Amentia

Chapter 23 - A bond

The three of them lied back down to try to get some sleep for the remainder of the night, but there was too much on their minds to be able to plug themselves off. Tired of rolling around on hard ground, eventually the three of them sat up on the other side of the fire and watched the flames slowly die out until there was only ash. By then, the purple of the forest was starting to light up with the first few rays of sunshine. Zoe and Nati woke up shortly after.

Seeing as Nina wasn't about to mention how she'd fought the moth all on her own, Anna made sure to tell them, so at least they had some good news to think and talk about during breakfast. After Meiko did her morning tai chi routine, the group set off for the journey of the day.

"Please watch very closely where you step, don't make sudden movements and don't touch anything," Zoe warned them with a grave expression before they crossed a thick wall of trees and bushes that was the entrance of the shortcut they'd decided to take to get to the river sooner.

As they walked through the purple curtain of bushes, the world turned much darker, and it wasn't just because the day was partially cloudy. This part of the forest looked much more menacing. The trees were leafier and taller, and they were standing much closer together; the trunks were thrice the size of the ones they'd been seeing on the path until then and the sunlight barely made it to the ground. There was no path on the ground and the roots of the trees were thick as snakes. The low bushes had thorns and leaves of incredible sizes, some bigger than a human head, and Zoe said most of them were poisonous. The girls were walking in a line, with Zoe leading them and reminding them to step exactly where she did. She had not been exaggerating when she said the shortcut would be harder and dangerous. Sometimes Zoe had to stop and stay behind holding aside a low branch for the rest to walk past it before picking up the pace again; some plants had tricky defense mechanisms and Zoe was the only one who could override them. She spent the entire day whispering to the plants, asking for permission to pass unharmed or apologizing if anyone stepped where they shouldn't. Sometimes they stopped to let a snake or a group of huge brown rats pass by so they wouldn't alert them. And on top of it all, it was boiling hot in there, barely a breeze squeezing through the thick trees and bushes; the wind only blew high above them through the tops of the trees, almost as it were taunting them, or perhaps laughing at them. Not even Anna could convince it to let a few gusts reach them down there.

It was a stressful journey.

When they had a bit of room to walk side by side instead of in a line, Zoe told the group they could loosen up a little as long as they didn't touch any plants. So they had a few minutes when they could chat absentmindedly as they walked and feel a bit more relaxed. Nati and Anna began a conversation which started being about how Anna's power let her know when people are lying, and ended up being a discussion about Nati's unavoidable need to find rhyme and reason for everything. Natalia was both annoyed and energized by how easy it was for Anna to find the exact pressure points to make her tick while wearing a natural and effortless smile. It was the first time someone challenged her like this.

"I get it, though," said Anna. "I can imagine the comfort in knowing the inner works of things. I'm satisfied just knowing they work. That's why you're a psychologist and I'm a restaurant manager," she added lightheartedly.

Meiko was walking behind them to their right, dividing her attention between their conversation and where she stepped. She let her brain wander to the things Anna had told her about herself the night before, and she got distracted for just a split second. She tripped on a root, twisted her foot and started to fall sideways towards what seemed like a giant orchid. Upon sensing Meiko's body approaching it, the tall gorgeous flower immediately started stretching its petals towards its prey. A quick vine caught Meiko by the arm and kept her from falling face-first on the flower's mouth.

"That's a carnivorous plant," said Zoe, panting, as she pulled Meiko up by the vine and let it go back to its high place after Meiko was back on her feet. Meanwhile, the beautiful but deadly flower slowly returned to its original, seemingly dormant, position. "I know I said you could relax a little in this part, but don't take it too much to heart, please," she added in a harsher tone than she'd intended.

"I'm sorry," Meiko said, bowing, her hair falling towards her face.

Zoe turned away and returned her attention towards the ground. Her energy was draining minute by minute, as she had to be constantly attentive to not only the movement and behavior of the plants and animals around them but also the movement of the girls' feet to make sure they stayed on the path and didn't get eaten by carnivorous plants or bitten by snakes.

"Are you okay?" Anna asked Meiko, stretching her arm to put a hand on her shoulder.

Meiko shrugged and silently rejected Anna's gesture, kneeling forward to touch her ankle and check if she had sprained any muscles. Anna removed her hand and took a step back. She turned around to keep walking and found Nati's eyes giving her a sad look, the annoyance of their previous conversation all but gone. Anna showed her a kind smile for her worry and didn't hide the hurt from her eyes.

No one got distracted again after that. And there was no more conversation.

About an hour later, the mood changed immediately when they heard the sound of running water. Their spirits rose and hope was bright in their eyes. But the forest was still narrow and dangerous and they couldn't just make a run for it. They had to finish the final stretch of dark, menacing jungle with just as much care and precaution as they'd done so far. Hearing the sound of running water but not being able to run towards it was torture, but it was also a very effective incentive.

When they finally crossed the last bush between two trees, the dim sunlight hit them so abruptly it took them a minute to adjust their eyes. It had been seriously dark back there. But there it was, just three paces away.

Anna emitted a loud, screeching sound as she ran to the water whilst removing her shirt, shoes, socks and pants. By the time she reached the river she was fully naked, but this body of water was deep enough to cover everything.

Nina and Nati only removed their shoes and socks before running to the water, Nina giggling like a little girl as she ran, and they only undressed once the important parts were hidden under the water.

Zoe didn't seem to be in such a rush, since she took the time to undress, lay her clothes on a rock and walk to the water in a calm manner. Needless to say, there were stares, mostly from Anna and Nati, and mostly in pure admiration of Zoe's bright brown skin and perfect curves. Zoe walked to the water as if her state of undress was absolutely irrelevant; she had never minded her body much, like plants don't mind how they look as long as they can absorb water and light.

Meiko wasn't too excited to be naked in front of people, especially in front of Anna, a detail which bothered her. She hugged her torso, feeling very self-conscious. It took several minutes for the girls to convince her to go in, and they all promised they'd turn around and not look while she took her clothes off.

Since they were not in a hurry, they spent a couple of hours in the water, passing around the only soap that Nati had managed to take from the human village, which left them all smelling of strawberries. They leaned against rocks, enjoyed the sun shine on their faces when it came out from behind the clouds, and tried to relax as much as they could. They talked about everything they had been through in such a short amount of time and how absurd their situation was. They expressed their worries about what might happen in the future and let the release of those words calm them down. It was at least comforting knowing they weren't alone. And through this line of conversation, the subject slowly became more and more personal. Nina and Zoe opened up about their nightmares, telling every detail and letting the rest give opinions or advice.

There is something profoundly special in sharing our fears with our friends. When we show our wounds to other people and they understand and comfort us, and even find a way to make us laugh about it, the distance between us and them becomes considerably smaller and a bond is made that is not easily broken, as hardly anything can unite people more strongly than pain.