Molly hadn’t been asleep long when she awoke from a strange, muddled dream in a panic. She could hear a strange tapping sound. Tap-tap-tap. Tap-tap-tap. Through the thin adjoining wall, she could hear Jonathan getting out of bed. He was talking to someone, and she could just make out the name Viktor. She wondered if Viktor had also come to look for Linorio.
Still half asleep, she heard Jonathan walk outside. She leapt out of bed and stumbled around in the dark, looking for her flashlight. She pushed her feet into her shoes, grabbed her satchel and dashed out of the hut into the cool night air. It was rare that Molly felt her years limit her movements, but she had found it increasingly hard to get going when she first woke up. She knew this was an emergency and cursed her slowness in the dark.
She reached the outer door and was just in time to see the shadows of two people as they turned the corner. It was Jonathan and a tall, lanky figure. She heard a distant laugh; the distinctive ha-ha-ho-ho-ho-huff-ha that could only be Viktor. But this person walked with a slight limp, and he had a twisted, club-like left foot. She knew it wasn’t Viktor.
Molly followed, moving as fast as she could, being careful to watch where she stepped in the dark. She wished she had done some of those yoga classes or something over the years.
“Come on, legs,” she urged herself. “You’ve got to get going a bit quicker than usual.” She willed herself to speed up and concentrated on her breath. She walked as fast as she could and turned the same corner, grateful they were now walking down a long, straight path. They would soon be at the edge of the village, and the trees ahead were dense. But the two figures had started to gain distance, and she knew she would never catch up. She called out “Jonathan! Jonathan!” Her voice pierced the night air and travelled into the dark. She called again and again, each time with more strength, desperate to reach her friend.
A light came on in a couple of the huts and dogs started to bark. She was half walking, half running but she felt like she was wading through treacle. A small, cinnamon-colored dog raced up to her and excitedly bounced up, as if he was waiting for instructions.
“Go to him, go and warn him,” she pleaded. The dog raced off after the two figures as if he knew exactly what to do. She pushed on, still desperately calling out. She saw the faint shadow of the young dog as he caught up with Jonathan and raced around him, barking loudly. Then he yelped, as if he had been hit, but she knew it wasn’t Jonathan who had struck out. Still the dog ran circles around him. The shadowy images were getting further and further away, but she caught a glimpse of the dog leaping up onto Jonathan before he yelped once more and collapsed. Molly saw Jonathan stop and turn with surprise, suddenly aware of the dog by his side. He bent down to stroke it.
The second figure had disappeared.
She finally reached Jonathan and gave him a huge hug. She had tears in her eyes but tried to stay calm. He was barefoot, wearing only the clothes he had slept in. She sat down on the path, pulled out a mapacho from her satchel, lit it and puffed smoke into the air.
“Hey, Molly. What are you doing up? I was having a stroll with Viktor. He invited me to see his house with a big comfy bed. I didn’t know he would be here. How did he get here so fast? And where did he disappear to all of a sudden? Where did this little dog come from? He’s so sweet, isn’t he?”
He picked up the dog and offered Molly an arm as support. He looked baffled about what had happened, but he was wide awake.
“It wasn’t Viktor! Thank goodness this little puppy woke you up,” said Molly. She puffed the rich smelling mapacho tobacco around them. Jonathan wondered what was going on.
Jamie and several others had woken up when they heard Molly’s calls and the barking. Jamie had run after them, and Jonathan told him briefly what had happened. “Let’s get back and I’ll explain,” Jamie said, as he led them back to their hut.
They sat on the wooden floor of Molly’s room and sipped water.
"It was a Chullachaqui, a Shapishico,” Jamie explained. “Some say they are a legend, but people who live here know they are real. Did you notice one foot was different to the other, and twisted? They are the spirits of the jungle, the guardians. But they are shape shifters. They change into someone you know and lead you into the jungle. That comfy bed? You would have woken up in the roots of some huge tree, in a bed of leaves, without a clue of where you were and hardly any chance of finding your way out of the jungle. They’re not bad; they just want to play. You were lucky Molly woke up.”
“It was a dream that woke me,” she said. “And then I heard the tapping.”
“Yes, that tap-tap-tap,” agreed Jonathan. “That’s what woke me, and then Viktor, well, what looked like Viktor, was there chatting away to me.”
“You two share this room from now on, and we’ll set up some more protection,” said Jamie. He went to Jonathan’s room and pulled the mattress and bedding into Molly’s. He went to his own house and reappeared with limes and garlic. He placed a lime and a garlic clove by the door, on the window ledge and at each end of the two beds. Jamie looked around and nodded to himself, satisfied the room was safe, and bid them goodnight. But without letting them know he made up a bed for himself on their porch, just to be sure.
Molly lit a mapacho and puffed smoke around the room. Jonathan watched, and wondered, but said nothing. She seemed to be in control.
“Protection,” Molly said, and anticipating Jonathan’s question on what they may need protection from, she quickly added, “It could be anything.”
“Let’s clean up those feet.” He had been walking barefoot in the dark, on the dirt road, and had a few nasty cuts on his feet. She reached into her satchel and pulled out the small bottle of alcohol and the sangre de grado antiseptic, ‘dragon’s blood’. The alcohol stung against the wounds, but the red liquid soothed. He slid into bed, relieved, and fell asleep immediately. The little dog curled up beside Jonathan, resting a paw lightly on his arm.
Molly let him sleep while she kept herself awake, watching and listening. She must stay alert. This was a new and strange environment for Jonathan. She concentrated on tuning in to this world again. It had been so many years. She connected once again with her jungle heart and started to relax. She began to feel at one with where they were, with an anticipation of adventure that both excited and terrified her at the same time.
It started to rain - heavy, tropical rain. She loved the sound of it, and the smell. An impressive storm was right on top of them, with flashes of lightning and a thunderclap that resounded around them.
The rain poured down until dawn, and she heard the wildlife start to awaken. The howler monkeys called in the distance; the birds and parrots chattered and shared the news of the night’s events. She felt safe to sleep a little now, knowing that day would break soon.
As Molly drifted off, Jonathan awoke and started getting ready for what he knew would be a long walk. He walked out onto the porch, and was surprised to see Jamie there, fast asleep and snoring. He looked out to see a small lake had surrounded their hut with the rain from the overnight storm. Over by the river, the tops of some bushes that had been visible the day before were now submerged by the rising water. He thought how strong and resistant everything had to be here. The magnificent trees in the safe, city parks back home looked dainty in comparison.