Her head itched with sweat. She couldn’t see any animals around. Just herself alone with the mossy trees. The big rocks were just ahead, maybe another two hundred feet.
The non-sound of someone alert for any noise she might make caused her concern to grow even more. It was the sound of nothing and something at the same time. Fear crept in, unwelcome, but there all the same.
Suddenly the jungle seemed to become a little muted, as if all the colors were running together into a pale green wall. There were no indications of an animal, no color variations. It was unusually quiet, the monkeys and birds had ceased their calls.
Annette tried desperately to put a sight to what she knew had to be there, somewhere near. It must be watching her. She looked but saw nothing.
The big rocks were just too far away. She settled for a bush instead. ‘Can it see me in here?’ she wondered as she held her breath, trying to not itch her tingling scalp.
‘No, this cover is no good.’ she took off again.
The game of cat and mouse continued. She glanced over to her right and saw an old tree with a hollowed out trunk.
Heart pounding in trepidation, Annette wiped the dripping sweat from her brow while weighing the distance versus the risk. After working up the nerve to expose herself she quickly ran a few feet away and squeezed herself inside the tree to wait it out.
‘It’ll pass by and go on.’ she told herself.
The vibrant green of the jungle returned.
‘I’m no threat to you.’ she wished she could tell it.
‘It. What was it?’ she wondered. Wouldn’t it be a jaguar or anaconda? No, a snake wouldn’t wait to attack like that. It was probably a jaguar but she thought they hunted at night.
Time passed. She listened. She cursed the humidity with her mind, her fine hairs were sticking to her forehead and neck. Her fingers numbly played with her buffalo bone ring though it gave no solace. Her view from inside the tree showed nothing but brilliant green tropical rain forest. In the far distance she could still see those big rocks. Nothing happened still.
‘I’m OK. I’ll wait a bit more. Oh thank you Mother Earth! Thank you for sending your creature on elsewhere far away from here.’ she prayed.
She peered into the sweltering forest once more and saw nothing. Annette shifted her weight to exit the tree. But just then a new feeling of sweaty dread shook her heart.
It was still hunting her, watching her from the tree cover. Hidden by the graying trees it had moved to get a better view of her.
‘Where is it?’ She froze, trying to become smaller, transparent to the world. ‘I have got to stop breathing, stop my heart. I’ve got to become a lifeless rock’ she desperately told herself. This animal intended to cause her death.
Now her hideout seemed brighter than the gray forest around her. Light was pouring out of the tree’s crevice she had barely fit into, beaming into a forest that should have been lit from the midday sun.
‘Where is this light coming from? Turn it off!’ Annette silently panicked. ‘If I’m going to survive this, I’ve got to work fast.’ There was no time for a pipe ceremony, no time for praying to the four directions of the earth.
‘Great Mother I need you right now!’ she prayed, ‘I need you to work this instant.’ Thinking up a confusion hex, she clumsily retrieved four sage-and-tobacco-covered dried cat hearts from her medicine bag.
The terror was mounting. Annette was worried that she had never performed instantly before; worried her magic would fail. She gripped the cat hearts with fury. Squeezing the terror from her eyes she entered her trance thinking of nothing but total confusion and she broadcast that command with all the power her mind could muster. In a final heroic moment self-preservation pushed the thought beyond her skull and out into the world with a sonic boom.
Time passed once more. Stiff from standing in her trance while crammed into the tree trunk, the Medicine Woman woke slowly to the hot afternoon sun.
‘Did it work?’ She wondered, listening for anything, any clue that might say otherwise.
The jungle birds were noisily going about their day, according to them there was nothing wrong.
Rubbing her neck, Annette remembered the time. ‘Oh damn! My plane! I’ve got to get out of here right now. Is it out there? I’ve got to get going!’ she exclaimed.
She listened once more but didn’t notice any hint of that terrible animal. Her confusion hex must have worked. The exciting thought of her medicine skills working and getting stronger gave Annette a renewed vigor for the walk back to her dirt bike.
