Page 79 of Beautifully Wild

I wanted an adventure, and I’m living it. I wanted to find love, and I’ve found that too. Caught up in the excitement, I went beyond my comfort zone forhim.

Do I want to commit simply so we can bang each other in the village while I’m here? Surely, it’s not a promise to stay.

The Ularan stories are not fairy tales.

If Samuel doesn’t want to leave this place, and I can’t stay, then maybe I need to stop believing we’ll have our happy ending.

38

Samuel

Two Days Later…

Samuelandtheshamanstroll through the garden of healing. The shaman sings as they walk, words only for the forest to understand. His song instills an inner peace within Samuel like no other.

They stop to examine the plants infiltrating the soil of the medicinal ones, every shrub vying for space. Here, only the quality vines are allowed to survive. Weeds and toxic thorned vines slashed. Occasionally, a new plant surfaces, one Samuel has not seen, and the shaman takes a sample, and in a private ceremony, asks the tree spirits if this plant will heal or take life.

Samuel picks twigs, leaves, and flowers all necessary for his upcoming journey. Some are best dried. Even so, the list of what he’ll need for medicinal use and first-aid purposes is extensive.

He’s to drink the brew of ayahuasca and chacruna before he leaves in a ceremony the night before—one without interruption.

He picks a little extra for Eden so she can rub the insect repellent leaves on her mosquito bites, more spots visible since she ran out of repellent. He stashes it into his animal skin pouch that’s secured with twine around his hips.

The shaman touches his hand.

“She distracts you,” he says in his stilted language. “She distracts me.”

Samuel frowns.

He tells Samuel she’s like the sun and the moon together, her light ever-present. He waves his arm in an arc—Eden the golden light over the rainbow.

Samuel tells the shaman he is focused. Before the shaman has a chance to speak of her, he confesses he relies on her presence like one does air. To his surprise, the shaman’s expression is unchanged, as though he already knew the depth of his feelings for her. He tells Samuel he was once distracted in his early days of training and almost chose a path with a woman instead of medicine.

Samuel acknowledges his words, disguising his surprise. He emphasizes Eden will know her place and not interfere with his work and asks for the shaman’s blessing.

The shaman holds his gaze with fierce intensity, so much so, Samuel bows his head. He tells the shaman there is no risk, and if it comes to a choice, he’ll choose the safety of the village.

The shaman’s face lights up, an expression Samuel’s rarely witnessed. He hears footsteps and follows the shaman’s gaze to the one who treads heavy on her feet.

“Kaikare pointed this way, so I thought I’d find you here,” Eden says in a tone indicating she’s pleased with herself.

Samuel spins to the shaman expecting him to be distressed with Eden in their sacred place. Instead, his eyes hold a twinkle, and it takes a moment longer before he holds up a hand.

“Stop,” Samuel orders. She stills and looks around her. “You shouldn’t be here.”

She raises her arms and drops them to her side. “You need to give me a list because there are no warning signs to stay out.”

He goes to her and leads her back over her tracks. “I assumed you were with the women in the field. I was coming to find you after I finished here as Asoo is due to visit today. Do you need some supplies because we could give him a list of things to collect in Canaima? Another thought, he could charge your phone and return it to you in a few days.”

“Really? You trust him with my phone?” Her eyes round.

“I do.” Samuel takes a path past the round hut toward the treatment hut. “You could give him your phone to read messages and let you know if anything is urgent.”

“Good idea because I need to send messages to the girls and my parents. If they reply and my phone is in Wi-Fi, Asoo can bring it back to me.”

“Grab your phone. I have paper and a pen in my case. I’ll also ask him to get some insect repellent.” They reach his treatment room, and he stills her to inspect the bites on her shoulders, arms, and back. Samuel pulls leaves from his pouch. “Rub these over your bites. It will help ease the itch and stop any infection. I’ll get some sap for you to use on your skin to act like a natural repellent until Asoo returns.”

Eden smiles, the relief hinting at her exhaustion. “You know I hated the rash I got from the repellent, only these bites are bloody killing me.”

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