An Adventure on Senotheya
A companion short story to the A Collection of Scars trilogy
Row – “I saw the sun of morn,” – row – “she promised all good things,” – row – “I heard the morning lark,” – row – “a hopeful song she sings.”
Over fifty boys and men sitting in rows on the first lower deck of the ship pushed and pulled their oars in unison. Their voices lifted and lowered with their song’s melody, the tempo guiding them through their movement.
“Whoa!” yelled the bosun. He stood at the bow of the ship, peering through an opening at the front. The rowers stilled their movement and let the ship glide on its own.
Obi ran his forearm across his sopping forehead. The muscles in his arms ached from the long hard row across the channel. He knew they would recover quickly, though. After rowing on Captain Pirung’s ship for two years, he was very used to the demands of rowing day in and day out.
His neighbour, however, hadn’t yet acclimated to the work.
Ari was twelve, the same age as Obi. He had joined Pirung’s crew only a few weeks ago. He grimaced as he crossed his arms and massaged his forearms, his eyes wet and his lip fighting to jut forward.
Obi leaned closer to Ari and whispered, “You’ll get stronger. Getting across the channel is one of the hardest rows we do around here.” The sea between the mainland and the island was choppy and fierce.
Ari nodded without looking at Obi. Although they were the same age, surrounded predominantly by older teenagers and several men, the boys had only spoken a few times since Ari’s arrival on the ship.
One of the men struck up another song and the others joined in the callback phrase. They sang until their ship docked, at which point they all rose and lined up on the stairs to the upper deck.
The line moved slowly, but Obi patiently waited as it moved forward. As he emerged from the lower deck into the sunlight, he took in a deep breath of ocean air that was tinted with the scent of lush greenery.
The island of Senotheya was mountainous and covered in massive, broad-leafed trees. Boats and ships of all sizes scattered the ocean just off the shore, contributing to the fishing industry that provided livelihoods for many of the island’s inhabitants. The one other time Obi had been to the island, he tried seafood he had never seen before.
Obi nudged Ari in front of him in line. “What are you going to do today?”
“I’ll visit my family. Do you want to come meet them?”
WIth a shrug and a bit of surprise, Obi replied, “Sure.”
All Obi knew about Ari’s family was that he was the youngest of six children.
Captain Pirung and his first mate, the only other free person on the ship, were standing at the top of the gangplank. A chest laden with silver coins sat between them. At their turn, each sailor lined up in front of the first mate and presented him with a small cloth bag, which was then filled with a precise amount of ora and returned to them.
The captain was shouting instructions. “Back to the ship no later than dawn.” He noticed Ari receiving his coins from the first mate. “Young Ari. Will you visit your father today?”
Ari ducked his head a little. “Yes, Captain.”
“Very good.”
While Obi received his coins, Ari waited for him at the bottom of the gangplank. He soon joined Ari on land and asked, “How does it feel to be home?”
Ari’s eyes scanned the busy shore. “Fine,” he replied quietly.
Obi watched as Ari remained frozen on the spot. He finally said, “Should we go?”
Pulled from his stupor, Ari said, “Yes. Follow me.”
The two boys walked down the dock and stepped onto the dark brown dirt of the island. They went only a short way along the wide path that hosted the docks on one side and buildings and vendor stalls on the other. Ari then led them to a smaller path that went up a steep hill and into the jungle.
“Don’t touch anything,” Ari said.
“Why not?”
“It’s just easier if you don’t touch anything.”
With unease seeping along his skin, Obi followed Ari along the path. Although it was significantly smaller than the path along the busy shoreline, four people could still fit across. It rose up on a steep incline, and Obi had to lean forward to stay upright. Ari looked unphased by the hill.
Ari brushed away a frond that bowed into the path. It flung back into place, its large leaves rustling.
“How come you touched that one?” Obi asked.
“Because I know it’s not poisonous.”
Obi’s mouth dropped open. “You have poisonous plants here?”
“We have poisonous everything here. Didn’t you learn that last time the ship was here?”
“I mostly stayed on the shoreline,” Obi replied with a shrug.
“Probably for the best.”
