Savannah

2

A Weird Ritual

Ralph awoke with excitement and rushed to the high bedroom window. He recalled the huge mad-bull kite he'd left flying last evening behind Savannah House. He parted the heavy drapes, held his hands over-inquisitive brown eyes, and peered upward, scanning the blue, sunny sky. Soon he saw it high in the distance, dancing with fluffy white clouds to welcome the gay dawn. He remained there a while, admiring his fine work. Then at minutes before 8:00 a.m., he ran downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast. He was starving.

"Mornin' Ralph. Early as usual."

The smell of cocoa-tea filled the fresh air, which came in through the opened window. Elma was busy making breakfast, concocting a multitude of flavorful aromas around her. She placed two large pieces of fried bake and two heaped pot-spoons of mouthwatering salt fish and tomatoes on a wide ceramic plate. Then she set it on the kitchen table next to a mug of warm cocoa tea, in the spot where he always sat. Ralph was the first to arrive for breakfast each morning.

"Hmm, I love fry bake and cocoa tea."

"Good boy, eat up then."

Within minutes, Ralph cleared his plate and downed his delicious cocoa tea. He always had a healthy appetite. Miss Elma was sure should he enter an eating competition, he'd emerge victorious. This morning, the object of his fascination was his mad-bull kite. He planned to add a sharp razor to make it sing louder.

When he reached the backyard, he discovered his kite's loose string on the dry, grassy ground, having fallen in the coconut fields. He followed the string's trail far off into the field and saw it hanging on a clump of overgrown bushes around a gigantic almond tree. As he proceeded, the sound of muffled male voices arrested his footsteps. He turned toward the southeast and tiptoed closer, peering through the verdant overgrowth. There was a brown Nissan Frontier parked on a nearby track that led toward the mud volcanoes on Savannah estate.

The van was unrecognizable. Ralph wondered why it was there. Estate and tour guides' vehicles were the only ones allowed there. It was neither. His eyes peeled southeast, as he wondered whether he was right to panic. Maybe it was just someone looking for coconuts or cocoa, he thought. Still, Ralph remained where he was, his eyes on them.

A slim, young Indo-Trinidadian man carried a crocus bag toward the opposite side of the grass-cut trail and placed it into a hole in the ground. Then a tall, lean middle-aged Venezuelan man emerged from the bushes and began shoveling soil into the hole. He soon covered the hole, stooped and began smoothening the soil. Ralph froze as panic seized his thoughts.

"Where to leave de marker?" The Venezuelan's English skills were excellent, Ralph thought.

"Leave it on de same side ah de track. But not near it."

"Alright, me do magi..."

As Ralph strained to hear, a twig snapped, making a noise. Startled, they looked around in his direction as he ducked. He prayed he was unnoticed, closing and opening his eyes, afraid to move an inch higher. He forced his knees to be still and his racing heart to slow. Sweat beaded his forehead and trickled to the sides of his flushed face. Time and the wind surrendered.

Ralph scanned his surroundings and spotted a small piece of wood nearby. He picked it up, stretched out his arms, and threw it as far right as possible. Cautiously raising his head, he saw the men running off in the sound's direction. His plan had worked brilliantly. They forgot the first sound and focused on the second. Ralph moved a couple meters to the left. He hid under a clump of overhanging vines on a medium-sized cocoa tree where he could see where they were digging.

Soon, they returned and walked approximately ten meters to the right of where they'd covered the hole. The Venezuelan man tied strips of yellow, red, and black cloth to a small tree trunk. Meanwhile, the Indo-Trinidadian man kneeled and cleared the dried leaves off the soil near the tree's base. The Venezuelan man rose, dug into his pocket for a small bottle, opened it and sprinkled a powdered substance before placing three coconuts over it.