After leaving the tree she loosened her vice-tight grip of the dried cat hearts, now moist and gummy from her sweaty palm. She realized now just how much Mother Earth shared with her. The spirits of all creatures sheltered her, bringing her ever closer to the Spirit World. Nothing but a Prayer of Thanksgiving would do. She dropped the cat hearts to the forest floor and wiped her hands off on her jeans. Annette pulled her pipe from her pocket, packed and lit it. With tobacco smoke encircling her she began to bury the instruments of her spell; returning them to Mother Earth so that one day she might use the cats’ spirits again. With a prayer of thanksgiving she started off.
Walking just a few yards, Annette paused when she saw a woman with dark long hair looking in some bushes.
The woman was intent on her search and not aware of Annette standing there. The fair woman was wearing a creamy satin lined robe. The robe’s lace and orange jewels were sewn into vague symbols that resembled letters of an archaic alphabet, Annette could not decipher the runes, nor recognize even the type of language it was. The cream colored robe was adorned with intricately carved ivory cabochons inset with distinctive luminescent fire opals, she had never seen their like.
Annette wondered what the woman was doing and why she hadn’t noticed her before. Maybe the woman saw that dangerous animal about to attack and scared it away.
She walked up to the woman. “Hello? Hi. Did you see a wild animal a moment ago? Did you scare it away?” Thinking the woman probably didn’t know English, Annette kindly smiled, spoke slowly, and used lots of hand gestures to expressively indicate, “My name is Annette. AH NET. Did you scare away a wild animal a moment ago?”
The woman looked up at Annette trying to discern if she was a friend or threat, she watched Annette’s every move. Apparently deciding on friend, she spoke. “No, there are no animals around here. I was about to eat a snack and I lost it. Where is my food?” The woman’s violet eyes hauntingly bore into Annette’s.
Annette assumed the woman was lost and traumatized. “Well, you must be hungry, let me help. We’ll look for your snack together.”
Annette looked on the ground and in the same bushes the woman had been looking at and saw nothing. She gave up “I’m sorry I don’t see it. Look, it’s going to be OK. I’ll help you. Here, take a drink of my water.” While the woman took a drink Annette continued “I’ve got a bike just over that hill, I can take you back to Manaus if you like, we will get you some food there.”
“Manaus? OK. I’ll go there.”
“Well let’s go then.” Annette scanned the trees one last time for the wild animal while the woman gave a last glance for her snack. Not finding anything, they took off; never seeing the green shiny bow camouflaged by the forest floor laying just a few yards from where they were.
Once back to town Annette found a restaurant with a patio and tables. “Let me go get us some food at the order window. I’ll be back.”
Annette brought some fried chicken and water back with her and sat down.
It was just a bit odd how unfamiliar the woman was with the normal way of things, she was dazed and muddled.
“So, what is your name?” Annette prompted.
“Kalara of Kynasteryx Ravyx”
“It’s nice to meet you Kalara, I’m glad I could help you get back.” Annette had never heard a name like that but she accepted it as a regional thing.
As they began to eat, Annette felt a subtle change
in the air. A shift that maybe Kalara didn’t need rescuing back in the forest.
A strange feeling came over Annette like when the last warm breeze of the summer blows by on a cool autumn day, she shivered.
With each bite Kalara seemed to be enjoying it more and more.
Trying not to stare, Annette stopped eating when Kalara started biting her chicken bones in half. With each crunch and painful-looking swallow the strange warm feeling increased in Annette until she came to identify it as a spirit energy growing from Kalara.
The sickening sound of the bones breaking and popping sent a new horror straight to Annette’s brain.
Aghast, Annette realized Kalara was the one hunting her. It was the woman sitting in front of her who had dimmed the forest and made the inside of that hollow tree glow. She was going to eat her!
Wide eyed, Annette jumped up and backed away, stumbling over chairs, not daring to take her eyes off the woman.
Kalara quizzically watched her and asked “What is it?”
