Boneca [Doll]

Chapter 19: The Forest

"Então... porque vens connosco?" [So... why are you coming with us?], da Graça crooned without any warning as Luuk clambered into the helicopter.

After the dramatics of the previous day, Luuk couldn't help but notice that Jona was giving him the cold shoulder. It bothered him more than he'd like to admit. So, today, he decided to interrogate Jona for an answer. He turned around, staring at him in the dim cabin and wondering why he was along for the ride. The thought of not having Jona in the village was generating an unexpected anxiety, and it was quite annoying. But Luuk couldn't pinpoint why.

He wasn't used to not having answers, so he quipped with a sly grin, "Well, it sounds explorative. And they promise a Wi-Fi connection in that village." He reached out and pulled Jona up onto the helicopter.

Their transportation was provided by the FUNAI base since taking the river would have been as outdated as dial-up internet and a waste of time.

"Explorative, huh? Is that even a real adjective?" Jona grabbed Luuk's arm when he stumbled, only to release it moments later.

"Doubting a linguist's vocabulary? That's almost as blasphemous as challenging God's texts," Luuk replied with a wink.

Jona slumped into the seat next to the door. "Why does it feel like God's always on your side and leaves me in the dust? It's absurd," he said plainly, out of nowhere.

"Why? God never abandons His children," Luuk retorted.

As the rotor blades carved through the cold air, Jona gazed out into the dark, and Luuk couldn't quite figure out what had put him in this state. He was sure he hadn't provoked him in any way. Jona had been different since yesterday. Luuk thought that his behavior that night shouldn't have spooked him. Unsolicitedly, the Amazon was teaching him that he wasn't as infallible as he believed.

Chaves, Alicia, Zack, and Michael boarded the helicopter, and the deafening noise of the rotor blades drowned out any conversation.

Throughout the journey, Luuk silently hoped for some sign that Jona wasn't upset with him, perhaps a smile or a bit of small talk. But even as the first light painted the horizon, Jona didn't spare him a glance. Even as the sunlight stung Luuk's eyes, Jona ignored him, engaging in conversation only with Chaves and Alicia.

A nagging voice from Luuk's ten-year-old self attempted to assert itself, trying to dominate his thoughts, just like that night. He was a timid presence Luuk didn't particularly enjoy entertaining. He closed his eyes and pushed him to the back of his mind.

Stop it. He's not Alex. You can't get attached to him, he reminded himself.

Luuk peered over Jona's shoulder and was instantly distracted by the view. "Holy Mother of God," he exclaimed, crossing himself. You didn't need to be an eco-activist to feel a lump of grief welling up in your throat. The jungle looked so vulnerable.

For miles, the landscape was a sea of blackish-green, stretching as far as the eye could see. A narrow brown river wound its way through the thick expanse of trees, heading away from their direction. However, on their far left, a massive, miles-wide semicircle of fire and smog billowed upward, heading north, a stark contrast to the white clouds in the sky. Beyond this fiery semicircle lay desolation—a warzone, a burial ground for the rainforest.

"This is the most deforested part of the Amazon," Chaves commented. "The forest around here is being cut down and burned at a rate of one soccer field per minute. Gold miners, farmers, and loggers are invading this place. There have been tens of thousands of fires set just this year to clear this part of the forest. Unfortunately, their invasion is overpowering the efforts to protect the jungle."

A heavy silence hung in the air for the rest of the journey. They continued flying for another half-hour to the south. Here, the landscape was dominated by misshapen plots of brown earth. It was a land of farmland and pastures, dotted with occasional banana and palm trees. Emaciated cows and numerous chickens gathered around watering holes.

They touched down on a small outpost on the outskirts of a village, surrounded by yellowed grass. The village chief and several others greeted them in Portuguese. They possessed the typical features of Amazonian indigenous people—deep brown eyes, broad noses, and tanned, weathered skin. The chief, stout with unkempt, jet-black hair, led the way.

Instead of huts made of leaves, their houses were constructed from cement blocks and wooden planks. They passed a small, single-room building that Luuk suspected was a school. The population was modest, numbering less than a hundred villagers.

"This is one of the most modern indigenous villages in the Amazon," the chief explained as they crossed a dusty lawn, with chickens scattered around. "A few years ago, we formed a partnership with Google Earth to monitor high-risk deforestation areas. Our work is contributing to the preservation of the rainforest." He pointed to a steel tower at the village's edge, roughly a hundred yards from where they had landed. "You could say we're the ones defending the jungle from the inside."

Luuk could see what he meant. A prominent structure rose from the ground on their left—a 12-story Wi-Fi tower. Luuk's fingers twitched, instinctively reaching for his phone, but he thought better of it. There was no need for anyone to witness any emotional drama between Alex and him.

After about ten minutes of discussing their itinerary inside the chief's house, sweat beaded on Luuk's skin. The two pedestal fans in the corners of the nondescript, dusty house were struggling against the scorching weather. The chief retrieved his phone and displayed Google Earth, showing them a small brown patch in the heart of the forest, where intruders were illegally mining gold. When they inquired about visiting the site, he warned it was dangerous, but he agreed to take them on a patrol around the area tomorrow.

As Luuk had expected, the villagers spoke in a language foreign to him, but most of them could communicate in Portuguese, making their conversations seamless. He didn't need to remind the child inside his head to stop whining each time he heard a foreign language.