They shifted to the side of the path as a man pulling a cart on wheels came down the hill. Three children ran past them up the hill, carrying sticks.
“You have a big family, right?” Obi asked to break the silence that had fallen between them.
“Four older brothers and an older sister.”
“Do they all live on Senotheya?”
“They all live with my parents, except for my oldest brother. He’s married. This way.”
Ari veered onto a three foot wide path where the trees and shrubs hung close. The jungle was even more hushed here.
They soon emerged into a grassy clearing with a large house that was raised off the ground on stilts. Chickens and ducks were scattered around the clearing.
“That’s strange,” Ari muttered as he walked towards the house.
“What’s strange?”
But Ari ignored Obi’s question. He climbed the steps up to the veranda and tried the door under the large awning. It opened easily. Ari called out for his family. Obi waited in the doorway as Ari moved through the house and called various names.
The front door was at the end of a hallway that was lined with empty doorways. The wood panelled walls were bare but for a few pieces of art that hung from strings hooked over nails.
As Ari returned to the front hallway, Obi asked, “Do you know where they could be?”
“I guess they could have gone to the shops. Usually someone stays home, though.”
Ari stepped outside and stood on the verandah, looking out over the yard. “Unless…” He suddenly leaped down the steps to the grass and started back to the path in the trees.
Obi quickly followed. “Unless what?” he called out. He followed Ari back to the main path on the hill and up another narrow way to another house in a clearing. There were two little girls playing there, and a woman unloading a cart. Ari greeted the woman in a language Obi couldn’t understand. She looked up and smiled at the boy.
“Arisenoth,” she said. “It is good to see you. I didn’t know your ship was coming in.”
“Neither did my family. Do you know where they went?”
Realization swept over the woman’s face, causing her mouth to drop open and her eyebrows to lift. “Oh, Ari, they went to the temple today. They left at dawn.”
“Is it a long trip?”
“Just a short one. I think they intend to come back sometime today or tonight. Your parents didn’t ask me to feed any of the animals. But I can feed you! And your friend.”
Ari’s weight shifted between his feet. “I’d really like to find my family. We’re only here until morning.”
The woman smiled kindly at Ari. “Of course, dear. You remember the way to the temple, yes? I’ll pack you some snacks. You know which way to avoid?”
“Yes, Elder.”
“And you know not to stop too long on the river?”
“Yes, Elder.”
“And which fruits you should and shouldn’t pick on the way?”
“Yes, Elder.”
“Good boy.” The woman grabbed Ari’s hand and patted it. “Now, come inside out of the sun while I pack you food. I suppose you’ve been behaving properly on your ship?” She eyed Ari’s copper collar that marked him as a slave. Obi wore one also. “And what is your friend’s name?”
“Yes, I’ve been behaving,” Ari replied. “This is Obi. He’s also on Pirung’s ship.”
“Captain Pirung,” the woman corrected Ari.
“Captain Pirung,” Ari replied in a voice so dry Obi couldn’t help but snort.
The woman’s gaze turned to Obi. “Were you caught stealing from the captain, too? Is that why you’re on that ship?”
Obi wasn’t yet privy to the reason Ari was enslaved on Pirung’s ship. Ari was the only person from the island nation on the crew.
“No, I didn’t steal from the captain,” Obi answered.
The woman’s eyes raised on her forehead again. “Something worse?”
She didn’t know. This woman didn’t know how slavery worked back in Obi’s home country of Harasa. She didn’t know about the Slavery Act that President Althu created less than ten years ago.
“I was enslaved for being an orphan,” Obi finally said, keeping calm but fiery eyes on Ari’s neighbour. “I’ll be enslaved until I’m of age.”
The woman’s brows now furrowed. “Is that how they help orphans where you’re from?”
Obi’s jaw grew tight, not from anger at the woman, but at his sadness and frustration with his situation. No, orphans were not helped in Harasa, they were persecuted.
Ari spoke in the island language. The woman answered him quietly and solemnly, then looked at Obi. “I’m sorry. Why don’t you two boys come inside?” She looked between the pair of them and shook her head with a sorrowful look on her face. “You’re just boys.”
