I watched as he gutted the fish and stuffed a stick right through it, from through the mouth and out the tail. It was disgusting. He set it on the fire and looked right at me.
"Don't let the fish burn. I'm going to get some other things."
"Ok."
He left the hut, and I looked at the fish. I had never cooked fish a day in my life and I did not know how to do it over a fire. Just what was he playing at? Surely he had to know I was going to bone this in every way possible. I watched the fish waiting for it to burn. He returned with a fabric bag and dumped it into a clay bowl. He used a large oval rock he pulled out of the bowl and ground down whatever was in the bag.
Whatever it was, it had a very sweet and sour scent. When he finished watching the fish, he flipped it over. He washed his knife and used it to slice the fish more. He put the fish on a clay tray after he pulled it off the fire. I wondered where they got all the clay from; I had yet to see from where.
"Did you make all these pots and trays?"
"Yes, and no. My mother made a few in her spare time. She taught me and most of the village to make what we needed. The clay on the island is all on the other side. We colour it with crushed shells, ash, and berries. We bake them in the covered ground pit."
"You will have to show me sometime."
He hummed in response as he picked out the bones of the fish before he scooped out some of what was in the other bowl into another one and placed some of the fish into it. It was a dark purple mash; I was pretty sure it was a jam of some sort. He passed me the clay bowl and made another one for himself. The fish had a light scent, but I was more worried about the fishy taste.
He washed his hands again before he ate. Following his lead, I grabbed some of the fish and dipped it in the jam. I put it in my mouth and chewed slowly. The jam did a good job covering the fishy flavour. He poured a bowl of water and sipped it down. He poured me one too, but I had to finish chewing the bite in my mouth. Sipping down the water, I finished the rest of my food after that and looked for the sweater to put back on.
He spread out the fur, making the thing much larger than it had been. I did not know where he had stashed my sweater and pants, though. I looked around and didn't see it. He had woven baskets under a larger ledge back on the far wall of the hut. I didn't see them last time because he had a cloth that covered them like a curtain.
"Where can I find my sweater?"
He looked confused for a moment, but got up and pulled out baskets until he found it and pulled it out, tossing it beside me. He tucked the baskets back. I told myself tomorrow to have a really adequate look over the hut and see where he was hiding everything.
He cleaned up the bowls and tools, placing them aside and crawling into the fur. It was only getting dark, but I knew he had no sleep last night because of me. I was in his bed. I pulled the sweater on and moved slightly so we were not right side by side. He had to stay up because of me. As soon as his breathing changed, I crawled down the fur and stood up when I was clear of him.
I made my way outside and around the side of the hut, peeing behind the tree because I really had to go. I wasn't sure where I had to poop, but I needed to find somewhere and quickly. There was nowhere I could dig right away, so I ran down the path from earlier and stepped off a few feet into the jungle and pooped.
As I kicked the leaves over it, I snorted. As I ran back to the hut, I was hoping no one found it. I slipped back inside and Wilder was still in the furs. I crawled up the fur and tucked myself in. It was really early for me to go to sleep, but I needed to try so that I didn't wake him up.
"Where did you go?" He mumbled into the dark.
"I had to pee."
"In the morning, I'll show you the spot where we have our toilets."
"Toilet?"
"Yes."
"Alright."
"Now sleep."
I turned towards the wall and closed my eyes, listening to the sound of his breathing. I didn't know when he had actually fallen asleep, but I heard him snoring lightly. Closing my eyes, I waited for sleep to roll in.
I felt Wilder get out of the furs sometime later and when I opened my eyes; it was still pitch blackout. I knew from his mother that he could see well, like it was light out. That was his gift. I took up more of the fur when he didn't return a short time later. I wondered if this was the time he woke up every morning.
It had been early when he found me the day before. Being around him was enough to satisfy the urge I had for human comfort and contact. Being here was way different from being alone on the beach. Wilder seemed like he wanted to be alone all the time, but he didn't kick me out of his space. He didn't seem to be annoyed with sharing with me either.
I wondered if he was lonely himself. He didn't act like it, but might have been craving the same thing I was. Human contact.
Laying there in the village's silence, I was thankful to be here and not on the beach still.
Opening my eyes again when the sun was up, Wilder was quietly moving about the hut. He was tucking the clothing from the line away in the basket, but also, he also moved some of the baggage back to the hut and was going through all the stuff. I didn't get out from under the furs either; I watched him moving about.
Closing my eyes, I tried to go back to sleep, but it wasn't happening. I sighed, and it caught Wilder's attention. He turned and looked at me.
"You're awake now. How was your rest?"
"Long and satisfying."
"Enormous improvement from your leaf bed?"
"You do not know."
"Some parts of the plane washed up. We are all heading down to remove parts and pieces later. You might want to come too, in case you find something of use."
"Maybe I'll find my suitcase."
He hummed at me.
"I'm going to figure out a better sleeping situation for us."
"I'm sorry I'm taking your bed."
"No, it's not that. Rather, I need to replace the reed mat under my furs for more comfort. It is what makes the ground soft."
"Oh, I didn't even know there was a mat underneath the furs."
He nodded. And went back to stuffing things away. He picked through the suitcases and just the pink one, mostly. There were a couple more towels that he found. He stuffed them in a basket. He tossed a pair of sunglasses at me.
Sitting up, I opened them and put them on my face. They were just regular sunglasses and would be useful to me on my adventures.
"Any more bodies?"
"No. Nothing that I saw. Not all the bodies make it here."
"Oh."
"Yes."
He tossed things he couldn't use aside and pulled out more of the strange scarfs. I reached out and took it off his knee where he set it. It was the same soft fabric as before.
"I would like just one of these."
"Alright."
He took the scarf back from me and set it in the basket. I rolled onto my stomach and watched him pick through everything else. He would pick up bottles that were in the suitcase and ask me about them, confused by some of the same stuff I was.
He was setting things aside for his mother to distribute to the rest of the village. He seemed to care for all the villagers with his finds; I was sure he did this all the time. He seemed to wake up way earlier than everyone else.
"You take care of all the villagers. They must appreciate it."
"They are used to me helping. I've done it for a while. It's probably just the job of being the chief's only son."
He had a good point, but I was also sure they appreciated his work. He turned to me suddenly, his eyes focused on me intently.
"How did you survive for as long as you did on the island? You seem to have no skills for living in this environment."
"Your guess is as good as mine. I got luck looking in the bags and not being eaten by the wildlife. I used a skill I had from when I was a kid, all the while feeling like every next move was my last. I don't even know how I got the fire other than I found things I could use and went from there."
"Hm."
He finished putting everything away and stood up.
"Get up. I have things to do and you are coming."
"Why?"
"You can't be left alone. You will get into trouble."
"Thanks for having faith in me."
"I don't. Not one bit." He frowned.
I frowned, but pulled myself out of the furs. We were from completely different worlds, and now I was going to have to get used to this one. He passed me a pair of shorts and they looked like they wouldn't fit, but they did. After some much-needed adjusting. He showed me the spot where they had a couple of small huts for the bathrooms.