Morning all. The coffee is brewing and it is time once again for a morning writing prompt. Are you ready? Good, then let’s go and get that started. Timers set? Pens raised or fingers poised above the keyboard? The let’s get to it.
Interesting. I’ll have to figure out why they are in the middle of nowhere needing food, water and shelter, but I think there is a good dynamic I can build from at some point. I’ll just have to return to it later.
Thursday, May 12th: Seeing no other option, they began climbing the tree.
Seeing no other option, they began climbing the tree. It wasn’t easy. The bark which looked rough enough to gain easy hand holds proved difficult work. There were small bits but they were few and far between. Mostly the bark was round enough to rub hands raw, but not enough to provide hand holds.
‘In movies coconut trees always look so easy to climb,” Sam said.
Martin shrugged. “We;; the only food I can see are the nuts on the tree so difficult or not it is our only option, besides we don’t have any fresh water so that’s our only hydration option as well.”
His voice was resigned and I saw that his hands had been rubbed raw as well. Still he stepped forward and gamely tried again.
It was hard going but after so many failed attempts he was beginning to gain traction. Sam watched as he managed to climb higher and higher, finally reaching the crest. Now of course, Sam had other fears.
“Don’t fall,” he called up to Martin. “We don’t have a doctor.”
“Thanks,” Martin said dryly. “That thought hadn’t occurred to me.”
Sam frowned. “I was only saying,” he said.
“Watch out below,” Martin said. Sam looked up as Martin began cutting the coconuts from their perch, letting them fall downwards. On the ground Sam scrabbled away. Once the coconuts stopped falling, he scurried forward to collect them in a pile while Martin made his slow way down the tree.
Here of curse they faced a new difficulty. The coconut weren’t like the movies any more than the trees were and they didn’t come in neat round balls. Instead they were encased inside larger husks. Martin took one over to a sharp point of rock and began slamming the nut down onto the pointy end, using it to reveal the fresh coconut inside. From there the actual nut could be broken into, which they did. Sam hadn’t realized how thirsty he had become until the coconut water poured down his throat. He gulped gratefully and then joined Martin in scooping out the inside flesh.
When they were both sated, Martin looked around. “We’re going to be hungry again soon and thirsty. We also need shelter for the night.”
The panic was eased by the food and drink and Same was feeling content. “We’re fine for now,” he said.
Martin frowned at him. “What?” Sam asked.
“It would be helpful to have food and water on hand before we actually need it and we’ll need to build a shelter before it gets dark or starts to rain again,” Martin told him.
“I suppose,” Sam replied. He had never been one for planning. He liked to think of himself as a spontaneous adventurous sort. “But we have the trees and they have nuts.”
“You want to go up and get some more nuts so they are here when we need them?” Martin asked.
Sam yawned. Today had been more tiring than he thought it would be. In fact nothing today had worked out like he intended. He figured the best thing to do would be to go to sleep and figure something out in the morning. He leaned back against the tree and looked up at the coconuts hanging from the top.
“Naw,” he said. “I’m too tired to climb now. “I’ll go up when I’m hungry.”
Martin sighed heavily.
Ten til Midnight 