As the woman led them to the house behind her, Obi glanced at Ari. He didn’t know what his crewmate had said to the woman, but Obi knew that Ari was helping him.
Within a few minutes, they were headed back down the path away from Ari’s neighbour’s house, each laden with a cloth satchel filled with snacks and a canteen. Once they emerged onto the main path, they continued up the steep hill.
“Thanks for whatever you said back there,” said Obi, “to get your neighbour to stop asking me questions.”
Ari gave Obi a quiet look. “You’re welcome. People around here don’t really understand the slave trade on the mainland.”
“Why are you a slave if there’s no slave trade on the island?”
Ari sighed. It wasn’t the exhausted panting Obi was emitting, but a dejected exhale. “You know Pirung. He’s fair, but he’s also strict. He caught me trying to steal supplies from the ship. He made me take him to my father, said the theft would be forgiven if I worked on his ship for two years. My father didn’t quite realize the work was as a slave.”
“You’re done in two years?” A small sense of grief gnawed at Obi’s insides.
“Yeah.” Ari had the decency to keep his eyes down.
Obi, who had already been enslaved on Pirung’s ship for two years, wouldn’t be free for another nine, as per the Slavery Act of Harasa. He knew he was in a better situation than many other slaves in Harasa, though. He didn’t know of any other slave master that gave their slaves spending money. Regardless of how fair his master was, Obi couldn’t help but feel jealous that Ari’s enslavement would be over before Obi was even halfway done his.
“So, where are we going?” Obi asked, anxious to change topics.
“To the temple,” Ari replied. “It’s at the top of this mountain. We go there to pray or leave an offering or meditate. That sort of stuff.”
“And is it dangerous to get there?”
“If you don’t know the way.”
It seemed to Obi the entire island was some sort of death trap if you didn’t know its intricacies.
Before long, Obi was digging in his satchel for his water canteen and a snack. As he took several large gulps of water, Ari said to him, “You’d better pace yourself. We have a ways to go still.”
Obi replaced the leather canteen into the satchel and pulled out a small rectangular package wrapped in a large, waxy leaf. “What do I do with this?”
“Open it up,” said Ari. “The rice should be sticky inside, so you can pick up pieces.”
Trying not to trip as he walked up the incline, Obi unwrapped the leaf to reveal a rectangle of rice. He had eaten rice before, just not in this presentation. Obi ripped off a small mound with his fingers and popped it into his mouth. He groaned with delight. The rice had a fruity, yet salty flavour that Obi had never experienced before. He noticed Ari smirking in his direction.
“Glad you like it,” Ari said.
“Have you tried it?” Obi teased. “It’s delicious!”
Ari chuckled, then leaned towards Obi and said quietly, “My mom’s is better.”
Obi grinned and gently jabbed a fist into Ari’s arm before taking another bite of the rice patty. “Your neighbour can cook for me any day.”
The incline eventually levelled out, and Obi’s quick-beating heart calmed. He could hear the rushing of water before he saw the river.
It was ten metres wide. The water moved swiftly and relentlessly. This was not a lazy river for play, but something far more ferocious.
Ari motioned to the boulders that scattered this portion of the river. “We use the rocks to cross, but you cannot stay still for too long. Cross quickly, but safely.”
“What happens if you move too slow?”
Ari thought about Obi’s question for a moment before finally saying, “I’ll tell you once we cross. Now, watch where I step.”
Moving lithely like a cat, Ari stepped and hopped from one boulder to another. He was across the roaring river within twenty seconds. From the opposite bank he called out to Obi, “You go!”
“Nobody thought to build a bridge?” Obi shouted.
“They’ve tried.”
This island was definitely a death-trap. Besides delicious rice, Obi saw no reason why anybody would choose to live here.
He stepped close to the riverbank, bent his knees, took a long deep breath, and stepped onto the first boulder. Then the next. And the one after.
Obi stood on the boulder in the middle of the rushing water and looked upriver. The mountain loomed above him, streaked with a misty waterfall. Obi turned and saw the ocean glittering below. Beyond the ocean, he could faintly see the mainland. Harasa. Home.
“Obi, keep moving!”
