the ISLE

Safe Haven

With the morning came the songs of wild parakeets and cockatiels, waking Lantern from a restless slumber. Hazy memories clung tenaciously to his mind, refusing to fade into the vanishing night. Shouts of terror still echoed in his ears, blending with the furious howl of the wind and raging sea. Rubbing his face, he muttered sourly under his breath, forcing the memories away.

Blinking, he glanced around with a yawn, frowning at finding Nuri gone. Crawling from the shelter, he was about to call out when soft footsteps approached from behind. Nuri looked refreshed, and vibrant, smiling brightly at him while managing not to look him in the eye. Her arms were full of fruit, nuts, and some sort of plant that looked like a flower bulb with long flat leaves.

"Look, Jack!" She held out the bounty for him to see. "I found breakfast while you were sleeping."

Realizing how late it was he grinned sheepishly, trying not to let his worry show.

"Thank you, Nuri, but please, do not leave without waking me." Her expression fell so he softened his tone. "I want you to be safe."

Her reply was a shy smile and a quick nod. Eating breakfast together, Lantern encouraged her to teach him more. He wanted to know how to cook food her way, and what everything was called. This was a daily occupation for them, and under her patient, good-natured guidance he'd learned a lot. The passing days brought fluency, and he took hold of her native language, rarely mistaking a meaning or pronunciation. His childlike enthusiasm for knowledge was contagious and Nuri found teaching him a pleasant task.

On that last morning, Lantern stood quietly, taking in the panoramic view of the mountain, jungle, and vivid blue sky, but his mind was far from the beauty before him. He knew Nuri was tired, pushed to the edge of her physical ability, but he had kept urging her on. They were near the river, he could feel it in his blood, and they had to find it! It was here somewhere, running along the slopes of the mountains in front of them. There was no sign of human life, Nuri explained, her people never ventured this far into the mountains, for it was the realm of 'yang bergaris satu', the Striped One. She said it in a way that raised the hair on the back of his neck.

"What is yang begaris satu?" He'd wanted to know.

"He is a beast of mist, of darkness," Nuri's gestures were cryptic, her wide eyes swirling with emotion. "He stalks my people, picking off skilled hunters as though they were birds on a string. He enters our villages, stealing children from their beds at night. Like a phantom, he is never seen, but his tracks are the largest in the memory of the Aniaya, and his roar can be heard for miles.

"Appearing and disappearing at will, no hunter has ever successfully tracked him, though many had tried. The weeping in their homes is loud, for they do not return." Lantern did not have to ask if Nuri feared the tiger. It was obvious in her bright amber eyes.

"So, we will be careful in his domain," his suggestion was soft, with just the hint of a smile on his lips. Her nod was solemn, and she had not smiled in return.

The memory entered his mind as Lantern started down the hill knowing Nuri would fall in behind him. His hand found its way to the familiar hilt of his long knife, and he left it there, secure in his skill with the weapon. The smell of vegetation was in his nostrils, along with the distinct chill of cool air. Making their way to the bottom the pair reentered the dense jungle, thick fronds of large plants and vines tangling around their arms and feet as they pushed on. Several times Nuri pointed out sand pits, boggy circles in the jungle floor that were bottomless, sucking unfortunate victims swiftly to their deaths beneath the surface.

An eerie silence hung in the air, insect calls subdued, birds chirping barely loud enough to be heard. Lantern might have described it as oppressive, but his logical mind just couldn't concede to the notion that the jungle had a life of its own. A single glance back at his companion told him Nuri felt it too as if she knew the dense, damp terrain was alive. Sticking closer to him than normal, her expressive eyes were round and furtively looked toward every sound, every movement.