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A universal sigh emanated from the group as they reached the treehouse. “Welcome to Treetops, as we like to call it.”
Kendra hung off the wooden frame of the rope ladder and indicated upwards. The hut had been built within the arms of several trees in a small clearing that revealed the sky. A single room, sleeping up to six people, it wasn’t too tight a squeeze. But that was the fun of it. It brought back memories of camping as a child for some guests, and for others, it was a novelty. One by one, they climbed the ladder and entered the cabin. And then, as always happened after the thrill of the trek, the women started chattering excitedly as they attached their mosquito nets and set out their beds. She watched Sarah’s shoulders rise and fall on a deep breath and she smiled as she took up her space on the floor.
“Well done, everyone,” she said, not lifting her gaze from Sarah. She put her rucksack next to Sarah’s.
“I need to get to sleep before I think too hard about what might crawl across me in the night,” Sarah said and unpacked her roll mat and fixed her net. She sat on the mat with her back to the timber wall.
Kendra smiled. “It’s nature at its best,” she said.
“It was the most frightening thing I’ve ever experienced.”
“You did incredibly well for someone who doesn’t like critters.”
“I like the darkness even less,” Sarah said.
Kendra widened her eyes. “I didn’t know that. It’s like a black hole in here. If you look out the window now, you can catch the sky though. Maybe that will help.” She loved being in the treehouse and staring out. The noises drew her in, soothing her with its unique rhythm, and exciting her with the unseen world it revealed.
Sarah turned her head and stared towards the opening. “Thanks.”
“Want a whisky?”
“Please.”
“Anyone else for a whisky?” She heard three say yes before she’d finished the sentence. She took the bottle and cups out of her rucksack and poured them all a large drink. It would likely knock them out after the excitement of the trek. Sarah sipped her drink. “Better?”
“Much. Thanks.”
“Listen to it, Sarah. Isn’t it incredible when you think of the biodiversity that’s thriving here?”
Sarah stared out for some time, and Kendra wondered if she’d heard her.
“It is spectacular,” Sarah said softly. “I’ve never seen anything like it. The kinds of things we went on as students and the projects in the UK the government has funded are nothing by comparison. This has really opened my eyes.”
The whisky warmed Kendra but didn’t dampen the excitement she had for the place or for Sarah. The other women’s voices faded around them, even though they were close enough to touch. “There are hundreds of projects like these, thousands even, across the planet. Projects that are repairing the damage we’ve caused. And they’re creating sustainable livelihoods. I love it. It’s everything I wanted to be a part of. I just thought I could do this stuff in England. But the UK is too far behind.” Sarah gave her a thin-lipped smile that Kendra couldn’t read.
“You’re such a good person, Kenny.”
Kendra lowered her head. She just did what she did, what she loved, and what she believed in. She didn’t feel like a good person, just someone making their way in what was proving to be a challenging life. Especially when it came to love.
Sarah held out her empty cup. “Last one, and I need to sleep.”
Kendra poured her a long drink and smiled. She lifted her cup in a toast and knocked back her drink. She laid very still on her mat, mindful of not reaching out in the night in case her subconscious tried to satisfy her craving in the fog of sleep. “Good night, Sarah,” she said and lay awake until the sounds of their breathing inside the hut became one long slow ebb and flow. She turned towards Sarah and studied her in the moonlight. The tenderness she felt had blossomed seeing her vulnerability and her strength, and she ached to hold her. Was she building on a false sense of hope, that Sarah might see this place as she did and not want to leave? She would never ask Sarah to give up everything she’d worked towards to be with her. How could she? She reached beneath the netting and touched Sarah’s arm gently so as not to disturb her. Her eyes stung with fatigue, and she stared at her until the comfort of the contact eased her eyes closed.
29.
THE ARCHED ENTRANCE SHIELDEDthem from the sun as Kendra rowed into the cave at the base of the karst. Sarah laid back in the canoe, with the top of the arch just inches above her head. The darkness was soft on her eyes. The cooler air reached deeper into her lungs, and her skin breathed more easily. Kendra eased the canoe along the short passage and out the other side. She stopped in the shallower water close to the edge of a beach.
The view took Sarah’s breath away, and she remained motionless in the canoe, though Kendra held her hand out to her. She’d never imagined that paradise existed inside the striking karsts that she’d sailed past. Her eyes watered, and her body shook gently.
The limestone rock at the perimeter of the bowl scaled some twenty metres or more, and in front of her, the jungle enveloped it all. The tall trees shaded the sandy beaches around the pool of clear, still water. The sun beamed down from somewhere in the blue sky above them but couldn’t be seen, and the heat scorched her skin.
Kendra’s smile suggested she knew exactly the experience of awe that rippled through her.
“I can breathe.” Sarah closed her eyes and inhaled the sweet, rich aroma.
“Come.” Kendra wiggled her fingers.
Sarah took her hand and stepped out of the boat. The shallow water was hotter than her feet, and the soft sand beneath massaged between her toes. “I’m stunned,” she said.