From the corner of his eye, Obi saw something moving towards him. Then something latched onto his arm and pierced his skin.
Obi shouted in pain and lost his balance. Before he could attend to whatever was biting him, he wobbled on the boulder, trying not to tumble into the rushing river. Another mystery object arched out of the water, past his body, and fell back into the river.
Obi finally regained his balance by hopping onto the next boulder in the series. He looked down and saw a foot-long fish with its mouth around his upper arm. Blood dripped from its teeth where they punctured Obi’s skin. The fish quickly released and bit back down to strengthen its grip on Obi, causing him to cry out in further pain. He tried shaking the fish off.
“Leave it!” Ari shouted. “Just get over here before more get you.”
As if on cue, more of the fish hopped out of the water, aimed for Obi. He swatted one away before racing over the other boulders and joining Ari on the riverbank.
“Get it off me!” Obi shouted.
Ari grabbed the fish’s wriggling tail end, then used his other hand to pinch its cheeks together until its teeth popped out of Obi’s skin. The fish had several rows of small pointed teeth. Ari swung his arms and threw the fish back into the river. The sound of its landing was overpowered by the already flowing water.
As he returned to Obi, Ari said, “That’s what happens when you move too slowly.”
“What kind of place is this?” Obi asked in horror. He was staring at the dozens of slits in his arm, each dripping with a little blood.
“I told you to hurry,” said Ari, sounding slightly apologetic.
“You didn’t tell me there were man-eating fish waiting to jump at me!”
“They’re not man-eating. They’re just annoying.”
“I’m wounded!”
Ari waved a dismissive hand at Obi. “You’ll be fine. Hold on.”
He scanned the treeline, then walked over to a bush with pink flowers on it. He removed one of the flowers, ripped the petals to pieces and mashed it between his hands, and walked back to the river. As if there weren’t toothy fish lurking in the water, Ari scooped up some water with his hand and continued rubbing the petals until they turned into a paste. He slathered the petal paste onto Ari’s arm.
“You still have your rice leaf?” he asked Obi.
Obi nodded and removed it from his satchel. Ari wrapped the leaf around Obi’s arm, twisting and folding the end on itself so it wouldn’t unravel.
“There.” Ari stepped back and nodded to Obi.
“Thanks,” Obi said quietly.
Ari started along the path again as he spoke. “One got my leg when I was eight years old. I thought I was going to die. My brothers all laughed at me.”
“I guess you could laugh at me, too, if you wanted,” Obi said sheepishly.
Ari only shrugged.
The jungle path took them upwards once more, and Obi was soon panting from the exertion. When Ari stopped walking suddenly, all Obi could think to do was to rest his hands on his thighs as he caught his breath.
Eventually, Obi asked, “Why’d we stop?” He looked up from his feet.
The path forked into two directions. Ari seemed to be internally debating which route to take. Obi recalled Ari himself saying the journey was dangerous if you didn’t know the way.
“You remember which way to go, right?” said Obi.
After a moment of silence, Ari said, unconvincingly, “Yes.”
“What happens if we go the wrong way?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do we die? Any man-eating plants out here? Giant stinging bugs?”
Ari didn’t reply to Obi’s sarcastic questions. He pointed to the left. “I think it’s this way.”
Obi looked down the path. It went up an even steeper incline than earlier. “What makes you think that?”
“I think I remember this steep bit.”
Obi sighed. “Alright, I trust you.” Even if they encountered a surprise challenge, Ari seemed to have a practical answer for everything in the jungle.
They started upwards. Within a few minutes, Obi was reaching for his canteen again. Ari plucked a small purple fruit from a tree without breaking stride.
“Here,” he said, tossing the fruit to Obi, who caught it. “That’ll help quench your thirst.”
Obi bit through the thin skin of the fruit, sending an eruption of sweet juice into his mouth. He worked his way around the core in just four bites.
“Can I toss this?” he asked, his mouth still full.
“Away from the path,” Ari replied.
Obi underhand tossed the fruit core and reached up for another. He had just taken his first bite when Ari shouted, “Stop!”
Obi froze, thinking there was something in the jungle about to attack them. Ari strode over. He snatched the fruit from Obi’s hand and examined it.
