They also needed to get more meat, they’d finished off the snake this morning. It wasn’t half bad cold. She had done a great job with the plants that she’d found, and he felt lucky that she was on his team. She smiled up at him, and his smile widened. He’d seen on other shows that couples hooked up. He wasn’t sure he’d just want a quick hook up, she didn’t seem like the hit it and quit it type.
They stopped by their cave and got four bottles. Sarah grinned and pulled out three more bottles from her backpack.
“I’m a thief, I admit it, I’m going to hell and that’s all I’ll say about it. I’m going to bury the other bottles in the back of the cave, don’t want any nosy neighbors finding out what we have.” She laughed, her eyes crinkling into green triangles. Aiden noticed she had a small gap between her front teeth.
“I didn’t even see you hanging out by the garbage, you are sneaky woman.” Aiden sniggered, waggling his dark eyebrows. They headed to the waterfall to fill up their water bottles. They both stood and drank by the noisy water, gulping down as much as they could drink. Then put the full bottles into their empty packs. He watched as Sarah washed her face in the rushing water, and decided he too needed a quick washing. The water was cold, it had tasted wonderful, but chilled his dark skin.
His beard had grown out quite a bit over the last week and a half since leaving stateside. So, had his hair, he normally wore it in a short military cut, but no barber around, it was getting long. He hoped it wouldn’t drive him crazy, maybe he’d let Sarah cut it with the machete and laughed to himself. More as not, he’d get his head cut off. “How are we going to wash our hair by the way? I’m feeling kinda gross.”
“If we can find a pond or lake with sand, we can use the sand to wash our hair. It will essentially take the oils out. I can look around for Chinese soapberry or soap nut. I was trying to learn about making my own shampoo and came across that on the internet. I didn’t even think much about it, because it was in China, and it makes me laugh, because now we are here. If I see the tree I’ll recognize it. It also helps with migraines, so if we find it, I can also use it for headaches. Maybe Grayson will want some. What a jerk. Anyway, we can also use it to wash our clothes.” She said and he looked at her and shook his head grinning.
“What?” she laughed.
“Nothing, it is just surprising the information you have in that head of yours. Pretty and smart. I bet Grayson is just kicking himself.” He laughed exaggeratedly, his shoulders bouncing up and down. She punched him and shook her head.
They left the falls and began walking north east, and the flora began to change. It began to thin out. They stopped from time to time to pick berries and try them. Several were delicious, so they ate their fill. There were other poisonous ones they avoided. Sarah found more tubers and she put them into her pack and also gathered more ginger root and more thin onions.
“We need to keep these locations in mind, so when we go foraging, we don’t over use our areas, I don’t think it would take long to devastate what we find.”
“I’m damn glad you know your plants Sarah, I know some, and I can eat the hell out of a grub, but the finer points on plants is lost on me.” Aiden said, taking a drink from his bottle.
“Honestly, most of them I don’t know. But if it has a root on it, and it tastes starchy, we are good. Also, see those small green ones with the long stem with tiny flowers? I think those are common broadleaf plantains, and no, not the banana kind. These leaves are good for you, and to me, kind of taste like coconut. I’ll try one, and if it is, then it is something we can eat. They are a little bitter, like dandelion greens, but so good for you. We have them in Maine. It is funny, because this place is so far removed and so alien to me, and yet here are some of the same plants I find at home.” She said and picked one of the green leaves and put it into her mouth.
He watched her carefully as she chewed it and she smiled and nodded her head. He picked a handful and popped them into his mouth, chewing. He made a face and she laughed.
“We have these up in Maine, I think these are one of those plants that are all over the world. They are bitter, but not bad, and they beat grubs.” She laughed again.
“Not bad, and they do taste a little like coconut, though I’d rather have one of those. I guess we can graze as we walk.”
“This really is paradise, it is so untouched. No wonder they keep it restricted access. I think too many people would really ruin it here. It is peaceful, it reminds me of the woods at home.” Sarah said, sticking a few more leaves in her mouth to eat. She stopped and picked some berries, and ate them. He ate some too, he was glad they wouldn’t go hungry. That was one of the biggest challenges they faced, finding enough food.
This place had plenty of it, you just had to know where to look.