Shear panic kept Annette from answering. The feeling of being hunted again prickled the hair on the back of her neck. What was Kalara planning by this deception? She must get away, fast.....“Oh shit! Oh shit!” Annette worried aloud.
She carelessly, stupidly, brought this monster into town; foolishly believing she was helping her. What kind of place is this? Shaking her head in disbelief, Annette spoke out with tears “I’ve got to get out of here!” Turning, Annette fled down the street and around a corner.
She kept running down another street and made two more corners to evade Kalara. Finding a doorway, she ducked in and held her breath, waiting for the air around her to glow again.
Waiting for what seemed like an eternity, nothing happened and the feeling of dread dissipated. ‘She didn’t chase me. Maybe she went after someone else.’ Annette thought.
Rubbing her well-worn ring, Annette relaxed and cursed herself for being so ridiculous. She needed to think, so she lit up her pipe and tried to attain normality again. Soon the smoke was thick in the air. She was better than this, she didn’t need to run. Her skill as a medicine woman protected her back in the jungle. She had won against Kalara, confused her, and she could do it again.
Whatever spirit had been aiding Kalara, it felt powerful. Aside from herself, Annette had never known anyone who was blessed enough to give off such a dynamic spirit energy. She must learn what she can from the Spirit that Kalara prayed to.
Annette resolved herself then and there to figure out Kalara’s mysterious power.
Wondering how long the confusion curse would last, Annette snuffed her pipe and doubled back towards the restaurant. She checked the time, dusk was setting in and soon she’d need to head to the airport. Kalara was still there across the street, not hurting anyone or making the world gray. Annette couldn’t think of any words to say as she drew near.
Cautiously, Annette stuck her hand in her medicine bag and closed her fist around the store of dried cat hearts. Keeping her hand on them, she circled around a couple of tables to approach from a better direction.
Kalara noticed her and looked up “What happened to you?”
“I, I must have had a reaction to the chicken. It wasn’t very good. Probably under cooked and laden with some Brazilian disease. I hope yours was better than mine.”
“I thought it was small and dried out.”
“So you are OK now that you are back in Manaus? Can you get home from here alright?”
“Yeah, I feel good. Just needed some food I guess. The thing is I don’t quite seem to remember how to get home. Isn’t that odd?”
Annette bluffed her reply. “No. Not at all. Your body was in survival mode. I’ve read where the mind can play tricks on you especially when you’re hungry. You’ll continue to have memory loss until the chemicals in your brain balance out again.”
“How long will that take?”
“I don’t know.”
“What should I do then?”
With all the cunning of a smiling fox Annette smoothly answered “Well, I normally would look after you since I’m the one that rescued you. Rescuers really should make sure their ward is safe before leaving them. It’s the right thing to do. You were in trouble when I found you and now you’re in more trouble of a different sort here in the unsafe city with nowhere to go at night. One could actually say I’m the reason you’re currently in trouble. I really thought by bringing you back to town you would be safe again. Can you not think of anyone to stay with until your memory returns?”
“No I can’t. What happened to me back there?”
“I didn’t see anything happen to you. You were like this when I found you. I’m sorry to say I can’t stay with you, I’m leaving the country in a few hours. I’m sorry, I really am.”
“I could go with you. Wouldn’t that be better than staying here alone with so much danger?”
“I suppose you could.”
Annette let the memory pass. It was time for action. The loudest and darkest night settled in around her as she prepared for tomorrow. She didn’t bother trying to be quiet and the beam from her flashlight hit everything around. Soon it would be dawn and she would be ready. She rustled through her pack, holding the light with her chin to find her latex gloves. Jeremy woke up and squinted at her.
“Be careful for the edge.”
“Got it.” she mumbled.
Before dawn Annette had the fern located and had her gloves on. In the back of the ledge, against the wall, she held a plastic bag with a bit of water from the waterfall in it and the little crystal. She sat there facing the pale quartzite wall but keeping one eye to the east. She carefully withdrew the rock fragment from the bag and placed her other hand on the fern that she had already weakened for fast removal.
