The bare coconut shells landed next to me in the sand. I was lying on the makeshift bed, not moving too far. Eating all the coconut like a savage had made my stomach hurt, and the thought of moving was enough to make me want to vomit. I really didn't want that to happen, so I stayed right where I was.
I was actually going to need to get up shortly to get more wood for the fire, since I had tossed my very last piece in the fire after I finished the coconut flesh. The sun was setting shortly based on the way the sun was moving and the start of the temperature drop.
Sitting up, I drank the coconut water and waited to see if I was going to puke. When I didn't, I took the chance to stand up. Heading back to the edge of the jungle, I picked up pieces of wood flinging them back towards the fire. I did this repeatedly. The pieces that were too large to throw, I moved into a pile to move back to camp.
I drug the back one by one to camp and piled them up in the same spot my wood had been before. I picked up my mess of sticks slowly and piled them up there, too. Feeling like I had enough wood again, I threw a few pieces on the fire before sitting down by it.
I unpacked the canvas bag and set all the stuff out and about. The little mushrooms still looked just the same as when I picked them. They hadn't changed in the slightest after spending time in the canvas sack.
I didn't know if that was a good thing or a terrible thing. You would have at least figured they would have discoloured a bit in all that time. But apparently not. My leaves, on the other hand, had definitely wilted and my other few coconuts were perfectly fine. Not a darn thing wrong with them. Though admittedly, I wasn't sure how to eat the green one or if it was even possible to eat the green coconut. I had never seen a green coconut before.
I didn't know where all the day had gone as the sunlight disappeared. It wasn't like I had just gone and done nothing all day, like staring at a wall. I mean, I had completely looked at the bodies for a time, but not that long.
With all the things I had got from the pink suitcase, I figured I could make a much better bed situation. I had the scarf blanket now, and that would give me a little more comfort. But there had to be a way to make this more comfortable. The only idea I had was to stuff the legs of all the ladies' pants with leaves, and then tangle them all together and hope for the best.
I had to get more leaves to fill out all the pants, though. I didn't care if they were dry or wet leaves, I just needed enough. Stuffing the wilted leaves into the legs of a pair of jeans, I took them to the edge of the jungle with me as I plucked off leaves and jammed them into the legs. I tied off the legs with some of the hair ties from the other bag.
Having filled one pair of jeans, I tied another hair tie around the top and wrapped the legs so that they were all flat alongside each other and wouldn't separate when I laid down. I hoped by the morning that the bodies would be gone or at least picked clean so I wouldn't have to look at the remains. Bones were a little easier to see.
Another pair of leaf-filled pants would have been perfect, but I took all the surrounding leaves. I was going to have to go further down the beach to get the leaves I need, or deeper into the jungle and with the light level dropping off as quick as it was. Both those options seemed like a terrible idea. Lost in the jungle with no light was not on my bucket list.
Instead, I tossed more wood on the fire and grabbed another coconut and the side cutters. Working at the coconut the same way as before, dumping the liquid into the bottle and drinking it. I wanted so much more of it. I was dehydrated and desperate for a drink. If I wasn't scared of what might be in the water and if it wasn't salty, I would go out and drink the ocean.
Every time I looked at the mushrooms, they were looking better and better. I knew they were probably going to kill me, but so would the dehydration that I was getting. The thought of eating them and just going to sleep was at the forefront of all my other thoughts and seemed like such a good idea.
Shaking that thought away, I worked on the green coconut, clipping and cutting away at it. I worked on cutting away at the green rind until I finally got into it. There was so much more coconut water inside this green one than in the brown one. I didn't even bother waiting to tip it into the bottle; I drank it right out of the shell, swallowing down every single last drop.
The inside flesh was different here. It had a very velvety and jelly consistency. I could dig it out with just my fingernails. It was much sweeter than the flesh in the brown coconut. The water was the same, less sweet when it was brown.
Smashing the coconut off one of the larger logs, I could split it open with my fingers once it had cracked. I wondered if that was a quicker way to get the green ones opened. I would have to try it with a different green one when I encountered it.
For now, this method worked well enough to get into them. I knew my stomach was going to be upset with more food being stuffed inside of it in such a hurry. Almost two days of no food and once I found some, I was just slamming it back. It was no wonder I was feeling ill.
Pulling the sweater back on, I got up and went to look for a spot to pee and do my business before getting ready for bed. Digging a hole to have a crap was about as far from graceful as someone could get, but I had to. I didn't need that stinking and making a mess of my camp.
Having discovered the larger amount of coconut water in the green ones, I didn't have an issue peeing out the water bottle I drank earlier. I would sooner die than drink my pee.
Sitting back by the fire, with the scarf blanket thing, I covered my legs with it and enjoyed the light of the fire. I wished I had some hot dogs to roast on the fire. That would be just the greatest. There were no hot dogs though, and I was pretty sure that I would never enjoy a hot dog again unless somehow I learned how to make them out of an ocean creature.
Even a single plain slice of bread seemed good under the current conditions I was facing. Deciding to eat the mushrooms, I grabbed the first one and held onto it. It was like holding my own life in my hands. If I ate this, it would all end and I would be peaceful. If I didn't eat it, everything would stay this way and I would wake up tomorrow the same as now.
Mildly dehydrated and starving.
Setting the mushroom back down, I shook my head and just laid down. The extra leaves helped a little, but it was the scarf that I was using as a blanket that really made this more comfortable. Letting out a deep breath, I relaxed into the bed. Hopefully, in the morning I could find something that would make a way nicer pillow than my boney arm.
I was sure if I finished going through the pink suitcase; I was going to find something suitable for a pillow. Even if I had to fold every single thing in the suitcase and shove it into a shirt flat to make a pillow-shaped rest for my head, I was going to do it. As soon as I had some sunlight again, that was.
Closing my eyes, I did the same thing as the night before, until I left my eyes shut and drifted off to sleep.
I didn't know how long I had been asleep, but something had woken me up. The sticks and branches were breaking under the weight of something. I had seen no super large animals that would make the breakage I was hearing and that was terrifying. I had nothing to defend myself in the dark. Sitting up, I looked around the fire, and into the edge of the jungle for anything, even a pair of eyes, but I didn't see a damn thing. The jungle was so dark.
I put one hand over my heart and looked again. This time I saw eyes. My heart thundered, and I was frozen in the spot I was sitting.
I heard more branches snap as whatever it was moved through the jungle. I didn't take my eyes off the grey eyes that I met. Even as they seemed to come closer. The thought of running into the cold ocean was there. But I wasn't really wanting to freeze. The line of vision on the creature was high, and I didn't know any kind of animal with a height like that.
The creature stepped into the light of the fire, and I realised it was not an animal, but just a normal-looking man dressed in clothing and furs. He held a spear made of something with a sharp end.
He just stared at me, not saying a word.