Page 83 of Beautifully Wild

Eden

It’sbeenfourteendayssince Samuel left.

Fourteen days of hard work in the fields, and this morning the blisters on my palm have finally popped. Every day I have completed the chores expected of me and follow the lead of the other women, our routine unchanging, until now. Instead of heading to the cooking pot with the other women to prepare lunch, Kaikare waves for me to follow her, leading us to the stream. She removes her skirt and beads before wading waist-deep into the water.

“Tamu’ne Akare.” She repeats, laughs, and waves me in.

Throwing my costume aside, I follow her in and submerge myself beneath the cool, clear water only to surface and find her climbing the bank. She gathers leaves from different shrubs before splashing as she lands beside me. She foams a leaf and rubs the soap through her hair, handing the green waxy leaf to me. I use it to wash my hair, forgetting how wonderful the sensation of clean hair is, and the scent is remarkably better than any product I know on the market. She laughs like a child, even though I presume she’s thirty-plus years my senior.

The humidity makes it impossible for our skin to completely dry naturally. We replace the black and red beads over our necks and loop the tweed ties of our skirts around our hips. I catch a whiff of my socks and groan before slipping on my sneakers. I still refuse to walk barefoot. If only I could rewind time and contemplate what I could squeeze into my pack, like an extra pair of socks.

Rewindto when I was with my friends.

Following the footprints of Kaikare along the narrow path to the village, I’m surprised when she leads me to another hut. She stands at the door and smiles.

Inside, animal skulls hang on the walls. Trophies of teeth are strung in a necklace with incisors large enough to be of jaguar or caiman. She opens a small woven basket with a lid and pulls out something with a handle. She hands it to me, both hands outstretched like it’s precious. Taking the object, I turn it over and catch shards of my reflection in the dirty glass.

“A mirror. It’s beautiful.” I turn it again, several times, rubbing the glass tainted by time. I scrub the back with my fingers and catch the flower decoupage under glaze that has worn away. I hesitate. It’s otherworldly, old, and only an outsider would have gifted it to her. Before I hand it back, I catch the bird-nest hairstyle I’m fashioning. Holding the mirror higher, I check myself in an unstained piece, running my fingers through tangled strands endeavoring to tame my mane.

Kaikare laughs again and takes it from me, copying my action with her hair. Hearing voices outside, she hastily replaces the mirror in the basket, tucks it under a woven mat, and leads me to the village center. Before we reach the fire, the children run up to her shouting and pointing to the river. The children bounce near my face, grab my hand and drag me a few steps until I’m forced to follow. The shaman appears out of nowhere, and there’s a discussion between Kaikare and him. I kneel to allow the children to touch my hair yet manage to keep Kaikare and the shaman in my line of sight.

Kaikare shakes her head and comes to stand beside me. Even I can make out the warning in the shaman’s voice. She leads me toward the river, and I’m surprised to find Asoo waiting on the sandy bank.

“Asoo.” I run up to him and throw my arms around his waist, eager to speak with someone who understands me.

He nods at me, his eyes full of sorrow.

“Is everything okay?”

He hands me my phone. “You have a message. I bring it to you.”

My stomach drops before reading the message, then settles when I understand the message is informative, nothing bad.

Yasmine: We finished the Macchu Piccu trek and are heading north to Iquitos.

I type a reply.

Eden: Fantastic! Text me and let me know your plans. Miss you all. Stay safe xx

Stay safe. I want to laugh at my advice, thinking touché.

I hand my phone back to Asoo. “Please ensure it sends when you’re back in Canaima.”

He takes my phone and wraps it in plastic before slipping it into his bag. “I need to ask a favor of my friend, Samuel. Is he here?”

“No.” I hear the disappointment in my voice.

His chin dips to his chest. “It bad. Children dying. Doctor Robert ask for more supplies until his arrive.”

“Of course. I’ll search Samuel’s bag to see if I can find anything of use.”

I run into the bushes and almost scream when I bump into Kaikare, forgetting she led me here and clearly couldn’t reveal herself. “I need supplies,” I say as though I need to announce my good intention despite the language barrier. She remains on my heel the entire way to the hut and watches while I forage through Samuel’s case taking needles, alcohol solution, saline, and antibiotics in vials. I find antibiotic tablets and dressing packs. Samuel mentioned more supplies were being sent to him, and I assume his medicine is rarely used. Emptying the contents of my backpack on the table, I shove the medicines into the bag and jog the path to the river.

“Here.” I hand my pack to Asoo, puffing like I ran five miles even though it’s only one.

“Come. Help the doctor,” he pleads. “Help the children. Put wet cloth on face.” He acts out the action with a hand to his forehead. “They have fever.”

“What?”

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