Chris and the Cave

Chris had been living quite comfortably in his cave for three months; he had formed a bond with the place and could see himself being there for quite some time.

He had taken with him most things he needed - the only thing really lacking was company. He had his cans of beans and matches for fire and a big, heavy blanket when nights were colder - but he was beginning to miss the art of conversation, an art in which he was quite gifted.

He would politely chitchat with the local shop owner when picking up his fortnightly bean supply, but this was only on occasion. Usually the discussion would be about the weather and as the weather did not change until winter, high up on the mountain, the discourse rarely traversed new terrain.

The possums at night were a nuisance. He did not know before he embarked on his life-changing adventure they were so noisy. He would throw them a bean or two and that would shut them up for a few minutes – a brief window in time for him to try his best to get to sleep.

He spent most of his time in the cave reading his books and doing crossword puzzles, which kept his brain ticking over and passed the time quite well. He had read forty-three books and had quite a good grasp on storytelling – if only he could swap some stories with someone else.

Going back to the city was not an option. He had tied up all of his loose ends in such a way he would not really be welcome back there. Chris had let his emotions get the best of him and when he told his friends and family he was leaving the city to go live in a cave, he said it in quite a direct, forceful manner that left many of his friends and family in tears.

Chris had seen a film years before in which an island castaway made a companion out of a football or some such – he had tried to emulate this with a pineapple but it became rotten after a week or so. Anyway, he felt very odd talking to a pineapple, even odder than usual.

He decided to put an advertisement in the city newspaper looking for a housemate, a cave mate, to keep him company or at least help him keep the cave tidy.

He used the phone at the local shop and called the newspaper’s classifieds section. The friendly young woman on the other end of the phone suggested he place the ad digitally and it would be much easier.

Chris explained he lived in a cave and doing things digitally was quite difficult, if not impossible. She understood; so much so she placed the ad at no cost.

Chris wandered to the shop every day with a rejuvenated spring in his step, hoping to hear word of keen applicants. Living in a cave with another person may not seem like a viable accommodation option to most but sure enough, after two and a half weeks of checking on the phone – he had an applicant lined up to come and inspect the cave the next day.

Chris cleaned with great effort and soon the cave looked as appealing as it could. The dripping stalactite proved difficult to fix and in the end, he gave up.

It added a certain charm to the ambience, he thought to himself. The next day a bright young man with a rucksack appeared at the cave entrance at a quarter to four, right on time.

The pair swapped pleasantries and Chris showed him around the cave. The young man seemed interested in cave life, adding he had quite the taste for beans.

The two men spent a month living together in the cave, sharing beans and swapping stories and taking it in turns chasing the possums away.

When winter came, the snow was very heavy and the possums did not come at night. The stalactite froze and the two men ran out of things to talk about. The snow blocked the cave entrance and soon the beans supply ran dry.

The shop owner trudged up the mountain to check on the fellows with a basket of beans and bread but he could not find the cave until Spring, when the possums and their babies cried out at night and the stalactite dripped on the embracing bones of the men.

The shop owner tried his best to excavate the bones but the dripping stalactite had fused them to the stone floor. He sealed the cave with small boulders as the possums watched in silence.