Shipwrecked || Huening Kai

Chapter 5: Castaway Chemistry

The bright sunlight beats overhead as Kai and I journey away from camp in search of something to eat. My stomach growls audibly.

      "How much longer...?"

      "If I knew, I'd tell you."

      We trek across the beach a while longer, when I see palms bursting with coconuts. Kai knocks at the base of one arching over the beach base.

      "This one will do."

      Before I can ask, Kai scales the tree and reaches the top with ease. He yells down as he chops off a few coconuts.

      "Look out below! "

      I glance up to see him tossing his findings onto the beach...right toward me! I weave as the fruits crash into the sand all around me.

      "nice moves, twinkletoes."

      "You just couldn't make this easy."

      "Heh. Don't scientists call it survival of the fittest?"

      Kai triumphantly climbs down the tree. I turn over one of the coconuts in my hand, inspecting the husk carefully.

      "How are you supposed to open these?"

      "Watch and learn."

      He sets the coconut in the sand, the smashes a large rock over it! I watch in awe as he rips the split husks off the coconuts, the holds up the clean fruit.

      "Whoa..."

      "Impressed?"

      "You smashed that coconut like it was nothing. I'm suddenly getting the urge to work out. That never happens."

      "Glad I can surprise you."

      I roll my eyes. Kai holds up the coconut toward me.

      "See how the top kind of looks like a face? You just give it a firm smack above the eyes, like so."

      He demonstrates, easily cracking it open and offering me half. I greedily gulp down the liquid and start in on the flesh while Kai eats his half beside me.

      "It's kind of plain... but it sure beats an empty stomach."

      "We're stuck with them until we get off this rock."

      As we head back with our findings, one of the coconuts slips out of my grasp near the tree line. I pick it up, but pause when I notice the tree next to me. Spiky pink-green dragon fruit hanging down from the tall tree.

      "I've always wanted to try dragon fruit... They're loaded with vitamin C, and I wouldn't mind something besides coconuts."

      I pick one of the low-hanging fruit and ready my pocketknife to make an incision.

      "You don't want to eat that."

      "I think I do."

      "If you do, you're going to hate dragon fruit. Or as we call it, pitaya."

      "Explain yourself. This look perfectly good to me."

      "Trust me, if you tried it, it'd just be sour."

      Curiously, I peel back the spiky rind and sniff it... A foul whiff invades my nose, and I hold it out.

      "You're right... This smells funky."

      "Told you so. The riper pitaya is higher up. I bet if we work together, we could reach the good stuff."

      "It would be nice to have something more flavorful to eat..."