“Spit that out, now.”
“What?”
“Spit it out!”
Obi did as he was told, utterly confused. “What is it?”
“Spit out your saliva,” Ari ordered, “and then slosh some water in your mouth and spit that out, too.”
Obi spit, then reached once again for his canteen. “I don’t understand. I grabbed the same fruit you did.”
Ari plucked another fruit from a tree. He held his and Obi’s fruits in the palm of his hand. Ari’s was a smooth, untainted purple throughout. Obi’s had tiny black veins on the skin.
“Once they have these black marks, they’ve turned and gone poisonous,” Ari explained.
Obi’s mouth dropped open as he stared at the two fruits. “Well, why would it do that?”
“I need you to assume that everything in the jungle is trying to kill you,” Ari said, disregarding Obi’s question. “Because it probably is.”
“Then why do people even live here? At least Harasa is relatively safe as long as you can find a water source.”
Ari replied quietly. “Because it’s our home.” He turned and continued leading the way up the mountain.
Obi ran to catch up with Ari. “I’m sorry. It’s a beautiful island. And you love it here.”
“Thanks,” said Ari. He gave Obi a tight-lipped smile.
Obi waited only a few moments before asking, “So, why were you stealing from Captain Pirung?”
When Ari didn’t answer right away, Obi pressed. “Did your family need money for food?”
“No. I was being stupid.”
Obi waited for Ari to elaborate.
Ari sighed and said, “I have four older brothers. They all know their place in our family and on this island. My sister is special because she’s the only girl. I’m just the awkward, extra little brother.”
For the first time on their trek, Ari retrieved his canteen from his satchel and took a drink. He continued. “I was just angry all the time. I was getting on my mom’s nerves and getting into arguments with my dad, picking fights with my brothers. They never took the bait. I wanted to do something reckless. I don’t know what I thought that would get me. But I saw Pirung’s ship and thought there must be something interesting to take from there, and I just snuck on. I think my dad agreed to my punishment because it meant my family would get a break from me.”
A silence followed that weighed heavily on both boys. Although Obi knew Ari had shared something very personal with him, he also couldn’t help but feel jealous that Ari had a father to get into arguments with, and a mother to cause worry. His memory of his own parents were fuzzy and fading, but Obi couldn’t imagine them wanting to send him away for two years.
“I think they’ll be happy to see you today,” Obi finally said to break the silence.
“I hope so.”
A rustling in the trees caused Ari to stop and place his arm across Obi’s chest. Obi followed Ari’s gaze upward, but he couldn’t see anything besides the thick growth of massive leaves and purple fruit.
Ari’s eyes flicked from side to side, searching desperately. For what, Obi had no idea.
Assume everything in the jungle wants to kill you.
“Should we just run?” he whispered to Ari, but Ari shook his head, keeping his gaze on the thick jungle.
Something howled with a hoarse voice. The sound turned the sweat on Obi’s neck cold. Then came silence.
Ari pulled Obi along by his arm as he slowly and smoothly backed down the path. He held a finger to his lips to tell Obi to remain silent.
The trees rustled on the other side of the path, making Obi jump.
The thing howled again. Then another. And another. Whatever they were, they seemed to be talking to each other.
Suddenly, Ari said, “Oh no.”
“What ‘oh no?’”
Obi followed Ari’s gaze upwards. A large brown monkey with a colourful face was perched in a tree, staring down menacingly at the boys. Another monkey landed on the branch next to it. The second monkey hooted several times. The first monkey bared its massive teeth.
The branches at the tops of the trees moved so suddenly that Obi thought a gust of wind must have blown above his head, but when he turned to look, he saw more and more monkeys emerging from deep in the jungle, gathering closer to the path. Some remained in the trees. Some stood in the bushes on the ground, mere metres away.
Obi’s heart was pounding. Ari was still gently pulling him along the path. With every painfully slow step Obi took, he felt his fear spike. He waited for the monkeys to suddenly lunge at him and Ari.
From somewhere in the mob, one of the monkeys screeched. The call was returned, and several of the monkeys ran towards the boys.
With a firm tug on Obi’s arm, Ari yelled, “Run!”
