Page 78 of Totally Shipped
“I’ll go out and get banana leaves to wrap it in,” I say, getting to my feet.
Killian shakes his head. “It’s still storming.”
“It’s easing off. We want the placenta to be cooked straight away, right? It could spoil so easily.”
“Let me come with you,” Rex says. “I agree the storm is passing. There is actually a little light on the horizon—it will be morning soon.”
The babe stirs at Daisy’s breast, then roots around looking for a nipple again. Poor Daisy looks absolutely shattered.
“We’ll be back soon. Keep the fire stoked, Killian.”
I hadn’t told anyone about our camp being destroyed yet. As me and Rex go down into the jungle, I break the news.
“Holy shit, everything is gone?”
“Yeah, it’s bad.”
“Well, we just have to rebuild. But one thing at a time; let’s get everyone fed first. Let’s dig up some breadfruit.”
When we get back to the cave, Killian wraps Daisy’s placenta in leaves, then places it on the hot coals. I hand him the fruit.
“You want me to toast your nuts?” he winks.
I feel like Killian has spent too much time hanging out with Leander. “Yeah, and then when they are cooking, can we have a quick family meeting?”
I say this in a low voice. Daisy is sleeping, and so are the baby and Keyara.
Killian gets the tone of my voice. He nods.
The four of us guys move to the entrance of the cave, and I fill them in on what to expect when we get back to the beach.
“We just gotta put one foot in front of the other and do it,” says Leander.
“Thanks, Mary Sunshine.”
It’s painful, actually physically painful, to know that the shelters that I poured my blood, sweat, and toil into are justgone.
Yeah, we can and will rebuild, but how many times will we have to do this? And what if we become so malnourished and weak that rebuilding becomes impossible?
I talk through the various components we’ll need to gather. What if we can’t find the ax-head? Fuck, that is gonna be a bitch.
The reality of rebuilding everything is slowly sinking in.
“Lets eat, Gray.” Killian puts a hand on my shoulder. “Everything will seem easier when we’ve food inside us. The breadfruit should be done.”
None of us mention it, but the smell of Daisy’s placenta cooking is fucking crazy-making; it smells so good. After an hour or so, Killian examines the Daisy meat, pulling a piece from the edge.
“Alright, macushla, bon appetit.”
“This is me-eat,” she giggles, nervously nibbling on the chunk. “Oh, it’s pretty good!”
“And there’s a lot more—this thing must be at least four pounds!”
“Can I make a weird request?” Daisy asks.
“Of course, anything,” Rex answers for all of us.
“I want Keyara and you all to share the placenta with me. I need you all to be strong, and this is one way to do it.”
