windy city rainy season

After two years of waiting and an hour's flight, the volunteers finally landed on the uninhabited island of Kaho'olawe.

The landing site is at the southern end of the island. After disembarking, you walk across the beach. The BaseCamp transformed from a military barracks is built on the tidal embankment.Compared with other Hawaiian islands, it can be described as barren. There is almost no grass near the camp, and only a few areas are covered by low shrubs.

Tao Yu looked at his companions around him, the excitement when he first landed on the island had passed, everyone had different expressions on their faces, some could not hide their disappointment, some looked curiously at the red soil under their feet, most of them were silent Waiting for the organizer to arrange.

There are enough volunteers in the dormitory in the camp area. In addition, there are laundry rooms, dining rooms, and bathrooms. There are many benches in the open space in the middle of the camp area for everyone to organize group entertainment activities and chat.Although it's not a good place for a vacation, at least everything is clean, which has exceeded Tao Yu's expectation - he thought he would sleep in the wild and bathe in the sea for these four days.

"Have you watched "CastAway"?" Chang Zheng asked Tao Yu when he was putting his luggage in the dormitory, "It tells about a Fedex employee who crashed on an isolated island in the South Pacific, survived on the island, and then returned to civilization. social story."

Tao Yu felt that the plot sounded familiar, so he thought for a while and asked, "Is it starring Tom Hanks? The domestic translation is called "The Rest of a Deserted Island". Have you ever thought about his primitive life of digging wood to make fire? The conditions here are much better than that island... ...Look, there are sockets!"

Tao Yu discovered the New World between the two single beds, and when connected to the charger of his mobile phone, it actually had electricity. Unfortunately, there was no mobile network coverage, so he couldn't browse Weibo online.

Chang Zheng saw him squatting on the ground to take pictures of the socket, and said with a smile: "This is the first time I travel to such a rough place, I thought you would beat me up."

Tao Yu complained casually: "It's so mysterious, and it ends up planting land for people!"

Chang Zheng didn't take it seriously, and casually took out a pack of snacks from his luggage and handed it to him. The two of them lay on the window together. From here, they could see the beach where they landed, the blue sky, the clear water, and the not too long coastline. There are no tourists in swimsuits to be seen.Looking at the scenery this way is actually not bad, it is quieter than other places, only hearing the sea breeze, waves, and the chirping of seabirds occasionally passing by in the air.

The accompanying French family was walking towards the beach. The couple brought their 16-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son. The two children put their hands together and shouted towards the sea: "Aloha——"

"When I was in elementary school, the school organized a summer camp, and I lived at the foot of the Simatai Great Wall for three days." Tao Yu looked out the window and said to the people around him, "That was the first time I left home to spend the night outside with my classmates. After thinking about Simatai for many years, I really wanted to go again. Later, when I was in the second year of high school, I finally went again, and on the way home after I finished, I thought, such a barren mountain and wild mountain has made me think about it for so many years.”

Chang Zheng looked at him sideways, waiting for the next sentence.

"The place is still the same place, whether it's fun or not depends on people's ideas." Tao Yu said, "You didn't apply to come here for fun at first, and there's no need to change your mind because of me. Besides, I think it's not bad, it's quite quiet. .”

The two were leaning against each other's shoulders, Chang Zheng leaned over and touched his lips, and said with a smile, "Damn it, you're so good at talking all of a sudden?"

Before Tao Yu could answer, Adrian appeared suddenly, made a face outside the window and said, "Sorry guys, time for lunch."

"Will be there."

Chang Zheng agreed, and walked out with Tao Yu, accidentally touched his back, and felt him dodge again.Chang Zheng pretended not to notice and withdrew his hand.

Kaho'olawe Island has scattered sources of drinking water and was previously inhabited by fishing.Over the long years, due to the British colonists and various other reasons, the residents and living creatures on the island gradually disappeared, until 1824, when the Queen of Hawaii used this place as a prison for prisoners. Thirty years later, the last prisoner died of disease, and the Hawaiian government leased the island to foreigners to graze.According to records in 30, there were 1884 goats, 8000 sheep, 2000 cows and 200 horses on the island. This is probably the most "prosperous" period in Kaho'olawe's history. In 40 Hawaii officially became a territory of the United States.