It was the fastest Obi had ever run in his life.
The screeching escalated as more monkeys joined the chase. Many were racing down the path after the boys. When Obi looked up, he saw dozens of monkeys leaping through the trees. Each time they screeched and howled, they revealed their sharp teeth. Obi had no desire to find out if those teeth could bite through flesh.
A monkey launched itself from the bushes alongside the path and landed on Ari, who swerved from the sudden weight. Obi wrapped his arms around the monkey’s waist and ripped it away from Ari. He threw it to the ground as hard as he could. He turned to run, saw Ari on his hands and knees, and pulled Ari up to his feet by the back of his shirt.
Obi looked into Ari’s eyes. “Run!” Ari had a few deep scratches on his cheeks and forehead, but tending to them would have to wait.
They sprinted along the dirt-packed path, dodging protruding roots, and brushing past branches that extended onto the pathway.
The path suddenly ended. Obi and Ari were standing at the edge of a cliff, its face covered in trees.
“Where do we go?” Obi yelled, unable to hide the panic in his voice.
“I–I–I don’t know!”
Obi picked up a branch that had fallen to the ground some time ago and held it at the ready. “You don’t remember?”
“No, I mean we’re lost. I took us the wrong way.” There was desperate sorrow in Ari’s voice. “I’m sorry.”
A monkey ran forwards. Obi swung the branch and hit it directly on its side. The monkey yelped and hobbled away.
“Who’s next?” Obi shouted at the troop of monkeys. They were a little hesitant, now. That was fine by Obi. “Is there another way out of here?”
“No way but down,” Ari said.
The monkeys were starting to edge forward as one. Those in the trees were hurtling projectiles down at the boys–fruit. Obi picked up one of the fruits and hurled it at the monkeys just in front of him. They scattered briefly to dodge the projectile, then hissed at him. “Then let’s go down,” Obi said.
Ari gave Obi a wide-eyed look. “I don’t know how high this cliff is!”
Obi glanced over his shoulder at the tree tops below them. “We’ll climb down.”
“I don’t think we can climb faster than monkeys!”
The monkeys were all inching closer and closer, however, their teeth bared.
Obi sounded less confident as he said, “I don’t think we have another choice.”
A monkey in the front let out a howl, sending the mob running towards the boys. Obi took another swipe at the monkeys, connecting with a few of them, before sliding to the edge of the cliff and shimmying over as fast as he could. Ari was right next to him, eyes wide with fear.
In an attempt to lunge at the boys, some of the monkeys had leapt right over the cliff edge and plummeted into the tree line. The rest hung back at the edge, watching Obi and Ari climb downwards.
Rocks and crevices in the cliff face acted as hand and foot holds for the boys. Just a few feet below them, trees were growing sideways from the cliff. Obi lowered himself to a tree trunk first. He stood and held his arms out for balance, trying not to look down.
As Ari lowered himself onto the tree behind Obi, some of the monkeys still on the cliff began climbing down after them, their natural abilities becoming very apparent. They speedily and nimbly lowered themselves down the cliff face.
“Ari, hurry up!” Obi shouted.
“Why?”
A monkey launched itself through the air and landed on Ari’s shoulder, sending the boy falling forward to his hands and knees. The monkey was a whirlwind of flying limbs and sharp nails. Ari shrieked.
Temporarily forgetting he was suspended over a drop that could have been a thousand feet for all he knew, Obi raced down the tree trunk to help. He kicked the monkey on Ari’s back, sending it toppling to the treetops below. As he clung to the tree trunk with all four limbs, Ari’s grip began to slip and he started veering to the side of the tree trunk. Obi kneeled and grabbed Ari’s shoulders and pulled him upright.
Ari’s breath was shaky as he looked at Obi. Without a word, Obi extended his hand down to Ari, who took it. They helped each other upright, then dodged another monkey as it landed on the tree trunk next to them. More monkeys were clambering on, now, racing towards the boys.
“We have to jump,” said Obi.
“No way.”
“Now!”
Obi grabbed Ari’s arm and tugged him off the safety of the tree trunk as he leaped.
