At each stop, Petari collected samples, drew more pictures, and made notes in her book. Arrow instructed her on thanking the plant for giving up its leaves. The girl frowned, perhaps not seeing the purpose, but she did it anyway.
“I’ll show you some food now,” Arrow said, eyeing the placement of the sun. He was worried about the bleeding bird. I was too. The drip was still small but growing.
Arrow took Petari deeper into the forest to a crop of acai trees and pulled off some of the ripe berries. “These are good. Try them.”
Petari looked skeptical, but after carefully rubbing a berry on her shirt, she popped it into her mouth. Her smile grew wide.
“Eese ar ood,” she said, around the fruit.
“Told you,” Arrow said, eating some berries of his own and handing a few to Curly. Silence fell over them for a few breaths, but not the awkward silence that slices the air, the sweet silence that comes from busy mouths.
Finally Petari swallowed. “You’re so lucky to know all this stuff. I’m a scavenger for our group, but I hate having to constantly find food and medicine. I hate depending on the same places over and over again. I want to be an explorer, like the bigger kids, and find new stuff, like this.” She waved around the trees. “You don’t have to worry about not finding stuff you need. You’ve got everything all around you.”
Arrow’s gaze fell. “For now,” he whispered.
“Huh?”
Arrow opened his mouth to reply, and I hoped he wouldn’t give too much away. But suddenly his eyes lit up and he turned west. “Follow me, quietly.”
The girl did as she was told, following Arrow through the crop of trees. He pulled back a palm and pointed. A capybara and her babies were lying in the sun.
Petari gasped and stepped back.
“It’s okay,” Arrow whispered. “They’re not dangerous. Cute, though, don’t you think?”
The girl nodded as she crept closer again. “How did you know they were here?”
“I heard them. And smelled them.” He grinned.
Petari looked surprised at his answer, but her focus was quickly drawn back to the animals. “They’re incredible. I wish I had a camera.”
“What’s a camera?” Arrow asked, leading her back to the acai palm and her backpack.
“You know, to take their picture, so I can look at them even when I’m not here. My drawings work for the plants, but it would be brill to have a video of the animals.” She picked up her backpack and glanced at him. “They don’t have books or cameras where you’re from?”
Arrow shook his head.
“Weird,” Petari said.
Curly pulled on Arrow’s earlobe. “Ow!”
“That monkey is mean,” Petari said with a laugh.
“She’s just…,” Arrow began, then saw Curly pointing at the sun again. It had moved lower. He needed to hurry. He was running out of time to stop the rainbow liquid and get home before the sun rested.
“I’ll show you the camu camu berry next,” he said. “They’re a little sour, but I like them.” He headed back toward the river, where the thin bushes that held the fruit enjoyed lapping up the water.
“Ooh, I like sour stuff too.” Petari smiled.
As they walked, Arrow kept up their conversation about the outside world, his curiosity now too big to be contained. “Tell me about the camera where you can capture the movements of the animals.”
“Oh,” Petari said, shifting her backpack on her shoulder. “Truth is, I’ve never seen one. They only have those in the Stilts, and I’ve never been.”
She ducked under a branch. “I’ve heard people talk about it, though. My dad worked there sometimes. He mostly went through the tunnels, but he told me he saw inside too. They have water that runs out of faucets whenever you want. Like you turn it, and the water comes out. Amazing. The Barbs have faucets, but water won’t come out no matter how much you turn them. Believe me, I’ve tried. Do you have them where you’re from?”
Arrow shook his head quickly. “What else do they have?”
“In the Stilts, they have everything.” Petari flung her arms out wide, as though she were presenting it all to him. “They have lots of food. More than you could ever eat! And clothes. Way better clothes than mine or yours.” She eyed his worn coverings. “And they have all this brill tech, like things you can write on and draw on and read books and watch movies on.”
“Movies?” Arrow asked. Even Curly was intrigued, climbing to the boy’s other shoulder to be closer to the girl.
“Wow, you must not have anything where you’re from,” Petari said.
