Magic Space: Struggling to Survive in the Apocalypse-Chapter 81: One Person’s Difficult Survival 5
A light, drizzling rain pattered against the RV’s window. Evelyn Ford opened her eyes. She sat up and wiped the condensation from the glass. Looking outside, she saw the ground was already covered in a thin layer of snow. The rain was very light, and the fire under the large sun umbrella had gone out. Evelyn glanced at Mina, who was still curled up in her blanket, then stretched a bit before pulling on a military greatcoat, rain boots, and a wool hat to head outside.
’I’ll skip washing my face for now. It’s too cold.’
Evelyn Ford thrust her hands into her greatcoat pockets, hunched her neck against the cold, and climbed down from the RV.
After relighting the fire under the large sun umbrella, Evelyn Ford did a set of stretches right there.
Today’s tasks were still demanding: build a gate for the fence and clean out the pond.
Evelyn Ford had made the fir wood posts for the fence quite high—about one and a half meters. She used thick logs, making the structure very sturdy.
There was more than enough fir wood left to make a gate. But first, she needed to eat something to line her stomach and warm up. Evelyn Ford sat by the fire, took a bowl of rice noodles from her space, and added a heaping spoonful of chili. Though the spice made her gasp, it warmed her right up.
Once she’d eaten and drunk her fill, Evelyn Ford took out a saw and a plane, ready to get to work.
"Don’t go running around. Just stay here and play," Evelyn Ford said, placing a large handful of beans in Mina’s food bowl.
’The most important thing for the gate is sturdiness. It doesn’t have to stop large wild animals, but it at least needs to withstand strong winds without blowing over.’
The sawn fir wood needed to be smoothed with the plane so there were no splinters.
When Evelyn Ford did something, she was a perfectionist. It was either all or nothing; if she was going to do it, she would do it perfectly.
Three and a half hours later, the gate was finished. Evelyn Ford installed it and hung a lock on it. ’Perfect.’
Her clothes were covered in snowflakes and rainwater. Evelyn Ford caught a snowflake on her finger and tasted it. It was pleasantly cold.
The marsh was located a hundred meters past the small courtyard. This patch of marshland was overgrown with rushes, which also concealed the pond. Evelyn Ford put on her gloves and cut down the rushes. She set the cut grass aside; it could be used to cover the muddy path so she wouldn’t have to tread in the dirt.
Evelyn Ford was in a good mood. Despite the sleet, she was full of energy. She hummed a little tune she made up herself as she finished cutting all the rushes around the marsh and the pond.
The pond’s surface was covered with fallen leaves. Evelyn Ford took a net from her space and skimmed all the leaves and dead rush stalks from the water.
"Why am I so capable? Why am I so amazing? Why am I so perfect? Oh, oh~"
Evelyn Ford hummed her song as she walked back. The pond was clean now. ’No need to do anything else to it. I’ll just leave it in its natural state.’
"Holy shit!" Just as she was about to reach the sun umbrella, her foot slipped, and Evelyn Ford fell flat on her butt.
’Talk about pride coming before a fall.’
"Ouch, my poor back."
Evelyn Ford sat up, rubbing her lower back, her face twisted in pain.
"SQUEAK SQUEAK..." Mina ran down from the RV and tried to jump on her, but Evelyn Ford quickly stopped her.
"Don’t jump! If you pounce on me, I might be out of commission for three days."
Mina looked at her pitifully.
"I’ll play with you when I’m done, okay?"
After tossing some more firewood into the fire, Evelyn Ford took off her greatcoat and began to massage the strained area. After a while, the pain subsided considerably, and she slowly straightened her back.
"That almost did me in." She looked at the spot where she had fallen. The mud and snow were mixed together; no wonder she had slipped. Evelyn Ford decided to fix the path.
’I’ll gather some stones and pave the difficult spots. I originally thought about laying down wooden planks, but they’d slide around. I think stepping on them would be even more dangerous.’
She worked until two in the afternoon before she had time to go back and make something to eat. Mina had been waiting obediently for her. Evelyn Ford held her close for a cuddle, and Mina was instantly happy, her tail wagging furiously.
Evelyn Ford turned on the radio, put in a cassette tape, and turned the volume down a bit. Mina’s attention was immediately diverted.
Evelyn Ford ate her lunch and, for a rare treat, brewed herself a pot of tea.
The tea leaves were from her supply runs. She hadn’t tried them yet.
After resting and warming herself by the fire for an hour, Evelyn Ford went back to gathering stones to pave the path.
"I, Ford, once lived in Little Arcadia of Corinth,With a house and money, a life of endless glee.Who knew the great rains would strike, the apocalypse return,Forcing me from home to face this misery..."
Evelyn Ford grunted with effort as she picked up stones. The light rain had stopped without her noticing. The flurries had turned into heavy snow, and her hat and clothes were quickly turning white.
Evelyn Ford had no choice but to speed up. By five in the afternoon, both the path in the courtyard and the one leading to the pond outside were paved with stone. Evelyn Ford hurried back to the RV to change her clothes.
Her hands, feet, and face were numb from the cold. Evelyn Ford heated some water, planning to wash her face and soak her feet. Mina was still lying by the radio, listening to the music. Her cozy little life was enough to make anyone jealous.
Looking at the potted cactus on the table, Evelyn Ford decided to plant some more flowers. ’Planting flowers and vegetables... it’s a passion practically etched into the soul of my people, something I can’t just abandon.’
’But with the blizzard here, I’ll have to plant cold-resistant ones.’
After soaking her feet, Evelyn Ford put her greatcoat back on and went into the wooden cabin. She added firewood to the heated platform and the fireplace, then checked for any drafts or leaks that needed immediate repair. Luckily, after a full inspection, she found the house was built very solidly, without a single flaw.
Evelyn Ford lit some mugwort incense inside to disperse the smell of sand and soil.
’In the bedroom, I can put a small wardrobe. Since I built a heated-brick bed, I won’t need to put a regular bed in.’
’The bathroom still needs a water heater. Good thing I collected a bunch of them in my space. I’ll just install the smallest one. The generator can go in the living room. Since the bedroom has the heated bed, I won’t need an air conditioner.’
’Anyway, since this cabin can be stored in my space and taken with me, I want to make it as perfect as possible. After all, it’s the home I’ll be living in. Even a home for one person has to feel like a real home.’
As a thought struck her, Evelyn Ford used her consciousness to search through her space and finally found a few lightning rods.
Evelyn Ford smacked her forehead. ’My stupid memory! I completely forgot to install these things when I was working on the roof. Oh well, I’ll do it tomorrow.’
’The cabin’s windows still need curtains, but that’s simple enough.’
’Tomorrow, I’ll run a pipe from the pond to the bathroom. I’ll have to bury it underground, though. If I just lay it on the surface, the pipe might freeze and burst.’
Even if the surface of the pond froze, the water at the bottom wouldn’t. That was why Evelyn Ford needed to draw water using a pipe.
There was still so much to do. Evelyn Ford took out a notebook and jotted down a to-do list, item by item. It was her system to place a checkmark next to each task as she completed it.
The wind in the mountain hollow was strong at night. Evelyn Ford was bundled up so thickly that she walked a little clumsily.
As she reached the RV, she hurried back to the sun umbrella and added more wood to the fire.
’All wild animals are afraid of fire, especially wolves. As long as a fire is burning, they won’t dare get too close.’
