He was feeling much more like himself, wondering if he dared a shower. He didn’t want to use the sonic shower as that would leave a power signature, but the ship was built to hold backup water tanks. The thought of water pouring over his body was inviting, even if the water was tepid at best. Suddenly ravenous, the man tore the cover off the bowl and found a stew of meat and reconstituted freeze-dried root vegetables. He reached for the hunk of dryebread she’d left and crumbled it into the bowl. He shoveled the lukewarm mess into his mouth. It tasted heavenly. She’d prepared the stew with some herbs he’d never eaten before and he wondered for a moment where she’d found them, but he quickly forgot, feeling his strength return with each spoonful. She’d left him two jugs of water and he downed both. Finally, he reached for a cup of snowberries she’d set on his table and he poured them into his mouth, appreciating their sweet tang as never before. He knew he hadn’t brought any aboard so she must have found some in the canyon.