In 1941, the U.S. military leased the island for one dollar a year as a base for bombing and naval training. In 1965, the U.S. military dropped 500 tons of gunpowder equivalent bombs near the island to simulate the power of a nuclear bomb explosion in order to observe the impact on ships at sea.Four years later, the discovery of 1990 pounds of unexploded explosives floating in the surf off the west coast of the tourist resort of Maui sparked protests calling for the U.S. military to stop using Kaho'olawe as a bombing training base, which lasted For decades, until Bush Sr. signed the agreement in [-], the US military withdrew, the island was returned to the Hawaii state government, and the federal government was responsible for clearing the island of unexploded bombs.

After a general understanding of the island's history, Tao Yu finally understood why the organizers repeatedly emphasized that they could not go to any unmarked areas, because there were still uncleared bombs there.Volunteers are not allowed to act without authorization on the island, and they must also be within the prescribed area when working.In addition, their freedom is not too restricted. They can bask in the sun and swim at the beach when they are resting, but they cannot disturb any birds and fish-here, the rights of living animals and plants to live and grow freely are higher than the human rights of volunteers.

As a student of the Department of Environment, Tao Yu experienced for the first time how difficult it is to restore the environment after it has been destroyed.With an area of ​​less than 120 square kilometers, efforts to restore the island's ecological environment have continued for 20 years since Bush Sr. signed the contract for the withdrawal of the US military. However, due to the severe damage to vegetation and soil caused by bombs, the island still maintains a barren and desolate scene. , it is difficult for plants to grow here.The work of the volunteers during these four days is called ErosionProject, digging holes and burying boards in the ground to improve the current situation of water and soil erosion.

I don't know if it was because he was tired from working during the day, or because he lacked a sense of security in an unfamiliar environment. Tao Yu had a nightmare at night. He dreamed that someone was chasing him all the time. He ran desperately, and gunshots sounded behind him...

"what--"

He woke up with a yell, and at the same time woke up Chang Zheng who was sleeping on the other bed.

"what happened?"

Tao Yu breathed a sigh of relief, covered in cold sweat, obviously dreaming, but he really felt the scar hurt.

By the moonlight from the window, Chang Zheng saw Tao Yu with one hand behind his back, he got up and sat down, and asked in a low voice, "Does your back hurt? Let me have a look."

Tao Yu shook his head: "It's okay, I had a nightmare, and unfortunately I was shot again in my dream."

At this time, Chang Zheng really wanted to turn him over forcibly to see what was wrong, but he knew that doing so would be of no avail. Tao Yu's current problem was not in his back, but in his heart, subconsciously always worried about the recurrence of the trauma, some normal It might also remind him of the scene when he got shot, or even some worse fantasies.

Chang Zheng reached out and touched his cold forehead, and said comfortingly: "Sleep, I'll be here with you."

Tao Yu hesitated for a moment, then moved to the other side, letting Chang Zheng lie down.The single bed was very narrow, Chang Zheng leaned sideways on the head of the bed, and slowly comforted his cold sweating chest with one hand.

The two had their own concerns, and they were silent in the dark, neither of them fell asleep.

"Am I sick?" Tao Yu asked suddenly, "I don't know what to be afraid of? My injuries are all healed, but it feels uncomfortable when people get close to me."

Hearing what he said, Chang Zheng thought that he could realize that maybe the situation wasn't too bad, as long as he didn't force him and slowly enlightened, it might be able to relieve his pressure.

"Don't worry, your injury is just right, it's normal to be afraid of getting hurt again. You see I'm so close to you now, and you haven't pushed me away. If you don't want to, I promise not to touch your back, okay?"

Tao Yu nodded.

Chang Zheng lowered his head and kissed him on the lips, comforting him without any lust, and said softly: "Whenever you're ready, give me your back. Remember I will always back you up."