Nevermore

Chapter 4

I wake up to weak sunlight flitting through the doorway. A groan escapes my lips. I still don't feel as healthy as I should. My body aches from the fever's destruction, but I'm so hungry I could eat a horse! That's a good sign. 

Still, I comb my fingers through my hair and plait it into a braid. The chipped pitcher is sitting on the table, full of clear water. It's not hard to find a earthenware cup to drink from. When I've had my fill, I go to look for Roshan.

He's quite an elusive one, that's for certain. In the days I've spent here (six according to my dear host), he's been just out of sight. Sometimes I might find him in the garden, but as soon as I appear, he fashions an excuse to leave. Where he goes is a mystery. Although, I'm fairly certain the ventures into the dense jungle.

Either way, his absence is for the best. I don't have to explain myself to him. As long as he's away, I don't have to dwell on why I ran. I know my denial is untruthful, and irritating in the least. I can't tell him, though. 

I haven't decided where I will go. It's obvious I can't stay with Roshan. He may want me to stay, but he dosne't know what he's tangled himself in. If the guards manage to track me here, they'd assume the worst. Being caught with Indian royalty (the eldest heir of the king, no less), he'd be executed on the spot. 

If the risk of being caught isn't frightening enough, my mental state is. My episode in the forest was proof enough. There's a dark spot in my mind; a tumult of black and gray. I have learned to lock the gates to that beast, but if they break... I'm not sure what I would do. I don't trust myself to be completely sane.

I shake my head to clear the shadows. 

I'd love a bath. I haven't bathed in nearly a week, and my mud-caked skin is evidence enough. I can't imagine how I smell. No wonder why Roshan has been absent! He hasn't divulged where there might be water, but I'm sure I can manage. Even though I'm still a little weak, I'm restless. I'm ready to do something. I need time to sort through my next move. 

I pull myself to my feet, and walk through the opening in the clay walls. The sunlight is as benevolent as always. It does me good to bask in the glow for a while. The canopy is so dense, that sunlight rarely shines as potently as this. Roshan's small clearing allows for a break in the jungle.

The forest floor is soft with plush soil and a carpet of leaf decay. My bare feet pick their way among the damp. The occasional twig scratches against my toes, but I don't mind. The forest is alive with bird call, shivering ferns, and the far away chatter of primates. Once again, I'm blown away by the beauty here. Roshan didn't pick a bad place to live.

Roshan... I stare up into the tree tops to try to spot the orchids he spoke about. The shimmering green blurs as I continue walking. As silly as I look, I let my head crane back to look for a spot of magenta. I can't see any. The flower would prove to be as elusive as Roshan. 

I've been so mesmerized by my search, that I didn't even notice that the soil had become sand. The sand stretches under my feet towards a tiny stream. Sadly, this water isn't deep enough to wash in.

Deciding to follow the current, I step into the water and wade upstream. 

I've been slowly following the current for about twenty minutes. The water opens into a large pool surrounded by sun soaked rocks. I'm greeted by the tremendous roar of a waterfall. The torrent of water falls from a cliff that hangs about fifty feet in the air. 

I had no idea that the forest was fractured into a high point, and a low point. The top of the cliff is shaggy with trees. The mossy trunks break for the waterfall. 

I breathe a sigh of amazement.

Maybe I can ask Roshan how to climb up there! I thought I was content with exploring the jungle around his dear home, but know that I know there's more to see... I want desperately to explore more of this towering, mysterious world.