‘Do you even know where we’re going?’ Anna yelled. Back in the dense forest, with the rain still hammering furiously, the only way to be heard is to shout. ‘I figured that as long as we stick to the path, we shouldn’t go wrong,’ Gabriel hollered back. ‘What path!’ Anna said referring to the mud covered grounds they were tramping on. ‘We took almost two freaking hours to get here. Do you think we could ever find our way back under this condition?’ her voice loud but uneven. The cold, exhaustion and utter frustration are fuelling her sudden spike in anger. Gabriel stopped walking, turned around and said ‘Yea, you’re right and it’s getting dark. We better seek shelter somewhere’. They scavenged the area and stumbled upon an uprooted tree. The decaying trunk is easily forty feet long and its massive branches with its leaves attached provided just the refuge they were looking for. Sitting with a three feet gap in between them, Gabriel tried to console ‘Hey, it’s gonna be alright. They’re gonna find us soon’. Looking away, Anna ignored him and tried to appear brave but her trembling lips and shivering limbs ruined her poor pretence.
Shrouded in total darkness, they seem to lose track of time. It was hard to judge if a minute had passed or was it five. At least the rain had died down to a drizzle. At night, the jungle portrays itself in an entire different façade. Unlike the charming scene that greeted them earlier in the day, now everything around them exuded a sense of frightening menace. Threatening noises from creatures of the night send chills up Anna’s spine. Every now and then, rustling caused by unseen nocturnal animals would make her jump. At that moment, she wished she was curled up beside her mother, watching TV and sharing a tub of ice cream. The thought made her whimper.
Suddenly something touched her and Anna screamed. ‘Hey hey, it’s ok. It’s just me,’ said Gabriel. ‘Don’t you dare!’ Anna snapped. ‘I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you like that. I can tell you’re freezing and perhaps if we huddled together, you wouldn’t feel so cold,’ he replied apologetically. ‘Why do you keep pushing me away?’ he asked after an awkward silence. ‘Hah! I don’t need to explain myself, especially not to you,’ she retorted. Better to sound angry than weak she thought. ‘I just thought we’d be better off being friends than strangers,’ he countered. ‘Being friends’, those two words hurt her. ‘Stupid. You’re just so bloody stupid Anna,’ she admonished herself in silence. ‘I mean, did I do something wrong? If I offended you in anyway, I swear I didn’t mean to,’ Gabriel pressed further. She looked at him and could make out the outline of his slouching figure. The glow casted by the crescent moon made the forest undergrowth a little less creepy now. ‘No, you did nothing wrong,’ she said softly and realised it was the truth. She was being unfair to him all this while but she couldn’t help it. He edged closer, testing her reaction. Finally, only an inch separated his right shoulder to her left. ‘What’s your story with Maya?’ she asked. ‘I know it’s not any of my business but,’ she couldn’t find the right words after that and left her sentence hanging. ‘Maya’s just an old friend to me. Our families knew each other from way back, so naturally, I grew up as her playmate,’ he tried to clarify. ‘And that’s why I know her so well,’ answering her question from when they got off the boat earlier. ‘She’s more like a sister to me,’ he said further. ‘I bet she doesn’t feel the same way,’ Anna stated as a matter of fact. ‘Well, she may feel differently about me but it doesn’t matter cause,’ he paused. ‘Cause?’ she asked impatiently. He faced her and said ‘Cause I already fell for someone else’. Anna hoped the darkness had helped hidden her smile. The butterflies in her stomach are back after a long leave of absence and they’re obviously overly excited. ‘You’re still cold,’ Gabriel said as he pulled her towards him. This time, she did not resist and allowed him to rest her head on his chest. Her cheeks were pressing uncomfortably against his damp t-shirt but it didn’t seem to matter. ‘Feel better?’ he enquired. ‘Yea,’ she happily lied. With the heavy burden lifted from her heart, she willingly gave in to the demands of her worn-out body and fell into a deep slumber.
After a while ...
Anna woke up hearing faint noises. At first, she thought she had imagined them but the voices became clearer. She shook Gabriel who had also fallen asleep. No doubt, people were calling out their names and they could see beams discharged from highly powered torch lights slicing through the area not far away. They excitedly stood up but Anna crumbled straight down because of the pins and needles in both her legs. ‘Go get them. I just need a moment,’ she told Gabriel. Gabriel nodded and started shouting out at their rescuers. ‘Praise Allah both of you are safe. Now let’s get you back to camp,’ said a very relieved Pak Awan. He led the search group with Bruce, Steve and two other boys in tow. Wei Yee pleaded to come along but Pak Awan vetoed sternly against her request saying her wounded leg would only slow them down. Wei Yee dejectedly complied and had the injuries on her palms and leg treated by Janice.
When they arrived back at the camp site, everyone stood up to applaud. A couple of them wolf whistled. Wei Yee ran and hugged her friend so tightly she squeezed every ounce of breath out of Anna. ‘I was worried to death. I was so scared they couldn’t find you’ Wei Yee sobbed. ‘I know. But I’m ok now. See,’ Anna replied and made a 360 degrees twirl. Bruce came to them and said ‘It’s best Anna dry herself and get some hot soup into her system’. The idea of food made Anna’s stomach growl fiercely. She didn’t realize how hungry she was until then. Gabriel brought over a bowl of chicken soup with some white bread. Anna accepted them and returned him with a most endearing smile before he went over to chat with Pak Awan. Wei Yee immediately shot her a questioning stare. ‘What?’ Anna cried out. ‘You tell me. I know that look,’ Wei Yee responded. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about,’ she said dipping her bread into the boiling soup before putting it into her mouth. It scalded her pallet but she didn’t care. Food never tasted this good. ‘Fine. Let’s see how long you can keep it from me,’ challenged Wei Yee. ‘Fine. Let’s see,’ Anna replied adding a mischievous smirk.
After cleaning up, Bruce instructed everyone to get some shuteye as the next day will be another tiring one. Two to a tent, Anna and Wei Yee zipped up the opening and snuggled into their individual sleeping bags. ‘Still not telling huh,’ Wei Yee said. Anna replied by sticking out her tongue. ‘Hate you,’ Wei Yee said as she turned to face the other side. ‘Hate you too,’ Anna responded giggling.
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