Page 64 of Wild Idol
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We spent the day in the village, helping out. JD and I lent a hand, repairing some of the huts and doing odd jobs around the community.
When it was time to go, the chief bid us farewell and presented us with a necklace made from shells and local gemstones that had been painstakingly polished by hand.
JD and I were most appreciative.
We started back through the jungle, hoping to make it back to the retreat before dark. The sun angled toward the horizon at a fast pace. It was a race against the clock. I had a small tactical flashlight with me, along with the light from my phone. It would be enough to get us back to the retreat. But the jungle can be a dangerous place at night. It can also be a dangerous place during the day.
The golden rays of sun filtered through the canopy of leaves, casting a greenish glow over the jungle. Patterns of light dotted the trail. The jungle swallowed us within a few steps from the village. Thick and damp.
We trudged across the dirt, the terrain steepening as we approached the base of the mountain.
Animals scurried about in the underbrush, and birds flitted from branch to branch.
“Do you see why I can’t leave this place?” Star said. “These people need us. That boy would have most likely died had we not intervened. You tell me how I’m supposed to go back to the States, live a life obsessed with consumerism, greed, and violence, knowing that all this is here? Knowing that this is the one thing that gives my life true meaning and purpose.”
“I’m not gonna ask you to go back. I’ve seen enough to tell me that you’re content here. But I must admit, I’m not without my concerns.”
“Well, you don’t need to be concerned about me. That’s not your job. Your job was to come here and talk to me. Now that you have, you can go home,” Star said, flatly, without emotion. She wasn’t pissed. She wasn’t enthusiastic. It was just a statement.
“Does it bother you that Solomon is under investigation? That he’s embezzled and defrauded people. That he’s accused of sexual misconduct?”
Her face tensed with discomfort. I suspected that she had heard the allegations before and had dismissed them. “Allegedly. He’s never been charged or convicted of anything.”
I stifled a laugh. “Because he fled every jurisdiction he’s been investigated in. A tiger doesn’t change its stripes. Youcan’t tell me he’s changed his ways. That somehow he’s doing all this for purely altruistic reasons.”
“People change.”
“Most people need to hit rock bottom before they change.”
“That’s a pessimistic view of humanity, don’t you think?”
“I’m not pessimistic about humanity,” I said. “I believe in the ability of the human spirit to triumph and overcome. To do the right thing when the right thing is hard. But I also know from experience that people’s behaviors don’t change without significant motivation.”
“I wouldn’t underestimate Solomon‘s motivation. Perhaps he’s trying to better himself. Perhaps this is the only way he knows how.”
“So you’re giving him the benefit of the doubt?”
“Don’t we all deserve not to be judged on our worst actions? What if we lived in a world where we were all judged on our potential? On our possibilities?”
“I’ll remember that the next time I confront a serial killer with a knife that’s stabbed nine innocent girls. I’ll just write it off as a bad day because I know, deep down inside, he wants to be a good soul.”
The look on her face told me she didn’t appreciate my sarcasm.
I changed topics. “As for the artifact that was stolen…”
That uncomfortable look tensed her face again. I knew damn good and well she had taken it at Solomon‘s urging.
“I don’t know anything about that,” she said in the most innocent voice she could summon, which wasn’t innocent enough.
“Your father thinks he’s going to die without the idol.”
Star frowned, contemplating her father‘s fate. “I think we all get the life we deserve.”
“I don’t know if I agree with that. And not everybody gets the death they deserve. Marcus Aurelius says we should pray for a good death.”
Star chuckled. “Is there such a thing as a good death? Sounds like nonsense that warriors tell themselves before they go into battle.”