She waited.
Jeremy asked “What are you doing?”
“Quiet! Turn away from me. DON’T LOOK AT THIS WALL! I mean it. Don’t piss me off!”
She waited and heard the rock climbing guide roll over.
“Good. Now close your eyes until the sun comes up. DO IT!”
Jeremy closed his eyes. ‘What a weirdo’ he thought to himself.
The dawn rays gave their soft light, the mist was there. Annette closed her eyes, pulled the fern away and placed the crystal in its hole. Then she felt the rock wall, it was still there.
She waited with her hands against the wall.
The sun was fully up. It had been an hour or more and the wall was still there. Annette peeked. Nothing had changed. “DAMN IT!”
She stood up and dusted off her butt. “You can get up now. Open your eyes, let’s eat.” She moved over to the tent area.
“This is the craziest adventure.” Jeremy said under his breath as he wiped the sleep from his face. He couldn’t wait to tell the guys.
“Please don’t bite my head off, but what were you doing?”
“A test, nothing more.”
He noticed she didn’t look at him, but kept her eyes on that rock as she sat down.
“What do you think that rock is gonna do?”
“It’s going to disappear.”
Jeremy rolled his eyes and wondered what was in her pipe.
Another couple of hours went by and the rock wasn’t fading away. Annette just kept watching the wall, her back to the forest. Jeremy couldn’t figure her out, most people would be enjoying the view. He started packing up.
Annette didn’t turn her head to say “We aren’t leaving.”
“One night, that is what you paid for lady. We need to start heading down now so we don’t miss the helicopter.”
“If you try to leave you’ll find out that smelly cream is not the worse thing in the world.”
Jeremy kept packing. He half-jokingly threatened, “If you don’t come, I’m leaving you here.”
Annette started chanting.
“Now don’t do that,” he pleaded nicely “come on, we’ve got work to do.”
When the cursing chant ended Annette lit
up her pipe and inhaled deeply, then pulled the pipe from her mouth. The smoke started curling upwards and Annette caught it between her fingers. She began wrapping the enchanted smoke around her pipe and then laid it down on the black rock.
Then Jeremy’s gear attacked him. He screamed in shock as it started wrapping tightly around him. The ropes took him to the ground, immobilizing him. “What the hell!??!?!! Let me go!”
“Do you understand now? I said we’re staying.”
He nodded, “Yeah, sure.”
“That’s better.” Annette said. She picked up her pipe and released him.
She was frustrated. Annette knew the Great Spirit was allowing her to find Kalara, the rock should have opened up. It was time to do something different.
Annette put on her latex gloves, took Jeremy’s tent and cut a large piece from it to resemble the wall before them. She then wadded up the thin piece of tent fabric and dropped it into the plastic bag that held the water from the waterfall. She wasn’t sure why that particular water was needed but Mother Earth had been specific about it.
The plastic bag holding the small piece of fabric became the center of the circle. And there in the rain, high above the jungle on the black ledge, Annette began a ceremony of blessing. With Jeremy’s sudden and unplanned conversion to the faith of the Great Spirit, they both danced and chanted around the bag.
When the ceremony of blessing was over, Annette grabbed a chocolate bar and had Jeremy melt it while she smoked her pipe. They had to wait for the rain to stop anyway. When it finally did the sun was low and they went into action.
Jeremy started drying off a spot on the wall and then Annette, still wearing her gloves, removed the little fabric “wall” from the plastic bag and used the chocolate for glue to stick it to the real rock wall in front of them. Then they both sat there cross-legged, facing the rock wall. Jeremy handed Annette his climber’s chalk and she dusted the tent fabric wall with it.
Most oddly, Jeremy noticed, there was only one little spot on the fabric that the chalk would stick to. Annette took out her pocket knife and cut the chalked spot almost completely out, leaving a small section intact to be a hinge. With her gloved fingers, Annette carefully pulled the spot, swinging it open like a door.
The Cursed Dragon Page 23
