Tsunami

by Robin Stewart

Chapter 7 The fish of all fish

  The following morning, pale light crept through the trees and then drifted quietly into the shelter. Noah's eyes flickered, but remained closed. It was cold.

  Noah yawned, then sniffed and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. It was days ago that he'd lost his handkerchief. He heard wind whispering secrets to the tops of the trees, heard the trees rustle and stir in response.

  Gran was awake and thinking too. She decided to look in the rainforest for berries and greens.

  "We need to watch the birds and animals and see what they're eating," said Gran, from her bed of ferns. "Then we'll have to try things, but not in large quantities, in case they’re poisonous."

  When the first rays of sunshine trickled through the towering trees to the forest floor, Noah wriggled out from beneath his life jacket and plastic cape, stretched his arms and legs, and stepped out into the new day. Prince and Star decided to rise too, and they were followed by Gran and Coo.

  Noah kneeled on a carpet of green spongy mosses and grasses. He let his tongue lick the dew from a fern, and then breathed in the rich smell of rotting leaves, fungi and herbs.

  Gran watched Noah walk down to the river with the dog and goat bounding along behind him, and Coo perched on his shoulder. She said, "You look just like the Pied Piper."

  "We’re hunter gatherers," announced Noah proudly. "We're going into the forest to search for food."

  When Noah reached the river bank, he knelt down at the water's edge and scooped up some water in his hands. He had a quick drink and then splashed his face with the icy cold water.

  The river sang a special song: a bubbling, gurgling melody that coaxed Noah further and further upstream. He heard the murmur of insects. Kingfishers and wrens darted through the branches. Water tumbled over smooth stones.

  Noah scrambled over mossy rocks, climbed up gullies and steep slippery slopes, crossed the river on a fallen log, splashed through shallow water, crawled over and under the thick trunks of fallen trees, and pushed through lush banks of brilliant green ferns.

  Stepping towards a giant tree fern, Noah touched one of its delicate fronds that hung gracefully like a soft lace curtain. Tiny orchids and lichens clung to the mossy trunk. Noah discovered that each new fern frond began life as a tightly furled fist of green.

  Eventually he came to a part of the river where a curve revealed several shallow pools and some rapids. With Prince and Star behind him and Coo perched on his shoulder, Noah appeared lost in the shadows. He stood perfectly still, like a statue. He watched and listened, becoming as one with the life in and around this part of the river.

  Butterflies fluttered amongst the pale blossoms. Birds rustled and murmured in the treetops. Frogs croaked. Swallows skimmed low over the water, twisting and darting about as they captured flies and midges. But the swallows were not alone in their appetite for insects.

  A slight flicker caught Noah’s attention. Resting in a shallow pool, where the dappled sun and shade formed patterns on the surface, he saw the spotted body of a trout.

  Is it resting, he wondered, or waiting to catch that dragonfly hovering over the surface of the pool? Noah continued to stand absolutely still and silent, his eyes locked on the fish.

  In slow motion he signalled to Prince to come, pointed towards the large resting fish, and said in a soft, excited voice, "Fetch, Prince!"

  Crouching low, the golden retriever crept slowly towards the pool then, holding his breath, plunged his head beneath the surface of the icy water and grabbed the fish.

  With a frenzy of flapping and flipping, the trout tried to escape. But the retriever continued to hang on tightly. The fish was fighting for its life!

  Noah felt sorry for the mighty fish. Held tightly in the jaws of the dog the fish ‘drowned’ slowly in the crisp air of the forest. But only when the trout gave a final quiver and shudder did Noah dare imagine the fish as food.

  The large golden dog wagged his tail proudly as he presented the fish to Noah. The trout's spotted skin glistened in the dappled light, with the sun capturing the ripple of its silvery scales.

  With a huge grin on his face Noah returned to their campsite. Prince raced ahead as Noah called out to his grandmother, "Look what Prince has caught!"

  "What a clever dog!" said Noah's grandmother. Then she continued, "We'll have a celebration dinner. I’ll wrap the fish in clay and bake it in the hot coals. It'll be delicious! And yes, Prince, of course you can have your share of the feast!"

  During the afternoon, Noah decided to build a bush table. But his first attempt was not a success.

  "It's lucky that our precious fish dinner wasn't on your table!" said Gran, with a laugh, as the table developed a dangerous wobble, then collapsed onto the forest floor.

  Fortunately, Noah’s sense of humour allowed him to laugh at his own mistakes. Meanwhile though, he frowned in concentration while he worked out a better method of securing the legs and binding together the driftwood planks he’d found on the beach. Finally, he was successful.

  A short time later, his grandmother asked, "While I cook the fish, and before it gets too dark, will you collect some watercress from one of the freshwater pools, and some of that sea celery? We must have our greens."

  When the fish was cooked, Gran dragged it from the embers with a stick. After letting it cool, she lifted the fish up onto Noah's table, and then broke open the clay covering. Carefully she removed the flesh from the bones. They ate the tender white meat and salad from bark plates laid out on the table.

  There were no knives, forks or spoons. No salt or pepper. No sauce.

  Daylight was fading. Noah chewed a stringy stem of sea celery, and then helped himself to the last of the soft, spicy watercress. He yawned. Licking his fingers clean he said, "I think I’ll go to bed."

  Lying down on his thick bed of ferns, Noah covered himself with his life jacket and plastic cape and settled down to sleep. Firelight flickered and glowed, casting fingers of light on the walls of the cave.

  Mesmerised by the dancing light, Noah fell into a deep sleep.