open at her words. “Almost anything?!”
She chuckled and nodded. “Oh yes.” She played with a little frown on her face. “I don’t think I have the power. It just won’t seem to grow no matter how much I want it to,” she sighed loudly.
“But mom! You said if you want something bad, work hard! You have the power to make it grow.”
“Well, I don’t know. Don’t you want those tulips to grow?”
“Yeah…”
“Well, then you need to work hard. If you can handle that, I guess I can try my power.”
I nodded and got back to work instantly. I kept at it and eventually managed to dig the holes despite my issues with the intruding roots. Mom helped me pack the dirt in around the flowers when we put them in the holes. By the end, it looked great. I smiled up at her with all my hard work showing. “Now, we have to help that flower,” I said, pointing to the dead looking plant.
She nodded and filled up the small child-sized watering can. I took it and ran up to the dead stem. I carefully watered the plant. From then on, my mom and I would go outside to see its progress each day.
“What kind of flower is that?” I asked when it actually started to turn green. She shrugged and said that we would find out if the green thumb power came through. And after checking on it to see if it magically grew back to a healthy flower, it gradually did. Among the red and tall tulips stood a short, small flower that was very much alive. It had a yellow bead with little white propellers surrounding it.
“That, baby girl, is a daisy. Always take care of it because if you work hard, you can see its beauty and the effort you put into it. Don’t ever give up if you want it bad enough.”
Her smile faded as I focused on where I was now. That flashback lasted no more than a few moments until I was back to reality. I wasn’t sure why I relived that memory now, but it made me smile. It made me smile and think that no matter how bad this is, or gets, I will be fine. I will be fine if I don’t give up.
I hadn’t given up before, and I won’t be anytime soon. Those words assisted me as a guide to keep me going after she died. I wasn’t going to give up on life no matter how I felt. I wanted to when she died and I couldn’t. I can’t now even if what was ahead meant being stuck here forever. Whatever did happen…I just knew that I couldn’t give up.
Chapter 24
We finished transporting all the branches and skinny logs upstream to our camp by the time it was getting dark. The sun nearly below the trees, the incoming chill in the air made the hair on my arms stand on end, which for once was quite welcoming. After all, we were both dripping sweat after hours of working.
Mr. Rush laid back in the grass, breathing in a deep sigh of relief, happy to be done for the night. I sat down next to him and the thirty-five or so thick branches and logs. I eyed the daisy that was only a few feet away from where we were resting in the grass. It was comforting, to say the least. It, unfortunately, wasn’t enough though to physically make me feel better. With each minute, the air became colder – too cold soon enough. It made me feel really stupid that I took a quick dip in the creek to cool off not a half hour ago. At least, I wasn’t the only stupid one who did that.
He looked colder than me, which made me feel slightly guilty when I spoke. “You should walk down the creek one more time and grab some flint on the beach. The one we have is getting harder to use with how small it is. While you are doing that, I can see if those berries are still there and get some s-s-sticks together for the f-fire,” I said, beginning to stutter. Thank you, cold.
Though not looking happy with the way I said those words, he nodded in agreement. He went back down the creek’s bank, clearly looking as if in physical distress, We shared that feeling with how my muscles felt shattered and my back sore. My legs were in pain too as I walked towards where the berries should be.
At the sight of little red and black dots on the bushes, my sore legs moved faster. I reached the berries that were on the right side of the waterfall and uphill slightly. As I began to pick a few and ate them, I quickly realized just how terribly cold I was getting. Darkness was creeping in and with it came the chill. Being wet and now shaking, it pushed me to get this done. I picked as many berries as I could for us, gathered some brush and sticks for a fire, and returned back with wobbly legs.
I nestled the berries in the grass next to the daisy so I could easily find where I left them. I dropped the sticks and brush a few yards back into the spacious woods where we would sleep tonight. By this point, I could hear my teeth chattering together. I couldn’t stop shaking so I did what felt natural to do. I laid down and waited for him, curling my legs into my chest, trying to get warm.
I instantly stretched back out a second later, though. A strangled groan released from between my chattering teeth. God, the pain all that carrying caused was taking its effect at the worst moment.
I rolled slowly to me feet, fighting a grunt at the building pressure my legs and back were gaining. I found the suitcase, dragged it with straining arms back to where I was before, and laid back down. I reached my hand up and dug it into the suitcase, fishing out one of the shirts. I began rubbing it hard over my body, needing to somehow get dry or warm.
My hand moved over me, desperate to eliminate any little spot on my body that was wet. When I realized why it wasn’t working, I took off the green top, laughing at the fact that I was in just my bra again. I was cut off when the air hit my bare wet stomach, making me shake
harder. I continued rubbing the shirt over me and after a minute, the top half of my body was dry. I stuck a hand back into the bag and pulled out the first thing I touched: another tank top. No long sleeve shirts of course.
I threw it on, and it caressed my freezing skin, only giving me a little comfort. Now, time to take care of the rest of me. With a wince, I was able to pry my damp shorts down after a long fight with aching muscles. Once that was done, I laid there and dried the bottom half of myself with the shirt I was using as a towel. I was tempted to take off my bra and underwear since those were still wet but not even the cold could get me to do that… not when Mr. Rush could turn up any second.
With just the dry tank top on, I continued rubbing the fabric I had on my waist and legs with desperate hands. Fighting the last of those drops away, a whisper of a stick snapping brought me to attention. Mr. Rush entered my sight. Walking parallel to the creek, his body dripped of water. It wasn’t from the dip we took a little bit ago either.
I knew why it appeared as if he hadn’t dried much from his walk down. He went out into the ocean to retrieve the flint he was currently carrying! My god, I figured he would be able to find some right on the beach! I was so stupid to suggest he be the one to sacrifice more heat for that flint. As if being wet, walking through the chilled air, and being half naked wasn’t enough, I made him go back into the water.
He stopped short upon seeing me and kept his eyes down. I blushed, grabbed some dry shorts, and put them on hastily despite my soreness. I laid out the damp clothes I had on before; they should be dry by tomorrow. When I stood and moved my concern over to him, I saw that he sat down in front of where my pile of brush sat. Remaining stiff with his muscles, he showed how worse off he was than me. He started shaking and groaning violently against the frosty air. His breath became visible, the white heat coming from his lips becoming uneven too. He acted as if he was totally fine, and even attempted starting the fire.