Chapter 2: Coexistence

“Mom, go back. You haven’t rested or eaten for two or three days...”

Xiaodong wanted to use his hand to support his mother’s shoulders, but it felt too abrupt, so his hand stopped in the air halfway through.

However, what Xiaodong waited for was his mother’s motionless and silent response. Xiaodong was really helpless. If it was his own child, Xiaodong would have taken his mother back even if he had to drag her hard. But this was his mother after all, and he really couldn’t force her to do anything.

But now it was about his mother’s life. If this continued, his mother would really be close to death. Then Xiaodong would be the only one left on the island. Without his father and mother, could he still survive? Xiaodong thought for a while and gritted his teeth. After all, life was the first priority, and he couldn’t care about anything else.

“嘤...”

Amid his mother’s weak exclamation, Xiaodong actually picked up his mother by the waist and walked towards the camp.

“Xiaodong, put ... me ... down, let me ... accompany him ... He will be ... lonely ... lonely...”

The mother had not eaten for three days and two nights, and even had no water. Her lips were already cracked. She weakly pushed Xiaodong away, trying to break free from his arms. How could a weak woman who had not eaten fight against a strong man who had eaten a lot? In the end, Xiaodong carried his mother back to the shelter.

Xiaodong was also very sad these days. He didn’t eat much and was weak. Although the journey to carry his mother back from the grave was not far, it also consumed a lot of Xiaodong’s strength.

When he returned to the shelter, Xiaodong was sweating and panting. The island was hot.

After arriving at the shelter, Xiaodong was ready to put his mother down, but he was surprised that his mother had no sound after struggling for a while. When he was ready to put his mother down, he saw clearly that his mother had no breath at some point, as if she had fallen asleep, or fainted, or as if...

“Mom, mom, what happened to you?”

Xiaodong quickly put his mother on the straw mat in the shelter, regardless of his physical fatigue, and quickly performed CPR on his mother, pressing his hands on his mother’s plump chest, pressing a few times and then giving her mouth-to-mouth artificial respiration.

Finally, after Xiaodong performed nearly ten rounds of CPR, his mother finally breathed. Xiaodong was so tired that he sat on the ground. He was finally saved. Xiaodong was panting heavily. It was too thrilling.

After his mother breathed, Xiaodong rested for a while, and then ran to another direction. Soon Xiaodong got a lot of fresh water and dried fish.

Mom just fainted, partly because of excessive sadness, and another reason is that she is hungry and thirsty, so after Mom regains her breath, she needs to be replenished with water and nutrition in time.

Xiaodong picked up Mom’s upper body, pinched her mouth open, and then used a coconut ladle to pour water into her mouth, but Mom didn’t swallow at all at this time. The water overflowed from the corners of her mouth after filling her small mouth, and her throat didn’t move at all.

After Xiaodong tried twice, he couldn’t get the water in, because although Mom had breath, she didn’t wake up and was still in a coma.

If it were in the city, you could get physiological saline to replenish water and use intravenous injection, but where are those equipment on the island? Finally, Xiaodong’s eyes lit up, and he seemed to have thought of a way, but when he saw Mom’s face, a trace of hesitation flashed across his face, but it was only a short hesitation, and he made up his mind. Time is precious at this time. I don’t know when Mom will faint again. Racing against time is what we should consider now.

Finally, Xiaodong took the coconut ladle and drank a big sip of water, then kissed his mother’s red lips.

Xiaodong’s mouth and mother’s mouth kissed tightly. At the same time, one of Xiaodong’s hands went down from mother’s throat to her chest, stroking and rubbing back and forth on this kissing trajectory, helping mother to move her throat, chest and abdomen.

Xiaodong’s mouth and mother’s mouth kissed tightly, which prevented the water from overflowing. Then, relying on the contraction of Xiaodong’s cheeks, like a compressor, the water was squeezed into mother’s throat continuously.

This really worked. Xiaodong poured water into mother mouthful by mouthful, and finally poured two whole coconut scoops of water.

Mother’s lips were moistened a lot, and her complexion was much better.

Water is the source of life. Humans can live for about 7 days if they only drink water and don’t eat, but they can only live for 3 days without drinking water. Mother didn’t eat or drink, and finally reached the limit of human beings. Fortunately, she was rescued by Xiaodong in an ambiguous way at the last moment.

It was just that now my mother had only drunk water and had not eaten anything, so Xiaodong took another small piece of dried fish and put it in her mouth. My mother was somewhat conscious at this time. In the instinct of human survival, my mother chewed like a conditioned reflex without being conscious.

It was just that my mother was too weak at this time, and her mouth had no strength at all. The dried fish that Xiaodong dried was dry and hard, and my mother could not chew it or bite it.

