Nature’s Gift

Aron's fishy breath kept the pillows warm. Rós rolled back onto her pillow, wondering if there was a block of ice below. She took her hand out from between her legs. "It feels like I haven't left home." It only took one look at the blazing sky for her to see how deceiving the blue skies were. Her country was not the perpetual winter that everyone thought it was, but their summers were always mild.

The wind blew cracked autumn leaves into the house. Rós flicked them away but they only flew back. Fixated at the one floating in the corner of the treehouse, she saw the cobwebs glisten.

Sitting up, she peered outside the window to admire the glorious Mt. Ivan and the mouth of its face. She could see herself climbing the firm rocks and its green pastures hidden in the haze. Tranquil choirs of birds and cicadas were interrupted by disgruntled snoring.

Rós ran her hand under her pillow, forgetting that she had no access to her phone. The views all around her were perfect for a picture, including Aron's face squashed in the pillow. Shame he was such a terrible snorer.

Her heart shuddered. A terrible shrieking noise coming from the window. "Oh, you poor thing!" A monkey tangled in the branches was bleeding. Rós leaned over to rescue it and placed it on the pillow. She washed the wounds, bandaged its leg and fed it bread and water.

It didn't take long for the monkey to settle down: Rós thought maybe five minutes after treatment. She had never seen a creature in such content.

Another monkey popped in the treehouse, much larger than the first, and faster. It patted the little one's head. It gasped and looked over at Rós. Scurrying back to the window, its cries echoed through the forest. Branches rustled as more of the big monkeys jumped towards another tree. It returned, bounced onto the bed to pick up the baby monkey into its arms and then fled. Rós had presumed that the monkey was its mother taking her child home. Sheets of paper were scattered around the bed. She hadn't noticed them until the monkeys fled.

Her partner awoke. Aron said, "WHAT THE HELL!" His abrupt movements shook her. Aron's hands shook as he threw himself onto her lap. He shuddered at the red spots on the sheets. "Where's this blood come from? I thought you finished your period."

"I did first aid on a monkey."

"What!" Aron smiled with an open mouth. "They have monkeys here?"

"Look outside!" She told him. "Oh and another thing, you fell asleep during the announcement," she told him, "there are only 908 robots left."

"Oh!" Aron widened his eyes. The way he looked at her gave Rós chills. Even after all these years, Aron still knew how to make her smile. Tilting his head, he stroked her body. Rós shoulders felt thawed out by his fingertips. "Did we do well?"

"We're 5th place."

"Thank goodness. I'm glad we're not near the top or the bottom!" Aron breathed in relief. His smile was wide enough to fit a dozen popsicles. "We won't be targeted for being too good, nor will we be considered weak scroungers."

Rós rolled her eyes and went under the covers. "I'm just grateful to be alive. The Dutch guys died last night." Her stomach churned after she said it. Guilt waved around her. It could have been the Icelandic guys that had died last night. It could have been anyone.

"I knew they wouldn't last."

Rós sprang out of the covers. She pointed to the window and brought her fist in Aron's face. "By the way, the monkeys gave us these as well!"

"What are they?"

"Haikus."

"Haikus?"

"That's the bonus points for the day, to collect as many haikus as we can. It gives us points."

"I know the perfect place for that!" Aron seemed to be on the ball.

"The library?"

"Exactly." Warmth in his red cheeks faded when Rós removed the covers and impounded herself on him. "Hey...what are you doing?"

"What we did last night!" Rós grinned, thinking about an illustration she saw in the handbook last night: a woman riding a man. "It's the ethical way to earn points in this game."

Aron gripped her shoulders and pushed back against the wall. "I don't think this is the time or the place." His groping told another story.

"Aron! We've done it last night. Why do you always shy away?" Rós hoped that Aron would submit: her nipples were getting cold, and nobody could heat her up better than Aron.

"Please don't take offence. I love you to the moon and back, but every time we have sex, something bad always happens."

She kissed his cheek during a hug. "Bad things happen to the world all the time." Rós and Aron pulled their heads together and kissed longer. Whenever Rós kissed Aron, she felt invincible. Aron gave Rós her first orgasm at school and she would never forget the first time her body explored the electric current with somebody else. "For me, every time we have sex, something GOOD happens!”

"Oh, really?" Aron laid down again. Rós went on top just as she saw in the book, and Aron closed his eyes. It was his special way of saying that he lost. "What about the day the principle died from a heart attack after catching us in the changing rooms?"

Rós laughed. Her stomach dropped inside; it was bad of her to laugh at the death of an old lady. Having Aron inside her made her bounce. "That was the day my grandparents won the lottery!"

"Let me read these haikus!" Aron said as they blew onto his face.

"o o o o o

I am cheating a haiku

x x x x x

animals we are

bloodshed sunsets washed away

the world is the world

Those haikus are..."

"Weird."

"You carry on, Rós. I'm starting to like this now."

Rós & Aron - 84 points

908 Robots left