Arrow glanced at the trees and rocks. “We have things, just different things.”
“You’ve definitely missed out with movies. Although, I haven’t seen too many. You can see them whenever you want in the Stilts, but we don’t have them in the Barbs.” She gave a tight laugh. “Like we have anything in the Barbs. Anyway, years ago, this one woman who knows about this stuff found something that made the movies work. She had only a few, but she played them on the wall of the building next to ours. I loved it.”
“But what is it?” Arrow asked.
“I’m getting to that,” Petari said, sighing loudly. “Okay, so you know how books have stories?”
“Umm…” I hadn’t told him about books, not really knowing what they contained. But he knew of stories, because I had told him the stories the Forest Dwellers would tell.
“Those kind of stories you can see in your head, right?” Petari continued. “Well, movies are stories you can see for real. These people act them out, and it’s stored like a memory or a dream so you can watch it over and over again. It’s…” She shrugged. “Magic.”
My roots froze on that word. What kind of magic did this human girl know about? Was the Anima in the outside world?
Arrow must’ve had the same thoughts, as warm hope seeped from him. “This magic is in the Barbs, where you’re from?”
Petari shook her head. “They don’t have movies anymore. The tech stopped halfway through this one movie, and they couldn’t get it working again. Now I’ll never know if that Leia princess was in love with the Luke kid or the Han guy. I’m guessing the Han guy, but who knows.”
So the magic had died in the Barbs. No wonder it was such a desolate place. If we couldn’t mend the Anima here, that was what we’d become—dry, dusty, dead.
“But this magic is still in the Stilts?” Arrow asked. Good thinking.
They were at the river now, and Arrow lead the way back over the root bridge.
“Hey, we’re back at the village,” Petari said. “I thought you were taking me to the camu things.”
“I am. They like being by the water, and the biggest ones are on this side.” Arrow pointed but kept his attention on the girl. “The magic. Is it still in the Stilts place?”
“Oh yeah. You can see movies and all kinds of stuff in the Stilts. That whole place is magical.”
An entire place filled with magic!
Excitement sprang from Arrow, too, so much so that he stopped in his tracks.
Petari kept walking a few steps, not realizing Arrow was no longer moving. Not realizing he was deep in thought about the idea of a place with all the magic we needed. When she finally looked back, she said, “You okay? We going to this camu tree or what?”
Arrow glanced up at her, pulled out of his dreams. “Yes. Yeah.” He glanced around. “Oh, we’re here. This is the camu camu tree.”
He walked her to the tree and plucked one of the plump berries. He handed it to Petari, but I could tell his mind was not on their lessons anymore. Wonder swirled around him, and he was ready to ask more questions.
The girl polished this berry on her shirt too, then popped it into her mouth. Immediately her nose scrunched up from the sour taste, but beneath it she had a big grin.
“Yum,” she said, after she had swallowed. “Can I have more?”
Arrow smiled. “You can have as much as you want. These grow all around the f
orest.”
Petari picked more berries from the tree, some for her mouth and some for her backpack.
“Tell me more about this magic,” Arrow said, as Petari made her drawings and notes of the camu camu berries.
“Like what?” Petari paused her drawing and looked at the boy.
“Can you take me to it?”
“To the Stilts?” She shook her head. “I don’t know. They keep the entrances guarded. They say they don’t have enough for everyone, so they keep people out. But from what I’ve heard, everyone there has more than they need.” She leaned closer and whispered, “But Luco has this guy who can—”
Suddenly she stopped talking and frowned. “Hey, you never answered my question from before.”
“What question?” Arrow didn’t want to answer questions of hers. Frustration swirled around him. He wanted to hear more about the magic and the Stilts. Me too!
“About who you are.” Petari crossed her arms over her chest. “I can’t be giving our secrets to some enemy group. Where are you from really? Where does your group live? Are they a nice group or a goon group?”
