She fell into pace with the others.
She could not say for how long she walked, walking alone through the ice and snow, as though she was only one in existence. The land was vast and empty… until she came across something buried in the snow.
She ran up quickly, but fell into the snow in her haste. She looked up, her long lashes crusted with ice, and squat down, her hands digging at the snow. She soon felt something, and she kept going.
As snow tumbled off to the side, the blue face of a savage came into view. It was Tarzan.
“Tarzan,” she called, patting his face.
At length, Tarzan opened his eyes and gave her a guileless smile.
Shi Jia rubbed his hands in hers, hands that never rested and were filled with blisters. Life as a savage was hard, and they rarely lived to old age, often succumbing to the nasty environment, starvation, or beasts. It was a place where danger lurked at every corner.
Not only did they have to deal with external threats, but they also had to watch out for other humans as well.
Shi Jia supported Tarzan on the way back. The sky had gone dark by the time they reached the entrance of the settlement. The tribesman denied them. According to the shaman, Tarzan’s illness was incurable and contagious, and therefore they could not have him in the village. Shi Jia had almost told him what she thought about his wisdom. It was the first time she heard that external wounds can be contagious.
That night, they huddled outside the settlement.
Yao Xiaoyu caught news of it on the following morning. She quickly ran out to meet them. Tarzan was badly wounded. He had lost a lot of blood, and was feverish. It was a miracle that he had made it back alive.
“We need to get him inside,” said Yao Xiaoyu after a brief examination. She helped him stand.
Shi Jia’s face was icy, her bloodless lips blue from the coldness.
The tribesmen stood in their way once again.
Shi Jia wasn’t surprised. She had seen it coming.
And now they were left with two choices. The first to abandon Tarzan and return to the tribe. The second was to leave the tribe with Tarzan and find a new place to settle down.
“We’ll leave,” said Shi Jia, supporting Tarzan with her shoulder. It wasn’t a bad decision either. Rather than a certain death of starvation, they might as well leave for new possibilities.
“Hold on, I’ll leave too,” said Yao Xiaoyu. She wasn’t going to be left alone with those uncultured savages. She returned to her living quarters, packed up the wild greens, and made to join her companions. The savages checked through her belongings before she left. For the first time, Yao Xiaoyu realized that the savages weren’t as naïve as she believed them to be.
At the end of the day, they were humans, and humans all have their own thoughts and concerns. They were the ones who had underestimated them.
Yao Xiaoyu unfurled her backpack, revealing the wild greens she had been storing. The savages never had any interest in the greens.
She then hefted the belonging and walked out in a dignified manner.
“Let’s go,” said Yao Xiaoyu, giving Shi Jia a hand. They were not the sort who could abandon their companions. They were civilized, with thoughts and morals.
Still, Yao Xiaoyu turned back and gave one last, searching glance. Shi Jia knew that she was looking for Zhang Peng. Even so, they did not know how to talk him into leaving. He had been staying with those savages for five years, after all. Going their separate ways was for the best.
That was when they heard a series of clumsy footsteps behind them. When they turned around, they saw Zhang Peng with his belongings.
He smiled stupidly, scratching his head.
“Why did you all leave without telling me? Thank goodness I caught up with you,” he patted himself in the chest. “Thank goodness, thank goodness.”
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have known how to find them. They had no phones or computers here, so the day before could very well have been their last time seeing each other, had he not found them.
“Why did you come?” asked Yao Xiaoyu, turning away and pretending to be indifferent. Yet there was a look of joy in her eyes, something she did not realize herself.
“Of course I’m coming. That place is doomed anyway,” shrugged Zhang Peng. Talking felt so good. Why would he stay there, gesturing and signaling with the uncultured savages? They were running out of food and wouldn’t listen to him anyway. He wasn’t a big fan of starving to death either. Plus, he trusted Shi Jia. With only a few of them, foraging food wouldn’t be much of a problem.
He walked to them, hung his belongings on Tarzan’s neck, and gave him a hand as well. He had since long turned from a weak, scholarly guy, into a real man.
And who could have seen it coming? It had already been five years since he lived as a savage.
They found a natural cave, where they decided to set up their base.
Yao Xiaoyu treated Tarzan, while Shi Jia and Zhang Peng scavenged for useful things, like soft grass and tree barks that could be used as flooring.
Thankfully, they had brought the fur quilts with them, so nighttime wasn’t that cold.
“Where’s Shi Jia?” Yao Xiaoyu asked Zhang Peng. For some reason, she was nowhere to be found.
“I don’t know,” Zhang Peng shook his head. “Must have gone hunting.”
Yao Xiaoyu sat the entrance of the cave, propping her face up with an elbow. Life was hard without rice and grains.
They did not even have a pot to cook rice.
Soon, a shadowy figure emerged from the snow, a large bag slung across her shoulders and a bloodied animal in her hand.
Night fell, and so did the snow that never seemed to stop.
…
Yan Huan slipped into a cotton coat, blew some hot air into her hands, and rubbed them together.
They were done with the filming, so it was time to eat. This place was too cold. Everywhere was freezing and strewn with ice.
She took a bowl of rice and meat, their dinner for that day. It was a sumptuous meal, but there was no room to be picky. It had been hard enough to even get something cooked.
As she ate, snowflakes danced into her bowl, melting as they touched the hot rice. It felt as though she was melting herself, lost in the vast expanse of white snow.
