Page 245 of Storm over the Caribbean
“Pant…pant…are we…there yet?”
“No.”
You know, on second thought…
“Pant…pant…are…close?”
“No.”
…it might not have been the smartest idea to drag a pregnant Lillian Ambrose up a mountain through a steaming jungle. But did I really have any other choice? We needed water, and we needed it fast.
“How much…huff, huff…farther?”
Which didn’t make this any less vexing.
“Unknown. I can’t see far enough ahead to make a judgement.”
And that was a problem. After a long march, half of the coconuts had already been emptied and discarded. Fortunately, that meant my burden had already been significantly reduced. Unfortunately, it also meant that if we didn’t encounter a water source soon, we would be in quite the dilemma. We had to move faster!
“Come on!” I called over my shoulder. “What are you dawdling for, Mrs Ambrose?”
“Unlike you, Dicky Darling…huff, puff…my weight doesn’t decrease with every step I take!”
“Irrelevant. I’m sure we will find water soon enough.”
“Y-you are, are you?Pant, pant…that’ssoreassuring!”
Five minutes and twenty-seven seconds later…
“Whendid you say we’ll find water again, Mr Ambrose?”
“Soon, Mrs Ambrose. Very soon.”
Another ten minutes and fifty-five seconds later…
“So, how many more days till we reach the top of this mountain? One? Two?”
I chose not to answer.
“Mr Ambrose? It’s…it’s not going to be more than three, is it?”
Once again, I chose not to answer. Silence was such a useful thing, sometimes. Especially if you did not have a better alternative.
“Peopledieafter three days without water!”
And suddenly, silence didn’t seem like such a wonderful thing anymore. At least not the eternal kind.
My hands clenched hard enough to dent steel.
“I know, Mrs Ambrose. I know.”
Without another word, we continued on our way. One hour passed. Whenever I glanced back to check on my wife, she seemed to move slower, to stumble more often. Then, when once again I looked back, I saw her place a hand on her bulging belly in a move I was certain I wasn’t supposed to see.
“Don’t worry, little fellow,” she whispered in a voice that was probably supposed to be too low for me to hear. It was only moments away from cracking. “We’ll find water soon, I’m sure.”
Things could not go on like this.
And yet, they did. We walked uphill all day and didn’t find a single drop of water. Then another day passed. And another…possibly? As much as I despised the fact, my head was starting to feel dizzy and I was beginning to lose track of time. And I wasn’t the worst case.