Curly slapped Arrow’s shoulder. This time the boy didn’t need Curly to point to the sun. He glanced up, and his shoulders drooped when he saw how far it had moved across the sky. He had to leave now if he was going to stop the rainbow liquid and make it home before the dangerous night hunters began to prowl. The dripping of the liquid was getting quicker, more and more of it soaking deeper into the soil. Arrow had to get it contained.
“I’ve got to go,” he said, his heartbeat quickening.
“Oh no you don’t. You owe me some answers.”
“I can’t. I have to—” He started to leave, but Petari blocked his path.
“Just tell me one thing now: Tell me you’re not from some goon group that’s going to come and kill my friends.”
Arrow frowned. “I’m not going to kill anyone. I told you to leave so you’d be safe.”
“Or so you could keep this forest all to yourself and your group.”
She was right about that.
“If you’re not from the Barbs but you still found the hole into this place, where are you from?” She tapped her toe impatiently.
Arrow gazed at the sun again, anxiety soaking into the ground beneath him. I wanted my boy home, and with the Anima so low, I could no longer light up the forest at night to keep him safe.
Arrow was silent for a long breath, perhaps wondering why it was so important to this girl from a Barb and a Stilt. Finally he said, “I’m from here, the forest.”
“You grew up here?”
“Yes.”
“That would explain you knowing so much about the trees. But who do you live with and where? A group, or your parents?”
“I don’t have parents,” Arrow said, his eyes cast down.
“Oh. Sorry. Val and me don’t either. My mom died about a year after I was born. Then it was just me, Val, and Dad, but one day Dad went off to work and never came back.”
“That’s horrible,” Arrow said.
Petari shrugged. “Val had seen Luco’s group scouting the houses in our area, so we took up with them. It was nice of Luco and Storma to let us. Storma didn’t want to at first, but Luco convinced her. I understood. Not many groups want to add others, but Luco even allowed Rosaman and Ruthie in, and no one wants to have babies around. You probably know about that, though. So you live with a group? Where?”
Arrow shook his head. “I don’t have a group. I live with Curly and the Guardian. The Guardian taught me everything I know.”
Pride danced around Arrow, and I felt it in my cells, too. But this girl wouldn’t know who I was—and if Arrow told her, she wouldn’t understand. I should’ve prepared him for questions like these.
“What Guardian?” Petari asked.
“The Guardian of the forest. The mother tree.”
Petari’s mouth opened, but no words came out. After many breaths, she finally said, “The mother tree?”
Arrow nodded. “Yes. The mother tree.”
There was another pause, then the girl burst into laughter, shocking the parrots sitting on branches all around them. The birds flew into the air squawking and chattering so loudly, they could’ve been heard from far away.
And they were.
Footsteps came running. Two shoed feet, clomping heavily on the ground. I recognized their falls and wished I could warn Arrow, but he couldn’t hear me from that distance.
Unaware of the approaching danger, Arrow’s attention was only for Petari, and hurt had spilled from him after her laugh.
“Good one,” the girl said. “Living with a monkey and a tree that teaches you stuff. Right.” She breathed deeply. “But seriously, where—”
“Petari!”
Arrow and Petari whirled around.
Val glared at them. Rage spiked the earth beneath his feet.
13
IN THE SOUTHEAST, A PITCHER PLANT CAUGHT A BEETLE IN ONE OF ITS BRIGHT, CURVED FLOWERS. NUTRIENTS HAD BEEN POOR IN THE SOIL, AND THE NUTRIENTS IN THE BEETLE WOULD MAKE THE BUSH STRONGER. BUT THE PITCHER PLANT WAS TOO WEAK. ITS ROOTS SHRIVELED, THE TRUNK CRACKED, THE BRANCHES SHATTERED, AND THE FLOWERS DISINTEGRATED. THE BEETLE ESCAPED.
“Get over here.” Val waved for Petari to get behind him, as he held out a small knife toward Arrow. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”
Arrow froze, his eyes flicking between the boy and the knife, glinting in the sunlight. He’d seen knives before. I’d asked the monkeys to collect everything the Forest Dwellers had left in the village, including pots and knives. But Arrow had never seen one pointed at him. His nervousness dug into the dirt. Curly shrieked, then twisted into a ball on Arrow’s shoulder.
