Captive [malexmale]

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Much to my relief, Mika came back, for the next three days.

He always showed up right after I was done rinsing off in the morning under the waterfalls, carrying his little leather bag full of trinkets, and a basket of fruit, nuts, and mushrooms in his hands. He'd greet me in that strange language, and I'd just respond in English. He seemed to understand some things by my tone of voice, so he'd nod or wrinkle his nose at a few things. He would bring his things over to the dry part of the rocks and set up a fire for me.

After that, he'd take out his net and drop it in the spring to catch some fish. Then we'd sit by the fire and he'd just talk and talk, like he had all the time in the world. He mentioned the name Makatli a lot, the more I listened. I caught a few more names, or what sounded like names to me anyway. Names like Mikoti and Tikuko. I had no idea who these people were, but Mika seemed to have mixed feelings about them. Sometimes he'd speak of them fondly with smiles and laughter, other times he'd spit their names like curses and sharpen his knife angrily.

Occasionally, he'd get fed up with me too. The kid had a temper. I had no idea what he was saying, but he got frustrated easily with the language barrier and would stop talking to me altogether to turn his back to me completely. He didn't stay angry for long, though. He'd begrudgingly turn back around and go back to talking, mostly ranting.

But never once did he give any indication that I could meet his people. I was like the secret pet he was keeping at the park. It wasn't fair. While I was grateful for Mika's help, I was also frustrated that I couldn't get to people who might be able to help me. It was a constant inner battle to decide whether I should follow him home some night or just continue like this, but could this really go on for long?

I couldn't live another thirty years like this, if I lasted that long anyway. I needed to find help, find a way to get home. And the only hope I had was Mika and his people, but he wouldn't let me go with him. Was he sure they would hurt me? Was that it? Or was he just possessive? I couldn't be sure and asking him was useless. The language barrier just made things infinitely more difficult.

And I'm pretty sure half the time, he was insulting me because he would give me these looks that I used to get from people in high school. Like I was the dumbest box of rocks he'd ever known.

On the third day, though, Mika brought me a bracelet back. A thin leather braided bracelet with clear beads every few centimeters around. Even more amazing was that what I thought was paint blended into the clear beads, I soon discovered were little green leaves trapped in the glass. It was pretty neat, so I gave up being angry at him for the day as he taught me to tie the bracelet with some kind of slip knot.

He went to the spring and fetched our fish, coming back to clean and slice it up. This time, he stuck the slices on sticks like a shish kabob. Then he added a couple pieces of mango and a mushroom. It was delicious and nodded my thanks to him. He shook his head at me, took a bite of his food and stuck the stick between his feet to hold it still while he clasped his hands together just under his chin and then moved them out toward me in a quick movement. For a moment, I wasn't sure what he meant until he waved for me to put my food down. I did as he asked, then copied his movements when he showed me again. He smiled and spoke in his language, probably trying to explain the movement, but I had no idea what he was saying.

I just guessed it was their way of saying thank you, so I played along and we went back to eating. Once we were finished, Mika made an indication that I stay put while he went to get us more food. I watched him pick up his knife and bag before heading off through the forest. I hesitated, watching him go, looking around before getting to my feet slowly.