Xiaodong saw that my mother had just gotten better. He was worried and had no time to think about it. After taking the piece of dried fish that my mother could not chew out of her mouth, he put it in his own mouth and started chewing it. After it was chewed and crushed, he spit it out from his mouth. Xiaodong looked at the sticky dried fish in his palm and frowned. He felt very disgusted, but there was no other way to survive on the deserted island. If his life was seriously threatened, he would eat and drink even snakes, insects, rats, and ants, including his own urine. This piece of dried fish mixed with saliva was already clean.

After hesitating and thinking for a while, Xiaodong put the chewed dried fish into his mother’s mouth. His mother swallowed the dried fish based on human survival instinct.

Seeing his mother finally eat it, Xiaodong seemed very happy. He picked up another piece of fish and chewed it. After chewing it, he fed it to his mother.

After feeding his mother two pieces of dried fish, Xiaodong finally stopped. Everything will turn against itself. Feeding his mother too much may not be a good thing.

After feeding water and dried fish, his mother’s breathing became much more stable and her complexion became much better. Xiaodong let his mother lie down and put her in a comfortable position.

After the nutrition was supplemented, it was time to let his mother get more sleep. It seemed that his mother would wake up and the danger was over, but Xiaodong did not dare to be careless. He just stayed by his mother’s side, not even daring to close his eyes, looking at his mother’s face and listening to her breathing. If there was any accident, he would know it in the first time.

At this moment, all Xiaodong can do is wait for a long time...

For Xiaodong, this is a long night. Xiaodong stays by his mother’s side all the time, and even keeps looking back in the direction of his mother when he relieves himself.

At night, the temperature on the island is very low, with a huge temperature difference between day and night. It is very hot during the day and very cold at night.

Mom is in a coma, her body is lacking in nutrition, and her resistance is very low, so her ability to withstand cold has decreased a lot. On the morning of the 2nd, Mom was trembling all over in a coma, and her brows occasionally frowned. It seems that she is very cold, but she can’t say it out loud, so she can only make her normal reaction through her body.

Xiaodong naturally saw all this while staying by his mother’s side. Although he was in the shelter, it was a small shack made of palm leaves and trees, with poor wind and rain resistance. It was in a place with wind on all sides, not much better than outside. The only things to keep warm were the few clothes on his body and the fire not far from the shelter.

Xiaodong looked at his mother and seemed a little anxious. If his mother caught a cold again, wouldn’t it be worse? Although the fire was moved to the place closest to the shelter, the temperature was blown away by the cold sea breeze, and the mother trembled even more.

Xiaodong thought for a long time, finally gritted his teeth, slowly lay down beside his mother, and then hugged his mother into his arms, using his body temperature to warm her up. At the same time, Xiaodong’s back was against the direction of the sea breeze, shielding her from the cold wind.

After a while, the mother’s trembling body calmed down, and she calmed down again. Seeing this scene, Xiaodong, who was originally embarrassed, finally showed a trace of joy on his face. No matter what, the mother’s life is the most important now, and she can’t make any mistakes. Although it is inappropriate for Xiaodong to hold his mother in his arms, on this small island, in order to survive, he can’t care so much. Ethics and morality are not worth mentioning in front of life.

As time went by, Xiaodong’s eyelids began to twitch. He kept forcing himself to stay awake and not fall asleep, lest his mother have any accidents. However, Xiaodong was too tired. These days, Xiaodong’s body had tortured him physically and mentally. Unconsciously, Xiaodong also fell into a deep sleep...

“Ah...”

Mother broke free from Xiaodong’s arms like a frightened rabbit. Although she was still very weak, she looked very scared at this time. She sat on the beach with her arms around her chest and knees, looking at Xiaodong with horror and disbelief.

On the other side, Xiaodong woke up in a daze because he had been on guard too late last night. He had not come back to his senses at this time. When he finally woke up, he saw his panicked mother and he instantly understood what was going on. He couldn’t help but show a trace of embarrassment and a wry smile, but more of a surprise, which had covered up all the negative emotions.

“Mom, you finally woke up...”

Xiaodong stood up in surprise and wanted to get closer to his mother, and he reached out to touch his mother’s forehead. It seemed that Xiaodong wanted to see if his mother had a fever or a cold last night.

“Don’t touch me, stay away from me...”

Xiaodong’s good intentions scared his mother and she took another step back. The panic in her eyes became stronger. Maybe she thought Xiaodong had molested her while she was sleeping. Women have this fearful nature.

“Mom, it’s not what you think. You were unconscious. I was watching over you. You were very cold at night, so I ... kept you warm ... I just checked if you had a fever...”

