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The teenage boys have caught a few monkeys over the past two weeks by hiding out in camouflaged cubby houses. Palm fronds built like a miniature tepee around their body conceals their presence. Inside the tiny space, they are armed with poison blowpipes and sit motionless for hours, hoping for a kill, providing a meal to prove they are worthy hunters.
When some teenage boys shout and kick a coconut along the ground, I recognize them as the young hunters. My shoulders fall in relief, happy they have returned empty-handed today. I’ll never get used to the thought of eating monkey.
“Kuwata?” I ask Kaikare. I was quick to learn the word for monkey so I could decline the meat if offered.
“Awarö.” She bows her head.Bad.
Wakü, I think to myself.Good.
“Oo?” She hands me the bread made from yuca.
“Waküpe-küruman.”Thank you.
Her slim lips turn into a broad smile.
In the dirt, I draw a snake with a forked tongue and stripes. She studies it a moment. I tell her, “Snake.”
“Iwoi,” she replies. I repeat the word in my head.
Next, I draw a spider, remembering my encounter with a wandering spider in a bunch of bananas. “Spider.”
“Spi-der,” Kaikare repeats, and then adds, “Mojowai.”
I say it over and over in my head. “Mojowai awarö.”Spider bad.
“Are you asking for a list of everything you fear?” Samuel stands close by with a grin on his face. Damn him and his stealth skills that let him appear like a ghost.
“Did I tell you about the time a wandering spider almost bit me? It happened while you were away on your journey.”
“Almost?” His eyes widen, and he crouches to listen to my story.
I tell him how Kaikare saved me and how freaked out I was to have my hand close to its fangs.
“I’m glad she was there, especially as we don’t have an anti-venom here.”
“Jesus, Samuel.” I shake my head to rid the stressful thoughts coming to mind.
“The venom is toxic to the nervous system, and in men, a bite can cause a painful erection for days as the venom boosts nitric oxide, which increases blood flow. Then, sexual dysfunction can be for life if the poison doesn’t kill you first.”
“Seriously, what the hell am I doing here?” I raise my arms and act more dramatically than I intended.
Samuel raises a brow and waits a moment before I drop my arms to my side. “Do you have poisonous spiders in Australia?”
“Well, yeah, of course. It’s Australia.” Duh.
“No different from here, Eden.”
My shoulders heave with a sigh. Every day I wait, and it’s not with sugar-coated hope for Samuel to say he’ll leave Ulara to be with me. It’s glazed with fear that something bad will happen. Samuel’s journey to the Ayuan Tepui hasn’t gone unnoticed among the Ularans. I see it in their eyes. Only one warrior was brave enough to travel with him to the house of the devil—the home of Mawarí spirits. Will there be repercussions for upsetting the spirits?
“Hey.” He waits for me to meet his caring gaze. “I think we’ll take that trip to Ciudad next week, okay?”
“Okay,” I say without argument. Kaikare is turning her head every time one of us speaks as though she’s at a tennis match. She places a hand on my back, and I rest my head on her shoulder.
“Tamu'ne Akare wakü,” I tell her.White tortoise is good.
“You’re doing fine,” Samuel says in a low, gentle voice. I don’t miss the concern in his eyes. “You don’t have to go back to the fields this afternoon.”
“I enjoy spending time with her. Besides, I don’t know how much longer I can work, and I want to prove my worth. The rate our baby is growing, I might be basket weaving with the men.”
