Page 126 of Mayhem
When they reached the beginning of the trail that morning, they discovered their men’s worries had been unfounded. According to a sign at the entrance, no dangerous wild animals were present. However, she was happy they’d waited to enjoy it as a group.
They’d seen so many beautiful flowers and breathtaking foliage. Everything was so green or vibrant in color. It had a different feel from the rest of the island, and she wondered if this was an element brought in when the resort was built or if it had already been there. She also couldn’t help wondering if there was some sort of irrigation system. They’d been there four days, and it hadn’t rained yet, so she was curious how everything looked so alive.
A cute little bird landed on a branch in their path, and she stopped to take it in. It was blue and gray with black feathers at the end, and the small chirps it let out made Erin smile. She pulled her phone out and snapped a couple of pictures of it.
“I wonder what kind of bird that is,” she stated.
“It looks like a Tanager,” Cruz responded, pausing in what he was making from a few flowers and vines he’d grabbed.
“You just know random bird facts?” Alijah asked.
“Now, who isn’t doing their reading?” Cruz teased regarding Alijah getting on to them for not reading the itinerary on their first day there. “I read the brochure they supplied on this area when you all decided you wanted to visit.”
They continued, and after another ten minutes, they came to a beautiful shrub of magenta flowers. Erin wasn’t sure what they were, but as she reached out to grab one, Paetyn caught her wrist.
“Careful, Angel. Those have thorns.”
She looked closer, and sure enough, the stems were riddled with thorns. “Thank you, babe.”
Erin took a picture of the shrub and continued behind Remy and Lawrence. They’d only gone a couple of steps when the subtle panic in Chayse’s voice stopped them.
“Oh my gosh,” she stated in contained distress. “Nik, get it off me.”
Erin turned, and her eyes widened when she saw a lizard on Chayse’s shoulder. It looked to be right under a foot long, and she could tell from the way her friend held completely still, she was trying not to panic and cause it to crawl all over her.
Nik reached for the lizard, and it jumped and flew right at Alijah, who didn’t hesitate to jump into Kieran’s arms before making a beeline toward Erin.
“Nuh-uh. No,” Erin stated, moving to stand behind Paetyn. She watched it fly past them towards Lawrence, who batted it away, and it landed in a bush somewhere.
“Are you okay, baby?” Nik asked Chayse.
“Yeah, I’m okay. That thing landed on my shoulder out of nowhere,” Chayse responded.
“Since when do lizards fly?” Alijah asked.
“I don’t think it flies. I think it jumps and glides,” Kieran supplied.
“Well, it needs not to glide wherever I am,” Chayse responded, and the men chuckled.
“I’d hate to see how you act if you see a snake,” Cruz stated.
Lawrence’s attention snapped to him. “There are snakes out here? No one said anything about snakes when we decided to come.”
“They aren’t poisonous,” Cruz informed.
“Baby,” Erin started, gaining his attention. “Maybe lead with that next time because we were about to have to leave, and we haven’t even seen that tree the plaque at the entrance was talking about.”
“We wouldn’t be here if the snakes were poisonous,” Paetyn stated.
They continued, and Erin knew they were about another twenty minutes from the tree. It was supposed to be the oldest one on the island. She wasn’t sure how they knew that since, to her knowledge, you had to cut a tree down and count the rings to tell. Maybe they were going off the size of it. She assumed you could see it over the others when you were close enough, but they couldn’t yet.
They’d stopped for Chayse to take a few pictures of butterflies frolicking around when Cruz held up what he’d been working on, and Erin couldn’t help but smile at the flower crown. He put it on her, and she thanked him with a kiss. She’d have to find a way to keep it.
When they reached the tree, it wasn’t what Erin had expected. She’d thought she’d see something that stood large and tall; instead, the tree was shorter than several around it, but the branches stretched like a large dome and were covered in leaves. It cast so much shade that it stood out despite blending into thecolor palette with the other trees. It was such a simple aspect of nature but so beautiful. Erin was in awe, and she heard the click of a camera. Turning, she found Paetyn poised to take another picture of her.
“Come here,” she requested. “Both of you come and take a picture with me.”
Since they’d been there, she’d made it a point to take pictures together daily. She had a few of her with each of them and the three of them together from their trip to the botanical gardens, but she wanted more. She would have them printed and added to the framed collection she’d started.
