Listening to Raimee and nodding, she repeated, "A small group is preparing to leave next week. He says he'll arrange for us to join them if you will speak to the River God on behalf of his daughter."
"Why me?"
She pointed to my sketch.
Waving his arm, Raimee encouraged Jhady to come out from behind the curtain where she'd been hiding. She hung her head, letting her long dark hair form a barrier. I could see enough of her face to observe tight, contorted skin around her nose and mouth.
As the date for departure approached, our nerves grew taught.
"What if it's not them?" Zelda worried.
"It has to be! Raimee recognized Elisa in my sketch."
"It doesn't look that much like her! If it is her, what are we going to say after all this time?"
"Hello? I've missed you?" I suggested with sarcasm.
"Should we take something as an offering?"
"If we don't, they might not let us go—" I smiled slowly. I knew what I was going to bring.
It would be a four-day trek into the jungle. We bought burros to haul our gear. Neither one of us believed that the other could hike that distance. I hoped those burros could carry people!
We headed out at dawn with guides at the front wielding long, thick blades, doing battling plant life. Zelda and I were the last stragglers in a group of twelve.
YOU ARE READING
The Shape of Water CONTINUED
Science Fiction3,500 words - Fan fiction continuing The Shape of Water love story. Picking up where the movie left off, Giles continues his narration as he and Zelda journey to South America in search of their friends.
