Nightspell || Michael Clifford

Chapter 13

'And if we walk around this tree over here, you will find what I like to call "Silverwilde".' Michael said as he pointed to his left.
Behind the tree, was a cave.
'That's incredible.' I mumbled, trying to look inside. 'Can we go in?'
'No, I don't have a flashlight or a torch or anything. But we can do it another time.' Michael replied.
'Have you ever been inside?' I asked curiously.
Michael shook his head. 'I found it last week but I haven't had the time to check it out yet. I don't think there's anything inside though, seeing as it's more like a tiny bunker and less like a cave.'
I nodded, trying to look inside but it was pitch black.
'Why did you call it Silverwilde?'
'Because when I found it, I saw something shimmer in the corner of my eye and it looked silver. And it's in the middle of the "wilderness".'
'What did you see that shimmered?' I asked, a cold wind softly blowing over my arms.
'I don't know, I haven't found it yet.'
I looked at him and frowned. 'That's not...creepy at all.' I mumbled.
Michael grinned. 'Well I'm still alive and nothing bad happened so I'm sure it's nothing we need to worry about.'
I nodded as I looked back at the bunker. 'Maybe there was something inside that shimmered?'
'Yeah maybe. We'll see once we check it out.' Michael smiled 'But we should go, there's one more thing you need to see.' He said, before leading me in a different direction again.
Our walk this time took a lot longer than all the others and I was just about to suggest we take a break when we reached the beach and Michael stopped walking.
'So this is actually still a work in progress. It's one of the stops I make on my rounds. But I wanted you to know it's here.' Michael said as he continued walking.
'I call it greenbeach, I don't have a reason why I made it green and not blue.'
I smiled, and followed him to the shore.
'This is the start of our very own, coral reef. Though as you can see, it's still pretty small.' Michael said, pointing to the sea right in front of us.
'You are actually growing yourself a coral reef?' I asked as I sat down in the sand.
Michael smiled and nodded 'I thought you'd like to see it. Though it's not really mine. Nothing on this island is mine except for the things that I need in order to survive.' He replied as he sat down beside me.
'Right, but you're the one who takes care of it all. So I think you can call it yours if you want. How did you get this to grow here anyway?'
'I have no idea. There have been three other people that spend their lives taking care of this island before I got here. So this is about 60 years worth of coral. It stretches out quite far but we want it to be big you know?'
I nodded, looking at the coral reef in awe.
'But how did they know we would kill off all the coral 60 years ago?'
'They didn't.' Michael smiled, crossing his legs and playing with the sand in front of him.
'They originally started growing it because people tend to use coral for medicin and soaps and stuff. They wanted to make some sort of coral farm, but then they realized we're slowly killing it all so they decided to just let it do it's own thing, without having us tear it apart and sell it.'
I nodded understandably. 'It might not be huge yet, but it's still very pretty. And every little bit of help can make a huge difference right?'
'It can,' Michael agreed. 'But it hasn't been growing as much as it should have. With all this global warming going on and the sea levels rising, eventually this coral is basically going to drown. Just like the rest of it. But the point of this entire island is to attempt to save as many creatures as we can without anyone knowing and without bringing me in a life-threatning situation. Except for those Jerusalem cherries that you tried to eat. Those can kill you if you eat enough of them.'
'That's the only poisonous thing on this entire island?' I frowned.
'Not the only thing but definitely one of the few.'
I grinned and looked back at the coral reef. 'I could've found tons of different foods to eat, and yet I find basically the only thing that can kill you.'
Michael laughed 'I mean, if you would've walked along the beach long enough you would've found the cabin, which includes clean drinking water and edible food. But hey, we can't always have everything right?'
'Right, but luckily you found me. I don't think I've said it yet but thanks for that. I don't know how I'm going to make it up to you.'
'No problem, you're already making it up to me so please don't bother thinking of something else.'
'I'm not even doing anything.' I grinned, watching as the water softly hit the bottom of my shoes.
'Well, being on this island is fun and all but I'm alone and that does get a little lonely sometimes. Not to mention the fact that it's very boring when I'm done with my rounds early and there's nothing left for me to do. It's nice to have someone here with me.'
'Even if that someone doesn't know how to survive, steals your hammock, and your food and water supply, and is wearing your clothes?'
'Especially when that person steals my hammock, and my food and water and my clothes,' Michael laughed, 'Because not knowing how to get your own food and water in situations like these isn't entirely your fault. Back in Australia when you were hungry you'd open the fridge or a kitchen cabinet and you'd find food. And if you wouldn't find it there you'd find it in a grocery store. The same goes for water. You open the tap and it's there. We take it for granted and therefore our parents don't teach us how to make or find our own.'
I nodded. 'Yeah that's true, but we have the internet now so I could've looked it up myself.'
'But the thought never popped up in your head because your parents were never worried about not having enough water to drink so why would you be worried about it?'
I looked up at Michael and squinted my eyes. 'Alright, you win this time.'
Michael laughed and stood up. 'let's go back to the cabin.' He held out his hand for me and I accepted it, allowing him to help me get up more easily.
'We might have to stop a few times to take a break.' I mumbled as we started walking, making our way back into the forest.
'Okay, just tell me when and we'll stop.' Michael said. His eyes quickly scanned over my body and a grin formed on his face.
'And for what it's worth, I absolutely don't mind having you walk around in my clothes all day.'