Life at the bottom of a crevasse would be too difficult for some. Adam though had never been happier. The daily task of gathering objects that people throw into his home brought him joy because of the endless possibility he could make. A refrigerator recycled into a bath; a Microwave in too well, a microwave. It still worked! Constant materials to advance the little creature’s endeavours.

A massive effort put in by Adam and his friends over winter now see a multi-sided gutter for the crevasse. A vertical zig-zag of homemade pipes catches the water that would otherwise flow from the surface and flood his home. Fences, decking, discarded tarps, and over five thousand red cups were used in the project. Adam was careful to keep some of the red plastic cups for any guests he might have in the future, as he has found that even his largest cup only contains enough space for two or three of their mouthfuls in the past.

There has been some debate within his war (game) room on whether an extensive collection of tarp-like material should be attached on cables and brought over the roof of the crevasse when it rains. Adam’s position is on the side of not, but many of his friends would like to see him take a day off from the near-constant repairs. With the ever-changing climate, the rainy season has extended from three months to five, the stores of cardboard were sodden come summer last year. That said, not only has the climate brought its problems, but the awareness of the problems causes its own.

People don’t toss away stuff like they used to. Now Adam is very understanding and enjoys the company of the local fawner too much ever to encourage illegal tipping, but this has made things more difficult. His friends at the local recycling plant smuggle stuff he needs, but Adam needs more than they can give. Adam can, would and has made changes to his everyday life to become more sustainable, as he is apprehensive about the strain he may cause to himself and others if he doesn’t.

There is a problem that Adam has been trying to address: power. Preferably green energy, but he can’t be too fussy at the moment. At the end of last year, a teenager left his handbrake off and walked away, and the car rolled into the crevasse. Adam siphoned the fuel out before the local authorities can recover the vehicle. With his mechanic buddy, Adam set up a heating system for his home. Sustainability in mind: the system has different fuel inputs, traditional fossil fuels, and a current adapter. Adam had hoped that he could have hooked up to mains power by the local government; unfortunately, the Mayor denied his planning permission.

Back to the guttering system, there are tiny current generators all the way down. Small boxes connect to watermill-like paddles. In the first few months of this year, because he is so little and his house not so large, the power generated by the gutter was enough to power not only his heating but his handy electric toothbrush. Adam even thinks that if he could store the energy generated, he could completely swear off fossil fuels and save what money he can make with his sculptures to buy solar panels.

Adam does have a lot of work to do. Over the winter, he put off a couple of commissions to focus all his effort on the gutter. Mrs Ledbrook, an old lady from the caravan park, has paid four hundred pounds upfront for one of Adam’s sculptures. She has requested a humanoid sculpture that expresses sorrow. Adam is very good at sculptures, but he hasn’t received any material he prefers to work with recently. He had intended to return Mrs Ledbrooks’ money, but the winter was longer than his stores were deep. To starve for your art would have been very poetic, but he doesn’t like to write. Adam used about half the money, making it to the part of the year when berries start to ripen and he no longer has to visit the local supermarket. He has committed to spending the money that remained and a few weeks to buy the materials he needs to create the sculpture even though he will make no profit. The difficulty of the expression costs Adam a few more weeks and leaves him poorer than he started, but Mrs Ledbrook looked so happy when she picked it up. The horrid expression that Adam had to leave covered because it made him weep whenever he glanced at it had found its admirer. She will take care of it for a long time; this does warm Adam’s heart.

The second commission Adam had put off, left him a little unsure of himself. Adam swore off meat when he was a little lad. When he was young his Papa taught him to hunt but the first time a trap he had made caught a rabbit; Adam fell into a deep sleep and he did not wake for many months. Mr Cornelius Waterstalk, a well-known business owner in the community, requested a series of light fixtures made from the skulls of various wildlife. Mr Waterstalk is not some monster in disguise; at least Adam doesn’t think so. He expressed to Adam that he didn’t want to him hurt any animals for these pieces but would prefer them found in the wild. Mr Waterstalk liked animals that died as animals, not as commodities for human consumption. He wants them for his new BBQ restaurant. 

Adam has felt tempted over the wintry months to reach out to Mr Waterstalk and politely decline the commission. Although he wishes he didn’t, Adam knows next winter will be tougher and the summer after will be drier. He has become well aware that he must change to survive, and this may be the first time his morals will pay the price. The commission comes with a very reasonable price, enough to buy a battery system and even a solar panel or two. Most animal skulls are at least half the size of Adam so a couple of his friends had offered to help, but he never reached out. The whole thing makes him uncomfortable.

The decision weighs heavy on his shoulders. The price of his life funded by his art and morals is too much some days. In his best effort to stay out of reach from the arms cast by the deep sleep that calls to his eyelids, Adam took up gardening in the spring. He identified an area around the top of his crevasse that caught the sun particularly well. He diverted some of the gutter water to a black wheelie bin he had brought to the surface. The bin had been a sensory deprivation tank for the last decade or so. Now it holds water throughout the year for the plants in his garden. When the first berries appear on the rerouted bushes Adam has collected, Mr Waterstalk appears.

Knowing that only a suitable offering can summon Adam, Mr Waterstalk left an old car battery by the edge of the crevasse. Adam appeared soon after with two cups of hot chocolate. Mr Waterstalk thanked Adam for considering his offer but appreciated a response about the light fixtures. He confesses to Adam that the restaurant had been open for a couple of months at this point, and he had bought regular light fixtures. He had only meant to support Adam as he heard that things were becoming more complex over the last couple of years. Adam responded by sharing some of his berries with him. Delighted Mr Waterstalk shared his love of berries with Adam, and they spent the afternoon together giving some love and care to the bushes. Mr Waterstalk even showed Adam how to create jams. With a lifetime collection of unusual jars, Adams jams quickly became the talk of the town.

Adam jams cost four pounds each. If you brought back the jar, you could get a fifty per cent refund. People loved Adam’s jams over summer and autumn; by the time winter came again, Adam had enough money saved that he didn’t struggle when it lasted longer than the last. For the next few years, Adam started living a sustainable life. He no longer had to rely upon others’ trash and created many sculptures in his spare time. He still spent time repairing his home and unclogging his gutters, but he was happier than before because he had more time to spend with his friends.