The Knife Person

Gaius is cycling back to Saint Kilda, with his shopping.

A bag of apples, a few carrots, a punnet of strawberries which were on special. 

And a block of cheese, about which he is fretting.

Has he packed a knife?

Usually he has Arthur to think of these things. 

If he doesn't have a knife, Arthur always obtains one.

No questions asked.

Camus doesn't seem like a knife person,.

But then who does, on the surface? And what about that book that he wrote? There was a knife in it somewhere. Not that a literary knife could cut cheese.

Ha ha! A literary knife. He must tell Camus. But Camus may have already heard it.....

He should have purchased a knife when he had the opportunity. But what a waste of money. And embarrassing too. You have to prove you're not a minor. For a cheese knife!

Alternatively, he could have bought pre-grated cheese.

Pre-grated cheese. Which probably costs extra.

He takes a deep breath. Never mind.

For the rest of the journey he will be in the moment.

The sky is blue, almost cloudless. The air is warm. The sea rocks gently. Silver gulls gather on the shore.

The mangroves smell as though they are dying, which they are.

Here he is, at Saint Kilda.

He sees Camus and Terence, and Roo-kai, the two orange-bellied parrots and Waca.

He wheels his bike onto the sand.

I'm back. Who'd like an apple?

Not me, thanks, says Camus. 

Guess what? says Terence.

No, you can't have an apple, says Gaius. But I'll crush you a strawberry.

Not that, says Terence. The parrots aren't going!

Where? asks Gaius. 

Across the ocean, says the first orange-bellied parrot. We've made an independent moral decision.

Yes, says the second orange-bellied parrot. Not going. Why should we?

It's in your nature, says Gaius. Or it should be.

But why? asks the first orange-bellied parrot. We say Poo! to tradition.

Dear me, says Gaius. Has someone influenced you to think in this self-destructive fashion?

He looks hard at Camus.

Is he, after all, a knife person?