Forest of the Pygmies(33)
Alexander switched on his flashlight and took stock of their surroundings. He wasn't afraid of being seen from the village because of the dense vegetation, but he was worried about using up the batteries. They plunged through the thick growth, fighting roots and vines, skirting pools of water, tripping over invisible obstacles, enveloped in the constant murmurings of the jungle.
"Well, what do we do now?" asked Alexander.
"Wait for daylight, Jaguar. We can't keep going in this darkness. What time is it?"
"Almost four," the youth replied, consulting his watch.
"It will be light soon, and then we can see where we're going. I'm hungry. I couldn't eat the rats from dinner," said Nadia.
Alexander laughed. "If Brother Fernando were here he would say, 'God will provide.'"
They made themselves as comfortable as possible in a nest of ferns. The humidity soaked their clothing, they were pricked with thorns, and bugs crawled all over them. They heard the swish of animals brushing past them, the beating of wings, the heavy breath of the earth. After their adventure in the Amazon, Alexander had never gone exploring without a cigarette lighter; he had learned that striking stones together was not the quickest way to start a fire. That night they tried to start a small bonfire to dry out a little and keep any animals at a distance, but they couldn't find any dry sticks, and after a few attempts they gave up.
"This place is filled with ghosts," said Nadia.
"You believe in ghosts?" asked Alexander.
"Yes, but I'm not afraid of them. You remember Walimai's wife? She was a friendly spirit."
"That was in the Amazon. We don't know what they're like here. There must be a reason why people are afraid of them," said Alexander.
"If you're trying to scare me, you've succeeded," Nadia replied.
Alexander put an arm around his friend's shoulders and cradled her against his chest, trying to make her feel warm and safe. That gesture, once so natural between them, was charged with new meaning.
"Walimai was finally reunited with his wife," Nadia said.
"He died?"
"Yes, now they're both living in the same world."
"How do you know that?"
"You remember when I fell off that cliff and broke my shoulder in the Forbidden Kingdom? Walimai kept me company until you got there with Tensing and Dil Bahadur. When he appeared at my side, I knew that he was a ghost and able to move about in this world, and in others."
"He was a good friend. When you needed him you could whistle, and he always came," Alexander remembered.
"If I need him, he will come now, just as he came to help me in the Forbidden Kingdom. Spirits can travel great distances," Nadia assured him.
?
Despite their fear and discomfort, Alex and Nadia soon began to nod; they had not slept for twenty-four hours, and had experienced a multitude of emotions since Angie Ninderera's airplane crash-landed. They didn't know how many minutes they'd rested, or how many snakes and other animals had brushed past them, before they were jolted awake. Borobá was pulling their hair with both hands and screeching with terror. It was still dark. Alexander switched on the flashlight, and its beam fell on a black face almost on top of his. Both the creature and he yelled and fell back. The flashlight rolled on the ground, and it was several seconds before Alexander found it. During that moment Nadia had time to react and grab Alexander's arm, whispering that he should keep still. They felt an enormous hand blindly exploring them, and then suddenly it seized Alexander by his shirt and shook him unmercifully. He switched on the flash again but did not aim it directly at his attacker. In the shadows, they recognized a gorilla.
"Tempo kachi, may happiness be yours…" This greeting from the Forbidden Kingdom was the first and only thing that came to Alexander's mind; he was too startled to think. Nadia, on the other hand, made her greeting in the language of the monkeys, because even before she could see, she had recognized what had startled them by the warmth of the body and the breath of newly cut grass. It was the gorilla they had rescued from the trap some days before. As she had then, she had her tiny offspring clasped against the harsh hair of her belly, and she was observing them through curious and intelligent eyes. Nadia wondered how she had gotten here; she must have traveled many miles through the forest, something unusual for those animals.
The gorilla dropped Alexander and put her hand to Nadia's face, pushing her a little, softly, like a caress. Smiling, the girl returned the greeting with a push of her own that did not budge the gorilla an inch but did establish a kind of dialogue. The animal turned her back to them and walked a few steps, then she returned and, again pushing her face close to theirs, uttered a few quiet grunts and, without warning, delicately nibbled Alexander's ear.
"What does she want?" he asked with alarm.
"For us to follow her. She wants to show us something."
They did not have to go far. Suddenly the animal gave a leap and climbed to a kind of nest among the tree branches. Alexander aimed the flashlight toward it and was rewarded with a chorus of unsettling grunts. He switched it off immediately.
"There are several gorillas in this tree, it must be a family," said Nadia.
"That means there's a male and several females with young. The male could be dangerous."