He thought he would vomit as his stomach flew into the back of his throat, and panic made every muscle in his body clench. It took Obi a moment to realize that he was screaming so hard his throat hurt.
The thick wall of greenery came zooming up towards them, then everything around them was a blur of green, brown, and black as they fell through the trees. Canopies marginally slowed their fall just before they burst through each layer. Sometimes Obi would clip a branch with an arm or a leg, sending shooting pain up and down the limb. They startled a flock of birds at one point, and a rainbow of colour shot past.
There came one last free fall during which Obi managed to notice the ground beneath them before landing in a bush. Finally, he was still.
And he was alive.
Obi gingerly removed himself from the bush, snapping twigs and giving himself a few more scratches as he did so. He looked upwards from where he and Ari fell. The large leaves above looked a little dishevelled, but overall fine. The jungle was certainly not to be trifled with. He looked around for Ari. Obi’s breath caught in his throat when he saw his companion lying on the ground, unmoving.
“Ari!” Obi dashed over and knelt next to Ari’s still body. His eyes were closed. Obi didn’t see any new gashes or a blood puddle. He bent over Ari’s face and listened.
A long, slow inhale.
Obi sighed with relief, then took Ari’s shoulders in his hands and gently shook him. “Wake up, Ari. Wake up. We made it.”
Ari’s eyelids fluttered before opening completely. He stared up at Obi in shock. “Are we alive?”
Obi couldn’t help but laugh. “We’re alive.” He shouted it again with glee. “We’re alive! That was incredible! Can you imagine what everyone is going to say when we tell them what happened today?”
“You saved my life,” Ari said quietly.
Obi’s celebratory mood waned and was replaced with embarrassment. “No, not really.”
“Yes. I was being attacked. Twice! And you saved me.”
Obi pursed his lips. He was sure Ari would have done the same for him, so he didn’t need to make a big deal out of it. He held out his hand to Ari, who was still lying on his back. “Well, what are friends for?”
Ari grinned, took Obi’s hand, and let him help him to his feet.
“How do you feel?” asked Obi.
“Not good.”
Obi chuckled. “Me neither.”
“I think I see a clearing this way,” Ari said, leading the way through the trees.
As the boys emerged from the tree line, dirty, scratched, and bruised, Ari gasped.
They had indeed found a clearing with a narrow path leading to a cave opening that was framed with the most beautiful flowers Obi had ever seen.
“What is it?” Obi asked.
“That’s the temple” said Ari. “We made it.”
“You found us a shortcut,” Obi said with a laugh.
“I’m not using that shortcut ever again.”
A group of people emerged from the cave and wound down the path. A middle-aged woman looked up in the boys’ direction. Her eyes narrowed. “Ari?”
Ari froze. His eyes were wide as he stared back at the woman.
She called out again. “Ari, is that you?”
The other members of the party looked towards the boys, trying to make out who was standing in the trees.
Obi whispered, “Is that your family?”
Ari nodded.
“You should probably go say hi, right?”
Ari nodded again.
His family was beckoning to him. The older woman started walking over.
“That’s my mom,” Ari said. He looked at Obi. “Would you like to meet her?”
Obi smiled. “You go say hi, first.”
Ari stepped out of the jungle and walked towards his mother, who cried out when she confirmed the boy in the trees was, in fact, her son. The rest of Ari’s family came down the path to meet him. A man Obi assumed was Ari’s father pulled Ari into a firm embrace.
After the family’s reunion was complete, Ari introduced Obi to them, Ari’s mother invited Obi to come to their home for the night, and they all set off back down the mountain.
At dawn the following day, Obi and Ari returned to Captain Pirung’s ship and regaled their shipmates with their adventure. Some of their shipmates were in awe, others were skeptical. Obi and Ari knew, though.
The boys were inseparable after that. Captain Pirung noticed that the two of them were always eating together, seated next to each other while rowing, and spending their free time together, even off-ship. Boys and men who joined the ship afterwards assumed the pair of them had been friends all their lives until told otherwise. And everyone who had heard Obi and Ari share their story from that day at Senotheya wondered if there was some truth to it, because how could an adventure like that not bond two young boys for life?
THE END