On the fortieth day, My Little Courtyard (Part Two)

After planting all these precious seeds, I watered them gently. To be honest, I felt a bit embarrassed—I had never grown vegetables before and wasn’t sure if I was doing it right. I could only hope they would truly sprout; even if just a single seedling emerged in the end, I would care for it with all my heart.

To keep Xiaohei from trampling the plot by accident, I fenced off the vegetable patch with some small branches. Glancing around, I realized that this place was beginning to feel a little like home—treehouse, vegetable garden, fence…

Still, it was far from the ideal little courtyard I had in mind. I wanted to improve it as much as possible. It rained here often, and each downpour turned the ground into a mire—an unpleasant experience. So, dragging the plastic crate I’d salvaged from the ship cabin, which originally held rotten cabbage, I made my way to the foot of the mountain—not to look for food, but to collect stones.

There were many small rocks scattered around the gentle slope at the mountain’s base. These pebbles were exactly what I needed, and I loaded them one by one into the crate. I also gathered some larger, flatter stones. There were so many that it didn’t take me long to fill the crate.

But then, I realized a crucial problem—the crate, once filled, was extremely heavy. Trying to carry it might break it, and I wasn’t even sure I could lift it. Transportation, then, became the next issue to solve.

Fortunately, I came up with a workable, if not perfect, solution. Vines. I found several sturdy vines, lifted one end of the crate, threaded the vines through the bottom, wrapped them around the crate, and tied them tightly. Five vines in total, all secured in the same way. This was to minimize wear on the bottom of the crate. The rest of the vines I fastened to the sides, then tied the other ends around my waist.

Thankfully, it worked—but it was exhausting. After dumping the stones in my yard, I set off again. All in all, I made about eight trips. When I looked at the growing pile of rocks and pebbles, I decided it was enough.

Now, I was ready to put my plan into action. I intended to lay these stones as a path, leading from the entrance of my courtyard to the treehouse, the vegetable garden, the swing, and the drying area. I wanted to create the feeling of winding paths leading to hidden corners. If I did it well, I thought, it could truly be realized.

I avoided spots where sunlight pierced the foliage, laying the stones in the dappled shade. In such an environment, it’s easy to feel relaxed, at ease. That was what I had been longing for.

I arranged the large stones according to their size and shape, based on the vision in my mind. Of course, I left gaps between each stone—about a single stride apart. This was partly to conserve stones, since transporting them was such hard work, and partly because I’d seen stone or cobblestone paths like this in the civilized world.

Following my imagination, I set the stones down one by one. If a big stone was uneven, I positioned its rough side downward, digging away some soil to make it as level as possible. The smaller pebbles I pressed into the gaps between the larger stones.

By the time I finally finished paving the stone path from the treehouse to the courtyard entrance, my head was spinning and my legs were numb from squatting for so long.

“Whew!” I exhaled deeply, stood up, and took several gulps of fresh air. Such a movement gave me a little relief from my fatigue.

But I couldn’t rest yet—the courtyard was still far from meeting my expectations. There was still much space I could make use of. I decided to create a small flower garden, transplanting some of the wildflowers from outside, each exuding its own unique fragrance. Not only would they be a delight to the eyes and let their charming scents waft through the courtyard, but wildflowers also required little care.

These wildflowers were everywhere, in all colors—crimson, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet—competing for attention in a riot of hues. I wasn’t planning to eat them, so I didn’t worry about whether they were poisonous. After about an hour, the plastic crate I’d used for carrying stones was now filled with fragrant wildflowers.

Nature truly is magical—some of these blossoms smelled like lavender, peony, even apple and taro! Of course, some were foul-smelling. One I had just picked actually reeked of rotten eggs—I took a deep breath and nearly choked.

Of course, I hadn’t just yanked the flowers out; I used my knife to dig around their roots, lifting them out with the soil still clinging to their stems, just as one would when transplanting a tree. With the earth still attached, I placed them carefully in the crate.

Planting the flowers was easy. I’d already marked out the area for my little garden—a patch that would get enough sunlight, on a raised bit of ground beside the treehouse, where water wouldn’t accumulate. Speaking of which, I realized I hadn’t dug any drainage ditches in the past few days. This island got frequent rain, but the run of good weather had made me complacent—I nearly forgot…

“A good memory is a blessing,” I muttered, rubbing my temples.

I’d finished transplanting all the wildflowers—not a huge amount, since this was still an experiment. If it succeeded, I could always expand the garden.

I was about ready to rest, but as soon as I thought of the drainage ditches, I remembered my last bout of illness—the struggle between life and death. Even under the blazing sun, the memory sent a chill through me.

The sun was already sinking toward the horizon. I grabbed my kitchen knife and began digging in earnest. To be honest, this knife was a great help; it made the work much faster.

The drainage ditches went smoothly. My treehouse was already on slightly raised ground. I dug ditches around it, connecting them to the ones I had just dug encircling the courtyard. Finally, I broke through the outermost ditch, letting water flow into the sunken woodland beyond.

Now, even if torrential rain came, as long as the distant lowland wasn’t flooded, my little house would be perfectly safe.

After all this labor, my back ached terribly. I decided to prepare a simple meal with Xiaohei. But just as I was returning, I thought I saw a black shape in the distant hollow. I stared, but it was gone.

Perhaps it was just my imagination. Shaking my head, I turned and walked back toward the treehouse…