“What are you doing here?” Val asked again. “Answer me.”
“What are you doing here, Val?” Petari frowned at her brother. She still hadn’t moved from her spot next to Arrow, but her brother pulled her behind him.
“Protecting you. Luco said you’d gone to Mrs. Shalla’s. Do you know how worried I was when you didn’t come back? I went looking for you, saw those birds fly up, and heard you laughing. How could you be such a dust munch? Do you know anything about this kid?”
“Yes! I know plenty. And I don’t need you to protect—”
“Be quiet, Petari!” Val turned back to Arrow, his hand with the knife shaking a little. He didn’t want to harm my boy, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t. My roots dug in hard. “Are you a spy? Who are you with?”
“Val!” Petari ran between Arrow and her brother. “He’s not a spy. He lives in the forest. He’s the one who gave us the leaves that helped Ruthie.”
Val glanced between the boy and the girl, finally landing on Arrow with a confused face. “That was you?”
“This is Arrow,” Petari said, motioning to my boy. “Arrow, this is my dipster brother, Val.”
“Hi, Val.” Arrow’s voice was shaky, making my leaves curl with worry.
Val didn’t answer, but turned to Petari with a frown. “Just because he gave Ruthie that stuff doesn’t mean he’s nice. It doesn’t mean we can trust him.”
He did not trust either. Perhaps I had more in common with these humans than I knew. It seemed as though no one could trust another in this world.
Val leaned toward Arrow, who took a step backward. Curly unfurled a fist to shake at the herder.
Petari pushed Val back. “Stop treating me like I’m a baby who doesn’t know anything. Arrow spent the day showing me other leaves and stuff that can help us. It’s like medicine. And it’s just growing here.” She pulled her backpack around from her shoulder and opened it, showing him the bark and berries she had collected. “We don’t need to go on raids anymore.”
She saw the worth of this forest. Good, but I didn’t know if I could trust her to use it well. To protect it. Her brother did not seem the type to keep our secrets. He had already ventured beyond the village. How long before he would find the bridge?
Va
l narrowed his eyes. “Luco and Storma should know about this. You’re coming with us.”
“I have…” Arrow glanced at the sun. It squatted low in the sky now. He wouldn’t have time to fix the rainbow liquid today, and I worried how much more would spill overnight. Arrow barely had time to get home before darkness devoured the forest. He had to leave now. “I’ve got to go—”
Val thrust his shaking knife closer to my boy’s heart. My roots curled tighter. “I’m not letting you tell your group where we are so they can hurt us. You’re coming with me.”
“Val!” Petari’s voice pleaded with her brother. “Leave him alone.”
“It’s okay. I’ll go to the village.” Arrow stepped forward. What was he doing? Fear pounded the air around him, but also something else… hope.
But hope for what? I had no hope of good coming from this human herd.
Curly didn’t like this either. She shrieked, running down Arrow’s arm to the ground, then pulling at his ankle to follow her into a retreat.
“What’s that monkey doing?” Val asked.
“That’s Curly,” said Petari. “She’s cute. A bit testy when you first meet her, but she warms up.”
Arrow crouched next to Curly.
“They know where I can get more magic,” he whispered to the monkey.
Ahh, that was his plan. It had promise but was reckless. What if they didn’t let him go? What if he couldn’t get to the Burnt Circle to stop the flow of the rainbow liquid in the morning? What if he never came back?
Curly tugged harder, but Arrow held her paw gently. “Go home. I’ll be back before the sun is down. Tell the Guardian to watch the Burnt Circle.”
The monkey frowned, peering at the humans from around the side of Arrow. Then she turned and fled back toward me. Arrow watched her go, his feet drowning in anxiety.
I didn’t like this. Not him going with these humans nor him coming back in the dark.
“This way,” Val said, motioning to the village. Petari laughed.
“Arrow knows this place better than you know the Barbs,” she said, then followed her brother to the village.
Arrow Page 9