Xiaodong finally understood what was going on. He also came back to his senses from the surprise. Seeing his mother’s appearance, Xiaodong couldn’t help but explain. It was just because he was embarrassed and didn’t know how to organize his words, so he spoke intermittently, but the general meaning was expressed. In the end, Xiaodong stopped explaining, maybe he was making things worse.

“Wait a minute, I’ll get you something to eat...”

After Xiaodong smiled bitterly, he stood up and left, walking towards the beach.

When she saw Xiaodong leave and heard what he had just said, her mother was stunned. When she saw Xiaodong had gone far away, she lowered her head in thought, as if she was recalling something.

She saw the coconut scoop and dried fish beside her, and the fire had obviously been moved. The fire was originally a short distance away from the shelter, but now it was about to burn to the shelter, and there were ashes left on the ground from the fire moving.

Although her mother was unconscious, she still had some feelings and memories in her subconscious. Not long after, she figured it out, and glanced at Xiaodong’s busy back, with a trace of guilt in her eyes.

“Xiaodong, I’m sorry, I misunderstood you...”

When Xiaodong took the remaining dried fish to the shelter, her mother explained to Xiaodong in a low and awkward voice. She lowered her head and dared not look at Xiaodong’s face. She was a little embarrassed. After all, what happened just now made her feel a little ashamed at this time.

“It’s okay. Actually ... I couldn’t think of any other way. I just wanted to save you...”

Xiaodong saw his mother’s look and said kindly. There was no anger on his face. He was only relieved. Although Xiaodong didn’t care about her, the scene just now still hurt his heart.

“You eat the dried fish first, and I’ll find something else to eat...”

Xiaodong put the dried fish next to his mother, and a coconut scoop of fresh water, and then took the simple tools he made to go out fishing and collecting. Mom looked at the dried fish and fresh water on the ground, and the despair and dead silence in her eyes could not help but melt a little. She thought her husband was dead. Although she didn’t have much desire to live now, at least she was not alone on this island and had a companion. Although she lost her husband, she still had Xiaodong. Without her husband, Xiaodong was left alone. Out of love for her husband, she also decided to let her grow up healthily.

Mom glanced at Xiaodong’s back, then picked up the dried fish, chewing it while drinking water. Mom just woke up and was still very weak, so she had to lie there to recover her strength. Xiaodong was busy at the beach. This time he didn’t catch fish, but tried hard to catch things with high nutritional value, such as abalone, sea urchins, etc. He was preparing to replenish his mother’s body. You know, it is very difficult to catch these things, and you need to dive to the bottom of the sea. Xiaodong has practiced swimming very well during this period, but diving so deep to catch sea urchins and other shellfish, Xiaodong still faces great danger. This time for his mother, Xiaodong obviously risked everything ... Xiaodong only caught a little bit of sea urchins and other high-nutrition shellfish in the morning, but he caught a lot of ordinary sea fish. Xiaodong first processed the sea urchins and those shellfish. Sea urchins can be eaten raw without destroying the nutritional value, but other shellfish need to be cooked because they have a lot of bacteria in them. After Xiaodong finished these, he took them to his mother. He saw that his mother was resting, so he did not wake her up. Instead, he gently wrapped the fruits of his morning labor in leaves and placed them next to his mother. Xiaodong was reluctant to eat any of them.

Because of what happened in the morning, Xiaodong seemed a little embarrassed, so he didn’t want to see his mother awake, which would only make him more embarrassed. In fact, Xiaodong is a very honest person.

Although Xiaodong was very careful, his mother still woke up. She opened her eyes and looked at Xiaodong, and then looked at the food on the leaves. There was a touch of emotion in her eyes. She had never eaten these things for so long since she came to the island. Of course, she knew sea urchins. These things were also very expensive in the city. Xiaodong had suffered a lot and experienced dangers in collecting these things. His mother knew it well. Seeing his mother coming, Xiaodong seemed very embarrassed. He smiled awkwardly and placed the sea urchin next to his mother.

“It’s still hot, eat it while it’s hot, eat the sea urchin raw...”

After Xiaodong put the leaves away, he quickly got up and prepared to leave. He seemed to be afraid to be alone with his mother. After all, he slept with his mother in his arms all night last night, and he felt weak and embarrassed.

“Xiaodong...”

As soon as Xiaodong turned around, his mother’s weak voice sounded behind him.

“What’s wrong? Mom, where do you feel uncomfortable?”

Xiaodong was most worried about his mother’s health at this time. When his mother called him, he thought his mother had another problem. He forgot the embarrassment and quickly squatted in front of his mother’s painting, looking very worried and nervous.

