Chapter 7: The Food Is Too Bland, Need To Make Salt.
1318 Words
Ethan left the fire and started to open the shellfish. He dipped the shell in seawater, then carefully inserted the tip of his knife into the mouth of the shell and slowly pried it open, only to be surprised that the shellfish was still alive.
That meant there was more food. Moreover, since it wasn’t dead yet, cleaning the shell and reusing it would be easier, it wouldn’t smell fishy or rotten.
After washing it clean, he whittled a small branch and skewered the shellfish. Once cleaned, the shellfish was only about the size of two fingers; one bite and it was gone, but at least it was something. He handed it to Lucy to grill while he continued splitting coconuts, washing out two empty shells and pouring coconut water into them, keeping the coconut meat in the shell.
Just like that, making it through the next two or three days was no longer a problem.
He planned to observe the weather at night before coming up with the next step, but right now he was feeling a little tired.
After drifting here, his body had become severely weakened, and after all the work he’d done, now he just wanted to sleep.
Thinking so, he leaned back against a coconut tree. At high noon, the shade only covered his head and face, but he fell asleep immediately.
He didn’t know how long he slept, only that a buzzing sound near his ear eventually woke him. Lucy was sitting right next to him, clutching his shirt and shaking him gently, her voice as tiny as a mosquito’s. Did she want him to wake up or was she afraid he would?
“What is it?”
“The meat is done. Get up, eat a bit, then you can go back to sleep.”
“How long have I been asleep?”
“About two hours.”
Ethan was startled. He’d only meant to rest his eyes, yet two hours had passed? It had been a long time since he’d been this tired, sleeping so deeply, not knowing anything. He had always been naturally wary of everything, with the sole exception of Emily, his one mistake, whom he trusted unconditionally.
But now, even in a place where life and death hung in the balance, he was able to let himself sleep so soundly. He was getting too careless.
Then Lucy added:
“The meat was done earlier, but you looked like you were sleeping so well, so I just put it aside. I only reheated it and called you when it was hot again.”
“Thank you.”
Ethan spoke softly, then went to the sea to rinse his mouth and wash his face before coming back to eat.
Seeing the way Lucy was cautiously only eating the shellfish, he immediately understood, she’d rather go hungry than eat snake meat. He said:
“I know you girls don’t like eating these kinds of things. But this is survival, if you don’t eat it today, maybe tomorrow you’ll have to eat tree roots.”
“There’s still coconut left.”
“You’re going to c***k open coconuts all by yourself? Besides, there aren’t that many coconuts lying around. Once the tide comes in, most of the dry ones are swept out to sea. And as for the ones still up in the trees, I can’t climb up and get them either.”
Ethan rattled off a string of points before Lucy could retort:
“Even though coconut is mild and cooling, if you eat and drink too much, you’ll get diarrhea. You grew up in the city, you’re not used to it, eating that way continuously isn’t good for your health. Also…”
Lucy waited patiently for Ethan’s final words. At last, he said:
“I really don’t want this place to start smelling, you know?”
At this point, if Lucy still didn’t get it, she’d have to be a fool. He was saying she’d get diarrhea and go to the toilet everywhere, and he couldn’t stand the stench.
Why was this man so nice just a moment ago, and now suddenly so crude and rough, speaking so bluntly? In a flash, whatever good impression she had of him vanished.
“Utterly shameless!”
Lucy cursed, handed the skewer of snake back to Ethan, and stomped off to another coconut tree, hugging her knees.
Ethan hadn’t expected her to get so angry so easily, he’d just been telling the truth, so why was she so upset?
And in a place like this, did he have the energy to coax a girl? He wasn’t like before, when just a single tantrum from Emily would make him bend over backwards to please her. After all, no girl could ever replace Emily’s place in his heart, even if she had betrayed him.
If it wasn’t Emily, then all other women were the same to him.
Thinking that, he used his folding knife to cut off a chunk of snake meat and popped it into his mouth. Without any seasoning, it tasted a bit bland. On a deserted island like this, finding seasonings was almost impossible, but salt, at least, was doable. He could make salt from seawater.
There were two ways: one was to let seawater evaporate, the other was to distill it. The second method was faster, but he didn’t have a large enough container for the seawater.
With that shell he’d just cleaned, about the size of a palm, it could only hold about 50ml of water. After distillation, the layer of salt left would be thin, but it would still be something.
So he decided to go with the first method.
After finishing two big pieces of snake meat, he stuck the bare end of the skewer upright in the sand, then went searching for flat stones, each about the size of a hand.
He couldn’t pick a spot too close to the sea, the tide would flood it for sure; nor too close to the forest, the shade would block the sun. So, about a third of the way from the sea to the forest seemed just right.
Once he’d chosen the spot, he started digging. After quite a while, he managed to make a hole about the size of their fire pit. He was exhausted again, even after sleeping so much, he still hadn’t recovered.
He decided to leave making salt for tomorrow. Right now, he just wanted to sleep a little more.
Thinking that, he went to the fire pit, threw in a few more thick branches to keep it going, then returned to his old spot under the coconut tree for another nap. Just like that, Ethan and Lucy each kept to their own corners, not speaking a word to each other. He quickly drifted into his second sleep of the day.
But in the end, he was awakened by a bone-chilling cold.
He groggily looked around, the moon was already high overhead, and the tide had come almost up to the lowest row of coconut trees. He glanced toward Lucy; she was still stubbornly sitting there, hugging her knees. He could clearly see her shivering from the cold.
Lucy was wearing a short skirt and a spaghetti-strap top, of course she couldn’t withstand the cold. He himself was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and still found it unbearable, let alone a city girl like her.
“Put this on.”
He didn’t know when he’d walked over to Lucy, but he took off his shirt and handed it to her. She looked at him, eyes glistening with tears, just like a little kitten.
He continued,
“Come sit by the fire.”
He wanted to ask why she was being so stubborn, maybe scold her a little, but in the end, he said nothing.
Maybe it was the cold wind making his lips feel stiff…
- Writer
