They stood under the boughs of the forest and gazed back at the meadow, its dazzling vistas of flowers framed by a golden sky. Clouds of insects droned over the grass, circling the flowers like moths to lanterns. Arul took a slow, deep breath.
I’ll miss the sun.
He took the lead and plunged into the Ancient Forest, fingering his bow, unsure of what he might find, his eyes adjusting to the murky light. Keeran kept so close to Arul that he kept bumping into him, eyes darting about nervously.
Arul tuned to Navira. ‘All OK?’
Navira bit her lower lip and furrowed her brow. ‘Lead on, Arul. I’ll keep an eye on Keeran.’ Arul turned away, hiding a curling smile. It was good to have Navira here.
The valley widened until he couldn’t see the surrounding mountains anymore. He craned his neck, looking up at the huge trees filling the land on either side of the road. Vines grew up massive tree trunks like giant snakes in the act of crushing their prey. On the floor of the forest, plants of every description struggled to survive in the never-ending twilight.
‘Don’t touch the shrubs with purple leaves,’ Arul said. ‘Poison. If it gets on your skin it’s bad news. Keeran shied away from the plant and covered his mouth. Arul sighed, ‘And you don’t need to hold your breath.’
Navira paused and tilted her head back. The boys followed her gaze and stared at the leafy canopy suspended a hundred feet above. Screeching echoed from the vast green ceiling, unseen amidst a maze of branches stretching for countless acres.
‘Smells funny,’ said Navira. ‘Like we’re living inside the soil, if you get my meaning.’
Arul laughed. ‘You mean it smells as though we’re inside something living?’ It felt that he had stepped into a living temple. A sanctuary from the outside world and a reminder of what the earth once was.
Untamed. Wild.
As the Sun dipped a little lower in the sky, the figure of a man walked to the forest entrance and peered into the jungle. A deep hood shadowed his face, his robes displaying signs of much wear. With a lowered head he reached out and put a hand on the nearest tree, as if listening to something very faint. The air stirred under the boughs like a deep sigh, the forest seeming to take a great breath. After standing motionless for some time, the stranger slipped into the darkening forest.
The teens made good progress in the failing light. The road itself was broad and straight, although the jungle had long since ruined the paving stones. They often stumbled on the uneven surface and needed to stay watchful. From time to time the trio had to walk around some monstrous tree that had grown onto the path, as though the forest intended to destroy every trace of man’s work.
They often stumbled on tree roots which crisscrossed the stone road like thick ropes. Haloes of light streamed through gaps in the canopy, tiny squirrels skittering across the great boughs. On the ground, startled forest deer bounded away with flashes of brown fur, huge eyes darting about nervously.
Soft green light filtered down through the leaves like falling rain. The unsettling thing was that they couldn’t tell the time of day. It was like being in a twilight without end. ‘We should reach a stream before dark. There’s a tree-platform not far from this road that Appa and I built three autumns ago.’
‘Let’s hope the monkeys haven’t taken it over,’ Keeran mumbled.
They reached the stream that Arul mentioned just as the light grew too dim to continue. Over the water the trees arched together like a living ceiling. ‘These trees wider than entire houses!’ Keeran said, blinking as though his eyes had deceived him. Emerald moss flowed around scattered boulders like a sea. They stood transfixed by the sound of flowing water. It was like thousands of tinkling bells ringing all at once.
‘This place is…’ Navira’s voice trailed off into a whisper.
‘It is, isn’t it?’ Arul replied with a soft smile. He knew what she was trying to say. It was beyond words.
The water was cool and clean, allowing them to refill their waterskins. With great relief they washed and drunk to their hearts’ content. Enormous red dragonflies buzzed over the water like flying gems, darting between the teens and startling Jaya.
‘This place isn’t so bad, Arul!’ Keeran shouted, his lanky body half submerged in the water like some oversize crab. ‘Your stories were scaring me!’ He laughed. Startled by the sudden noise, a flock of parrots flashed over them in an emerald cloud. Arul looked at him silently. Keeran had no idea of the terrors that inhabited the wild.
Just before the sun vanished, for a brief moment, brilliant shafts of yellow light filled the forest like shafts of gold. Jaya stood in the water, and snapped at a school of shimmering fish, scattering them like fireflies in the settling dusk.
Keeran and Navira silently gazed at the wondrous light as Arul found his bearings. Using the stream as a guide, he found the very same tree him and his Appa had used as a base two years ago. Perched high between forking branches, a log platform was barely visible amongst the leaves.
Darkness came fast, veiling the forest from their eyes. They ate a small meal of Navira’s crumbling idli rice cakes and gooseberries. The berries were rather tart and made them screw up their faces as they chewed. There was much to eat in the forest if one knew what to pick, but eating the wrong fruit could lead to a terrible death. Appa’s forester wisdom. Arul never forgot to heed that advice.
Keeran and Navira yawned, nodding off where they sat, thoroughly exhausted.
Arul stared up through the tree canopy, stargazing long after the others had nodded off. He fell into a troubled sleep, only to wake near midnight. It was almost pitch black on the forest floor, but overhead through a gap in the branches, he saw something wondrous. The glittering stars of the Seven Sages. He yawned and wondered what it would be like to fly all the way to the stars. Something in his soul yearned for the stars with an intensity that surprised him. He held his circular amulet and felt a very faint vibration coursing through it.
It felt good.
Comforting.
Amma, is that you?
Arul’s eyes closed, thoughts washing away like an outgoing tide in the dark.
Deep in the shadows across the stream stood an unmoving stranger in a hooded cloak. For a time he watched the teens high in their perch before moving out of sight. His cloak briefly opened as he turned. From his chest, a tiny light glowed with an unearthly flicker.