“I’m fine, sorry, I misunderstood you this morning, thank you...”

Mom nodded gently and said these words to Xiaodong sincerely. Although her voice was very weak, Xiaodong was relieved and happy. In any case, his mother did not misunderstand him, which made him feel much more comfortable.

“You eat, I’ll grill the fish...”

The highly nutritious food was prepared by Xiaodong for his mother alone, and he was going to eat the fish he caught. Of course, his mother could guess all this. Seeing Xiaodong get up and leave, his eyes were wet, with emotion and the sadness of losing her “husband”.

“Xiaodong, let’s eat together, I can’t eat much...”

Xiaodong’s mother’s voice suddenly came from behind him, and his mother’s words made Xiaodong’s back stop and his body stiffen. There was no courtesy in these words, but some sincerity, some emotion, and more concern...

“No, you are weak and need nutrition, I can eat anything...”

Xiaodong turned around and smiled at his mother. His mother knew that Xiaodong would not eat no matter how much she persuaded him, so she couldn’t help but smile back. Although their smiles were reluctant, they hadn’t smiled for a long time since the rotten corpse of an unknown person washed ashore and was recognized as the body of his father. Xiaodong walked away and continued to prepare food, while his mother began to eat the “big meal” Xiaodong prepared.

Because he spent a lot of time catching those nutritious seafood for his mother, Xiaodong didn’t catch many fish for himself. After Xiaodong finished eating a few very small fish, he was obviously not full. He just looked up at the dark weather above his head and shook his head. It was too dangerous to go to the sea at night.

When Xiaodong was eating, he turned his back to his mother, perhaps because he didn’t want her to see how much he had eaten. He also deliberately prolonged the time he spent eating, as if he had eaten a lot, but in fact he had only filled his stomach.

What Xiaodong didn’t realize was that his mother had actually seen all this from a distance. There was a touch of emotion in his mother’s eyes, and at the same time, there was a hint of vitality in her eyes, and a hint of hope to survive.

When Xiaodong returned to his shelter to rest, he just lay down and found that there seemed to be a fragrance next to his head. He found a bag of palm leaves not far from his position. After opening it, he found that it was half of the sea urchin and abalone left by his mother. His mother didn’t have a big appetite. Seeing Xiaodong’s appearance, his mother secretly left half for Xiaodong and put it in his shelter before Xiaodong returned to the shelter.

Xiaodong couldn’t help licking his lips when he saw these things. On the island, food was scarce, and his appetite was relatively large. At this time, his stomach had already growled.

Xiaodong glanced at the shelter next door through the gap in the shelter. Xiaodong also built his mother’s shelter. Although it was made of wood and palm leaves, his mother’s shelter was much better than Xiaodong’s. When Xiaodong built a shelter for his mother, he spent a lot of time and energy to build a shelter for his mother. It was tight and airtight, which could keep the relatively weak mother warm and cover the privacy that a woman should have.

Xiaodong looked at the food. Although he was very hungry, Xiaodong finally wrapped the food with palm leaves again, then took out the shelter and put it next to the fire. The island was humid and the food was easy to spoil. The only way was to dry it with fire.

Xiaodong sat next to the fire, occasionally adding firewood to the fire, and occasionally checking the dryness of the seafood.

Drying is a long process. When dawn comes and the sun shines into Xiaodong’s eyes, the drying is complete. Xiaodong uses wooden chopsticks to pick up the seafood and rewrap it on new palm leaves. Then he gets up and prepares to take the food away. However, as soon as Xiaodong turns around with the wrapped seafood, he sees his mother. In fact, half an hour ago, his mother came behind Xiaodong.

Mom woke up very early. After waking up, she habitually opened the leaves that blocked the entrance and saw a person sitting by the fire. His back was so familiar that Mom immediately showed an excited look. She just woke up and was probably still confused. She didn’t react for a while and thought Xiaodong was her husband. After all, they are father and son, and it is normal to look alike.

Mom ran towards the back. During this process, the morning breeze on the island blew, and the sound of the wind covered Mom’s voice. The shaking grass and trees also mixed with Mom’s voice, so Xiaodong didn’t notice that someone was approaching behind him. Moreover, Xiaodong had been up all night, and the fatigue had reduced his body’s sensory functions, so he didn’t notice anything unusual.

When the mother got closer and closer to Xiaodong, her consciousness became clear. She stopped not far from Xiaodong, her head stood there, and finally there was worry in her eyes. Everything was a dream. Her husband was gone. The man sitting in front of her must be her Xiaodong, the only person on the island except herself. After standing there for a while, the mother’s thoughts slowly returned. She was a little strange. What was Xiaodong doing sitting there so early?