Page 75 of Totally Wrecked
After what feels like an eternity, we make it and are crawling up the beach on the second island. Laying on the wet sand, small waves rolling over our exhausted bodies, it’s deja vu.
DAISY
“Ugh! Kissing!” Keyara makes a face at us. Oops, don’t want to make her feel awkward. We’ve got to be more circumspect.
No cuddles or kisses in front of little misses.
Leander reluctantly pulls away from kissing my neck. “You wanna a treat, Key? Well guess what? I found oranges!”
“Ooh, oranges!” The little girl skips towards us, clapping her hands.
Leander drags over the plastic tote and sets it down next to the fire. “See! Lychee, coconut and oranges for brekkie.” He kisses me on the top of my head then picks up Key and swings her around.
“I love oranges,” she cries.
I eye the new fruit Leander has found to add to our pantry. Keyara puts out a hand to take one and I stop her. They don’t look right.
“Babe, are you sure these are oranges?” I ask.
Leander picks one up. “Well, they are in the orange family,” he says, “definitely citrus.”
As Leander talks I see a sheen of sweat all over his face.
“Did you try one?” I ask.
Leander nods his head. “It wasn’t in segments like an orange, but it was citrus. A little slimy and bitter like grapefruit, but edible. I figured it was just another variety. It had really big seeds,” he adds, looking paler by the second.
My heart drops.
Last minute island-prep lessons with Brooke are flying around my head. Poisonous crabs have black-tipped claws, and there are dangerous fruits to avoid. One in particular resembles oranges.
Trying to keep calm, I stand and take his hand. “Leander, I think they are poisonous…”
Shit, think Daisy!
“Come on!” I pull Leander with me down to the shoreline to the ocean. “Drink saltwater!”
“What?”
“You’ve got to make yourself sick, I’m pretty sure that was a strychnine fruit.”
Leander’s eyes grow huge. “Strychnine, as in rat poison?”
“Uncle ate poison?” screams Key.
“Fucking hell.” Leander drops to his knees and scoops salt water into his mouth. Seconds later he is retching. There isn’t much to come up, as our stomach’s are so empty—also meaning there was nothing to line his stomach from the poison.
Keyara is crying and I wrap my arms around the little girl and turn her face to my chest.
From his position on his knees Leander looks up at me, pale and trembling. “Now what?”
Think, Daisy, think.
“Charcoal!” I take Key by the hand and we run back to the fire. I pull out as much charred wood as I can find. “Eat it, quickly.”
I’m glad Leander trusts me, because he doesn’t argue, just starts chewing on a blackened branch.
“Are you still feeling OK?” I ask.
