The Shipwreck

Chapter 11

I followed her movements as she got back to the cave. Curiously I looked at her, hoping she'll open up to me by herself, that she trusted me enough. But the worried expression on her face disappeared the minute she looked at me.
"Good morning, did you sleep well?" she asked.
I was surprised that she didn't mention the strange man and qthat made me doubt her sincerity.
"I slept well. I was just surprised to not wake up in your arms. Where did you go?" I could tell that this question made her anxious and as if a million things went through her mind to come up with a believable answer.
"I went out for a walk", she said in a soft yet firm tone.
I was stunned that this beautiful woman was hiding what I saw with my own eyes, but I decided to keep it to myself and just shrug my shoulders.
I grabbed my belongings and stood up.
"Where are you going?" she asked following my movements with her eyes. I wanted to tell her that I was going to look for my father, but for whatever reason I felt hesitant about telling her the truth.

I left the cave without looking back, she didn't even have the chance to utter a word. I ran away like a thief, even though I was the one who was being mistreated. So I did the first thing that came up to my mind, go away. I had been wasting my time on some savage woman I didn't even know and completely forgot about my father; how nice of me. I should have known, someone who has been living in the wild couldn't possibly know anything about trust, loyalty and love. Ugh! Look at me, I was already thinking about love, and where did that bring me? To me being kept in the dark about God knows what and being clueless about my father's whereabouts. I needed to find him, he was the only thing left of my family. I had promised to my mother that the two of us would always be together. And there I was, I failed her.
I made my way through the jungle, without even knowing where I was going for every place looked exactly the same. It was like I kept walking in circle, finding myself at the starting point. Something didn't click right, though. I had the strange sensation that someone was following me, without taking their stare off of me. I thought it would have been her, since I left the cave in such a hurry, somehow I hoped she would.
I brushed the thoughts off and focused on finding a way to look for my father, but truth be told, I didn't know anything about that island, the only one who could have actually known something was him, as he was starting to draw a map; but he wasn't there. So, I tried to start from a place I knew. The temple. It was visible from where I stood, I would have used it as a point of reference and started from there.
It looked even bigger than what I remembered. And it was amazing in its whole majesty. I stared at the entrance and read the inscription that by then I knew by heart: Pnr tve bae dak muoy nung phlasa btau r piphoplok. The double color, if put in one, will change the world. She told me she was the double color, and left it at that. She didn't even finish the whole story, and I wondered if anything she told me was actually true. I was starting to doubt everything. Even myself, for I could have sworn that I saw a human shadow by the right side of the temple, but I blamed the heat. I had forgotten my hat at the cave. Somehow, I took it as a sign, and decided to take the path that was exactly on the right side. What harm could that do to me? I was already lost, I could have as well jumped into hell by myself.

I walked and walked, not caring about the sweat covering my face, it was hot as hell, indeed. The jungle seemed to be closing up on me, everything was darker, and silent. A silence that could be actually helpful for that way I could be able to hear any weird sound and find a way to hide somewhere. And hiding spots were everywhere around me, that wouldn't have been a problem.
I stopped and took in the view. It was amazing, I was surrounded by the most primordial wildlife. Everything there was the way it was born, no human hand touching it. Everything kept in check by nature itself. I looked up and the sunshine was barely visible, for I was actually very deep in the jungle, it was scary but also soothing. I loved how the trees around me reached for the sky, to be able to get as much light as they could to be able to keep their circle of life. To be able to stay there and protect that sacred place.
The peace was soon disturbed by a cracking sound coming not very far from me. I had been hearing those sounds during the whole walk, but I decided not to acknowledge them for it could have been my imagination, but since I was alone, and the surroundings were calm and silent, I could indeed feel a presence near. And my mind went back to her once again.
"You can stop hiding and following me!" I snapped, letting out my frustration. I was annoyed, for she had the nerve to follow me. What was the point in doing that, if she didn't even care to tell me to stop when I left the cave. I started turning around but a sharp pain in my nape made me lose consciousness.

"Shhh, let her be, she will wake up when she feels like it"
"Are you sure she's okay?"
"She's breathing, right?"
"I said, hush!"
"Oh, please, I'm worried"
"You weren't so worried when you ran for you life out of the temple when we came on this island"
"Oh, shut up, you jackass!"
"I said hush!"
I heard whispers around me, but I couldn't open my eyes. It all came confused, I couldn't actually grasp who was talking, and to whom. The weird thing was this kind of echo that surrounded the voices. The air seemed heavy, and my state of unconsciousness didn't help either.
"Shh! She's moving" the voice that kept hushing the others said. It sounded familiar.
"There she is, she's opening her eyes" the voice became clearer. "My baby girl"
It was my father! I had found my father. Or, well, somehow I got there and I actually didn't know how.
"Ow!" I winced, as I tried to sit up, holding the back of my head.
"Easy, honey, you got a very bad bump right there"
"Oh, yeah, I can feel that" I said, sounding groggy. I brushed the blurriness off of my eyes and took in the surroundings. "Where the fuck are we?"
"What's with these words, lady?" my father chuckled. He looked tired, worried and relieved all at the same time. He was happy to see me. And I was happy to look at him, still breathing, with his calming and fatherly look in his eyes.
"Sorry..." I smiled. "I'm just confused. Are we in a cell?" I squinted my eyes. We were in a little rectangular room, the walls all made of rock and some torched kept the place illuminated. I could see that a metallic grate was keeping us from leaving the place. It looked indeed like a cell.
"Apparently this island is occupied by savages" Henry said with a smirk. I might have agreed with him if he wasn't such an idiot. So, I decided to ignore him and roll my eyes. I waited for some explanation from my father.
"We were at the camp and these people suddenly came and took us" he started. "They didn't look hostile, at first. I tried to talk to them, to let them see we aren't here to cause any harm, but it's hard to communicate with them" he added.
"How did they look?" I asked, pensive.
"Well, a Jungle Book kind of people" he chuckled. "There was this giant guy, though, he didn't really look like the rest of them. I only know that he was big, and had a very deep voice.
My blood froze. I blinked more than once at that.
"Are you okay, honey?" my father asked worried. "You look as if you have seen a ghost"
I blinked some more. And I gulped. "No, I am fine. Go ahead"
"I didn't really see where they took us, for they covered our eyes–" he stopped abruptly. "Shh, someone is coming"
We all turned around and I saw a familiar figured approaching.
"Are you okay?!" she asked with hurry in her voice. Was that real apprehension on her face? Well, I didn't care. Not minding the pain in my head, I got up faster than I could and grabbed her by the collar of her vest and with the strength I didn't know I had I pulled her making her bang her forehead against the grate.
"You are a fucking-huge-big-fucking-asshole!" I screamed. She looked at me stunned, and stunned must have been the faces of the people behind my back.
"This was you! It has always been you. What the hell was I thinking!" I panted. I could see her eyes burning a hole into me, and I almost gave in for a kiss, but I was fuming! Her people brought my father there, and she knew. She knew it all from the start.