Chapter 8: Open Up, Understand And Empathize.
1380 Words
This time, Lucy looked up at Ethan for a long while before finally saying:
“Don’t worry about me.”
Ethan hadn’t expected this girl to be so stubborn. He replied, his tone firm and not backing down at all:
“I used your tools to make a fire, so I owe you a favor. If I let you freeze to death, it would go against my principles as a human being.”
“Just think of it as something I gave you. You don’t have to care about me, and you don’t need to think you owe me anything.”
“Don’t you want to go back? Or do you want to become a dried-up corpse in a place you know nothing about?”
This time, Ethan softened a bit. He’d never been in the habit of comforting any woman except Emily, but he also wasn’t in the habit of abandoning anyone.
He continued:
“What I said isn’t wrong. You’re still young, sensitive to everything. I’m just being straightforward.”
“I…”
Lucy fell silent for a moment before finally accepting the jacket from Ethan’s hand, following him over to the campfire. He casually picked up the snake skewer from where he’d slept earlier to reheat it.
At this moment, neither of them said anything, but Lucy had accepted eating the snake meat. After eating, she sat closer to the fire, and the two of them stretched out their hands to the flames to keep warm.
It wasn’t until an hour later that Lucy suddenly spoke:
“I’m sorry…”
Ethan only nodded and didn’t reply, but she continued on at length.
“Actually, I’m not mad at you. I’m just mad at myself for being so useless, for holding onto my spoiled, pampered ways and taking it out on you. If you hadn’t helped me since this morning-killing the snake, giving me coconut to eat-I might have already collapsed and almost died by now.”
“It’s just that I was so scared and worried, that’s why I acted like that. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to go back, and I worried about how I would survive the days ahead. If you hadn’t helped me, I might not have survived even a single day.”
“Ethan, you’re really capable. The more capable you are, the more I’m afraid I’ll be left behind. Honestly… I’m sorry.”
Ethan nodded. He could understand a girl’s feelings like these. He answered:
“I won’t leave you behind. Being alone on this island is very lonely.”
For some reason, Lucy found this man trustworthy-she believed him.
So, the two of them lay down about a meter from the fire, saying nothing more to each other. Lucy fell asleep first, while Ethan just sat there, lost in thought about who knows what, and didn’t sleep until midnight.
The next morning, as the sun began to rise, Lucy opened her eyes and didn’t see Ethan anywhere. She looked around but still couldn’t find him. Could it be that after she placed her trust in him last night, he’d really left her behind?
Lucy sat up abruptly. With her field of vision now wider, she could see Ethan doing push-ups on the beach.
But there was one difference-he was no longer wearing those old pants from yesterday but instead had changed into a skirt made out of dozens of big and small leaves.
He looked both wild and inexplicably attractive in this outfit.
A while later, as if realizing Lucy had woken up, Ethan stood up and walked over to the campfire. The fire was still burning thanks to the thick branches he’d added, so it hadn’t gone out.
He walked over to a nearby branch, took a long skirt made from leaves and vines, and handed it to Lucy.
Ethan’s craftsmanship was impressive-even though the skirt was made of leaves, and a long skirt at that, it was sturdy and not easily torn.
He said:
“You can’t keep wearing the same clothes forever-they’ll get dirty and itchy over time. Change clothes, then go down to the beach to wash them and hang them up to dry. As for your underwear, it dries quickly-just go without it for about an hour.”
Lucy hadn’t expected Ethan to speak so naturally, so her face instantly turned red and she felt hot all over.
Going without underwear in front of a stranger, and a man at that? What girl could stand it? This was already the second time Ethan had mentioned her underwear.
“You really… can say things like that without embarrassment?”
Ethan shook his head. He truly wasn’t embarrassed-compared to dying, this was nothing.
When Lucy saw him shake his head without a second thought, she was left speechless. She could only go along with it. After all, just as Ethan had said, she was a woman, her skin more sensitive than a man’s, so wearing dirty clothes for days on end would be much more likely to make her sick.
After changing into the leaf skirt, she went down to the beach to wash her clothes, taking care to wash the shirt he’d lent her the previous night as well. When she finished, she came over to Ethan and he said:
“Do you want to go into the forest with me now?”
“What are you looking for?”
“I want to see if there are any wild banana plants around here. I need to make salt-if I cook and use shells as containers, the output will be very low. I want to evaporate seawater; the pit has already been dug, but there are only small leaves around here, which can’t hold much water. Only banana leaves or any large leaves will do.”
Ethan explained for a while, took a breath, and continued:
“And we also need to find a stream. Drinking coconut water all the time isn’t good at all. Drink a little, then pour all the water from the big bottle into the small one, and take the big bottle with you to collect water.”
When it came to finding a stream, Lucy knew it was almost impossible. Why did Ethan speak as if it was a given, even bringing a container along just in case?
“Why do you sound so sure we’ll find a stream nearby? Isn’t that a bit overconfident?”
Ethan shook his head and replied:
“It’s not confidence, it’s certainty.”
“Why?”
“Do you remember the snake from yesterday? It was a Striped Grass Snake-this species lives in freshwater areas. So there must be rivers, streams, ponds, or lakes nearby. In short, we’ll be able to find water.”
“Really?”
“Have I ever joked with you?”
Lucy shook her head. She was just too happy, that’s all. Coconut water could quench her thirst, but it didn’t last-finding a stream would be wonderful.
“I want to come too, to learn from you.”
“Okay. Add a bit more firewood, then let’s go.”
“Alright.”
Lucy quickly did everything and ran after Ethan, who led the way. His steady back in front of her was like that of a dependable protector.
As for Ethan up ahead, he was thinking of many things, not as simple as Lucy. He’d already eaten his fill of snake meat, but he was sick of it after eating so much bland food. He wanted to go into the forest and find something else to change things up.
Now, with his strength replenished, he would look for water first, then leaves to hold water for making salt. Hopefully, he could also find something else to eat-wild bananas would be great.
After that, he’d need to build a small leaf hut, enough to shelter at least five people.
Not that he was dreaming, but only then would things be comfortable. At night, they wouldn’t have to endure the bone-chilling cold anymore.
He was a man, and even he’d been tormented by the cold last night, unable to sleep until midnight-how could Lucy possibly handle it? And even if the two of them could manage, how many days could they last?
- Writer
