Chloe and Me

Chapter 14

Chloe
" It's okay Lucy, Leo belongs in the wild." I try to comfort Lucy. She is balling her eyes out. Leo is still missing and it's still pouring with rain. I hope it will stop soon. "Hey, I've got a good idea, lets take your plaster off!" I've got no idea how to do this, but I think Juki might. "Hey, Juki, come here for a minute. " I call out to him. He climbs down the tree like a monkey and runs over. As soon as he sees our situation he pulls out a pocket knife. "I am not letting you cut me with that!" Lucy shrieks.
"I promise, I'll be super careful." I reassure her, crossing my fingers behind my back. After searching through the pocket knife finding a fork, sharp knife, a toothpick and a tiny pair of scissors I find the serrated knife. "Here goes!" I carefully saw down near her ankle where the plaster is weak. It comes of and I'm shocked at what I see. Her leg is incredibly pale! Compared to her now tanned skin it looks like a ghost! "Wow." Juki exclaims. I keep cutting and when I'm done, Lucy is shaking.
"I don't know if I want to try walking. " she says nervously. Lucy gets up anyway, leaning on my shoulder. She takes a tiny step and winces, then collapses...... "What is it?" I question. Have I made her leg worse by plastering it?!
"I'm sorry Chloe, but I don't think you fixed my leg. Look at it. " she cries. I bend down and take a good look, her leg is twisted and pale. I can't believe what I've done. We need to get rescued. I slowly crawl over to Lucy's chest and bury my head in it. The tears all down my face leaving salt paths.
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My eyes flicker open as I hear Juki's familiar voice. The sun is peeking through the trees above us. Lucy is lying in the same position as she went to sleep. I shake her awake as wonderful sight fills my eyes. Leo, yes Leo, is running towards us! "Leo! Leo! He's back!" Lucy sits up and screams. "Leo!!" She then winces. Her leg is still all twisted and crooked. Guilt fills my eyes. "Don't worry!" Lucy says looking at me. "Leo's back!" Leo nearly knocks us all over as he reaches the tepee. He whines and whines. He is so happy to see us! Jumping up and down Juki starts dancing. Lucy giggles, I giggle too and soon we are all cracking up and rolling around on the ground. Leo is licking our faces like they have chocolate on it! ( Not that I would ever feed my dog chocolate!) He is becoming like a dog!

The change in mood from about 5 minutes ago, has made my day. It's funny isn't it. A single moment can change everything. I think back to our time with Joe, she would love it here in the jungle but, we wouldn't be here if she was. We'd be back home. Home, I miss that word. Our home now is here. We have become jungle girls and we belong here in the jungle. I'll be glad when we go back home one day. If we do.
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"Where do you think he went?" Juki asks, referring to Leo. His English is getting a lot better. It's really great! "He could have been scared of the storm and come back after the rain stopped." Lucy suggests.
"Yeah. I agree. " I say. "I'm going to get some water from the river. " I lift up the empty water bowl and start walking down to the river bank. It's so lovely out here, sun shining through the green trees. Amazing. My daydreams are interrupted as I stumble and trip over a root. I land heavily on my side. A pain seers through my chest and I get up bravely taking deep breaths. I won't tell the others. They'll only worry. I brush the dirt of my top and carry on down to the river. I hear the familiar sound of Leo's paws behind me and sure enough I soon see Leo come up next to me. "Hey boy." I say. He licks my leg as I bend down to the water. I reckon he could tell I'd fallen. He's a wonder.