Into the Jungle: A Novella

Meet the Family

Ruby is a twelve-year-old girl who lives in the jungle. She's gained all her survival skills from her father, who's her role model. She's great at hunting and weaving and crafting, but at times, she'll wonder what it's like to live in other parts of the world where the government is controlling everything. This desire comes from the many American tourists who visit her jungle hoping to gain insight into the way she lives but also spreading news of their culture into the ears of the tribes.

Iris is Ruby's five-year-old sister. She's funny and still needs to learn that life is more than a game. Her favorite person is Ruby, and she loves to play with everything she gets her hands on.

Osmond is the girls' father. He's thirty-five and an expert in hunting and jungle living. He wanted at least one son but only had daughters, and his wife struggled with infertility. Osmond lives a quiet life away from his brothers and sisters after an incident happened which I'll explain later.

Viola is the girls' mother whose love and care rub off onto the family. She's about the same age as her husband. She's a wise jungle lady who mostly stays home to cook, farm, and make things. Her favorite hobby is weaving and crafting things like tables and chairs from bamboo.

Other characters not related to Ruby:
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Jade is a mid-aged mother of six kids. She lives among her three brothers and two sisters and all their kids. She's a good friend to Viola and often migrates alongside her.

Dr. Andrew is an American doctor who moved from Hawaii into the jungle because he felt it was God's calling. He was born in America. He used to be a pharmaceutical scientist but now uses his knowledge to make medicine for the tribes.

The Baxter Brothers are part of the Baxter tribe, another big family living close to Ruby, although, they don't live close all the time. Being friendly is their family tradition.
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The Garder Tribe is another family who are close friends with Ruby. A tragic incident happened to them due to a black lion attacking their camp. Ruby had known the Garder tribe since she was young and often played with their kids.​

Miscellaneous

Let's talk about clothing. Unlike real life, every tribe in my fictional world wears tee shirts or dresses. Where do they get their clothes? From tourists!

You might wonder what specific type of clothes my characters wear. I didn't want to go over that within the story lest I bore you. Here's a rundown: Ruby and Iris wear a fancy, short-sleeved shacket and shorts they recently obtained. It's brown, and I copied it from those safari wardrobes you see on TV. Their father wears an oversized tee shirt and denim shorts, both of which have tears. Their mother always wears a dress that's shaped like a tee shirt at the top. It stretches to her feet. A tourist brought her that, and many tribal women wear them.

As for shoes—they prefer bare feet.

Lastly, let's talk about race. Honestly, I didn't want to portray the race or location of my characters because . . . you know how all that goes. Think of Ruby however you like. The term 'jungle natives' is quite sufficient, so I'll leave you with that.
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The climate is always hot and rainy, but the family is used to it. If you were a tourist, it would burn you out!