Chapter 28

Ash—Living with It

The ash cloud continued to make deposits off and on for three days. The air was filled with grey-colored crystals that made everyone cough and cry when they went outside.

Lillian put on her sweatshirt and grabbed a scarf and baseball hat before standing by the door to look at Helen.

“I take it you want to go out. Where you going?” asked Marie.

Lillian didn’t say a word.

“Walk?” asked Helen.

Lillian looked down at the floor.

“Outhouse?” asked Helen.

Lillian looked directly at Helen.

“Just make sure you close the door good to keep the ash out.”

Lillian continued to look at Helen. Her mouth was open, but Helen heard nothing.

“She said, ‘Okay,’” said Nicholi.

“Grab an armload of cookstove wood while you’re out, okay?” said Helen.

Lillian smiled and looked directly at Helen before she walked out the door with her scarf tied securely over her nose and mouth like a bandit.

They were trapped in the cabin, but other than getting on each other’s nerves, they were happy they weren’t living under the tarp any longer. Patrick had established a routine for them. He could see they were going to have emotional meltdowns with Lillian, Marie, and Nicholi. He figured everyone, including himself, needed a routine to help them keep their sanity. There was security in routine—no chaos. They hauled wood, planned meals, cooked, cleaned the cabin, and played games.

Between chores Nicholi couldn’t stop pacing around the room. He always had a mischievous smile on his face, but he never lost his temper at anyone. Sam quietly played with his trucks. He loved playing cards, especially the game of War. Lillian sat quietly much of the time, calm, rarely talking. If Nicholi was acting too agitated, she simply went over and touched his shoulder or hand, which immediately calmed him. Marie cheated at solitaire. Helen found some books to read and read them aloud to Patrick. He loved it. They had interesting discussions about wildlife harvest issues, fishing in Cook Inlet, trapping techniques, and volcanos. Helen learned that Patrick was an advocate who helped others with disabilities. He told her about services that were available in Alaska for people with disabilities and about issues pertaining to getting jobs and care.

In general, they were fine. They had rationed water since they gathered it the first day right before the ash came down. They used it for cooking, keeping the cabin clean, and drinking. Though they tried to stay inside all day every day, they needed to leave the cabin to replenish their firewood, to use the outhouse, and to get more water from the creek for the filter to clarify. They found that if they wore a hooded sweatshirt, scarves over their noses and mouths to act as air filters, and a baseball cap, the ash didn’t get into their eyes and lungs as badly. Everyone had learned never to rub their eyes when they were outside, because their hands were always ashy, even when they thought they were clean. Once ash was in their eyes, the only way to get it out was water or a lot of crying. Rubbing only made it worse.

They had several more black cloud encounters, but it never got as dark again during the day, and the ash wasn’t as deep as they thought it could be. It only reached a depth of two inches, but the wind stirred it up all the time and the air was full of sparkly dust. It was significant enough that Helen knew no one would be flying or landing near them until there was a really good rain and/or the mountain returned to only emitting steam.