I don’t recall whether the stench of death eventually subsided or if my olfactory receptors were just overloaded to the point of indifferent saturation, but, at some point, the aroma in the air cleared.

Sadly, it was but a brief respite—as one day soon thereafter, the forest was saturated with the recognizable and overwhelming scent of rotting fish.

Water jugs optimistically in hand, I jogged the path to the spring. With each stride, the odor strengthened. My tears burned, and the gagging became involuntary. At the spring, I dropped my jugs—the sight was devastating. Dead fish roiled on the normally clear surface. I followed the short outflow to the main river—the shoreline was covered, the channel choked.

Collapsing to the ground, I vomited.

Where was I to get clean water?

I vomited again and curled into a ball.

Where was I to get clean water?

It was some time before that pounding thought subsided and I noted the newly unnatural silence. Sure, the flow of the spring run was still audible, but something else was missing.

Insects.

The constant background chittering of the Florida woods was gone. I opened my eyes and surveyed the rotting fish on the shoreline. There were no flies feasting or laying eggs on the bloated carcasses.

When I returned to camp, my little friend darted from perch to perch. He knew I had deviated from our daily routine, but still followed me as I checked my reserve water tank and sorted through the meager supplies in my small storage shed.

On my walk back, I’d worked out a plan to construct rainwater and dew collectors—as I no longer had confidence in the safety of the spring water. But busying my mind and hands with this new project wasn’t nearly enough to keep other, darker thoughts at bay.

I lifted my eyes from the piece of plastic sheeting I’d been cutting and stared off into the woods.

The blight was close.

My stare moved to my browning crops.

How long had it been since the last rain?

I shook my head—I could not recall.

***

[Stay tuned for the next installment of “Cardinal Sin”]