The morning brought frustration. Nellie was inconsolable. The question 'Where is my mom?’ seemed to echo in her every cry. Nothing soothed her, so Gemma gave up trying and buckled her into the stroller in search for food.

Every single hut in the village was empty of life or food, and had the same furniture as the one they’d used the night before. It was creepy. As far as water went, a stream ran by the side of the village, so that was covered. But food?

Into the jungle they’d have to go. Since the stroller was more of a hindrance than a help in the thick undergrowth, Gemma left it in the hut and opted to carry Nellie.

The bounce of the walking and the interesting plant life calmed her down. Nellie gazed at the jungle with interest, her viewpoint much wider now that she wasn’t lying in her carriage.

Gemma checked every tree for fruit, but all she found were reddish tinged berries that she wasn’t going to go anywhere near.

They were too undisturbed by animal life, and the stories of their toxicity back on Earth kept her weary. Different planet or not, there was nothing too unfamiliar apart from that screen she’d seen before. A screen which could have very well been a hallucination brought on by the shock.

Gemma still clung to the hope that this whole thing wasn't real.

Her steps slowed down, and another wash of perspiration wet her clothes. Green, green, green and more green.

Then, a flash of canary yellow made her freeze. Some sort of fruit! But just as soon as the happiness arrived, upset followed. The tree producing the single yellow fruit was narrow and tall.

“It’s okay,” Gemma breathed and set Nellie down on the ground, “We can do this.”

Nellie sniffled when she touched the floor, and began another crying marathon when Gemma climbed the tree.

“I’m not leaving you!” Gemma called out and then she winced. There was no soft moss lining the bark of this tree, and her hands suffered for it.

As she climbed higher, a noticeable tilt developed in the trunk.

“C’mon, c’mon,” Gemma said as the fruit was almost in reach.

“Yes!” She pulled the plump fruit off of the branch.

“Whoa, whoa!” she then screamed along with Nellie as she was almost dislodged from the tree.

Holding on until her knuckles were white, she waited until the tree stopped swaying as much, and scurried down the tree as fast as she could while keeping hold of the precious fruit.

“What do you think?” Gemma showed the fruit to Nellie.

Nellie reached to it.

“Just a sec,” Gemma hoisted Nellie into her arms, and balanced the fruit between Nellie’s eager hands and her body. Losing the fruit at this point would kill her morale. Gemma pushed away the next thought, that losing the fruit might kill them both.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

They returned to the hut as the midday sun rose. There was no obvious difference to the solar and lunar cycle that Gemma had noticed, nor were their appearances unusual.

At the hut, Gemma set Nellie on the floor and collapsed, back first, onto the bed. Carrying Nellie long term like that exhausted her. Her body wasn’t used to hauling small people around.

She held the fruit up to the light from the door and rubbed at its skin with her sleeve

After a few moments of admiring its pretty peel, she sat up.

Then she punctured the fruit’s skin with her nail and rubbed some of the juice on her forearm. When her skin didn’t react to it after fifteen minutes, Gemma ate a small bite.

The fruit tasted like a mix between a mango and an orange, sweet and citrusy, with a smooth texture.

“Delicious. Let’s hope it doesn’t kill me,” Gemma said to Nellie. She set the fruit down on the bed and checked the time.

She played with Nellie, keeping half a mind on her body's response to the fruit. She didn’t have a headache, nor did her stomach hurt. When an hour had passed, she decided the fruit was safe to eat. There were no utensils, so she bit off a piece and gave it to Nellie.

“Not very sanitary, I know. But Mia’s pretty chill.”

“Ah, ah,” Nellie said, and reached for more.

Gemma smiled at the cuteness and the two devoured the fruit together. The center of the fruit held five red seeds with blue veins, about the size of raspberries. Those got put away for safekeeping.

Then Gemma carried Nellie to the stream for a drink. The shallows of the stream were only a few inches. Gemma stripped Nellie and let her experiment with splashing the water. Gemma cleaned Nellie’s bottle, filled it, and sipped at the river water. It was crisp and cool, with no flavor. That was a good testament to the water’s purity, Gemma thought. She gulped the rest of the few ounces and refilled for a second cup.

“Bah!” Nellie liked playing in the water.

Refreshed, Gemma dressed Nellie who protested leaving the water.

“Since those fruits are safe, we should get some more for dinner before it gets too dark,” Gemma said as she picked up a still protesting Nellie. This time she brought Nellie’s emptied diaper bag, and hoped to fill it to the brim.

Back in the depths of the jungle, no more of the yellow fruits revealed themselves. It didn’t help that fresh hunger gnawed in Gemma’s belly. At least it was less hot.

Nellie rested her head on Gemma’s shoulder and napped. The sun fell lower and the sky grew dim. But Gemma didn’t want to head back without anything to eat. A night without food would weaken her and make searching for them the next day exceedingly difficult.

Just as she was about to head back, a brightness in one of the trees caught her eye. It was more of the fruit! As Gemma watched, a greenish lump that had blended in with the leaves began to lighten and glow. It was the same fruit they’d eaten earlier. The jungle around her lit up with the glow of the fruit, as if the trees had lanterns hanging in them. The sight’s beauty made Gemma’s heart ache.

Gemma set Nellie down with as much gentleness as she could muster, and thankfully, Nellie didn’t stir. The diaper bag slung over her shoulder, Gemma climbed up the skinny trees and plucked fruit after fruit. When the bag was as heavy as she thought she could manage, she picked Nellie up and headed back. The sky was almost full dark, and Gemma grew nervous. Away from the fruit grove, the darkness swallowed them up.

Then Gemma held back a laugh. The bag glowed faintly as the light from the fruits shone within, but even better, her and Nellie’s skin was faintly glowing. It must have been from the fruit they had consumed before. That single fruit seemed to have been an anomaly, though, with its skin yellow during the day.

Nellie woke up halfway home and was enamored with the fact that they were glowing. She kept reaching out to pat Gemma’s face, and giggled.

There were less tears shed that night. So far, they were surviving.

And if nothing went wrong, they would continue to survive.