“Looking for your mom?”
“Actually, I'm looking for Varun.”
“Just missed him.” She laughed. “It's a Saturday
morning. You won't find Varun if you get here after eight. He
leaves to go surfing with Brandon every Saturday, seven
a.m., on the dot. You could try going to the beach, but I
wouldn't be too hopeful. Sometimes they take Brandon's
dad's boat and go around the island.”
“Brandon and Varun seem close,” I said.
“Yeah,” Sally said, “Like brothers. Been best friends
since kids. Those two… all the girls have crushes on them.
Probably been through most of them, too. Not me. They’re
fun and all, but they’re just not my type. Plus, they spend
most of their time in the ocean. They can’t get enough of it.
That’s where they are now.”
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“Shame,” I admitted. “I was hoping they'd take me
hiking. They told me that this island had great hiking trails.
Brandon told me that there was a place I could go to find
these gorgeous colored stones – I collect stones, you know.”
Ever since I was a baby, I had been fascinated by pieces of
colored rock, tiny almost-gemstones I could hold in the palm
of my hand and imagine were pieces of a vanished magic
universe.
“You'll have a lot of luck around here,” Sally said.
“The place is coming down with them. Stones, plants, leaves
– birdwatchers like to collect feathers sometime. I lead
hiking tours on Sunday afternoons if you're interested –
Antonio likes to keep his staff busy! Kids' parties, the
reception desk, hiking tours – it's definitely not your
ordinary hotel.” She smiled at me. “But I can give you a trail
map if you want to go alone today. It's not dangerous as long
as you stay on the track. They're all pretty clearly marked.”
She gave me a look that made it clear she knew what I was
thinking – who needs maps?
“And take water and food in case you get lost.” She
brought out a bottle of water and a chocolate bar from behind
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the desk. “Staff treats,” she said, sliding them across the
desk. “Another one of Antonio's innovation. Keeps up
morale!” She handed me the map. “Now, since you're new, I
recommend the basic Trail One. That's the one with the blue
arrows. It leads you around this gorgeous cliff by the sea with
nice views, and then to a waterfall about two miles inland.
You can have a swim at the waterfall and then head back
along the beach if the tide's right. If not, go back the way you
came.”
I took the map gratefully, along with the snacks. I
had, after all, forgotten to get breakfast. But my hunger was
soon forgotten as I found myself in the midst of the most
beautiful scenery I had ever seen. Vines twisted and turned
down steep cliffs; flowers let off intoxicating scents as they
dangled from trees and shrubs. Butterflies with enormous
decorated wings flitted from petal to petal, as if in time to
the calls of birds. And through everything I could see the sea,
hear its noble roar, as I caught glimpses of green-tinted blue
from between the vines.
I followed the blue arrows at first, as Sally had said,
and reached the waterfall in a couple of hours. I made my
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way down to the beach for the return but found, as Sally had
warned, that the tide was not favorable, and I couldn't walk
back without getting my shorts and backpack seriously wet.
She had advised going back the way I came, but my desire
for exploration and adventure made me rail against the
suggestion. I'd find my own way back, I told myself – maybe
find a shortcut. Go somewhere the tourists didn't ordinarily
go.
I left the blue arrows behind and made my way into
the brambles. The vines trailed down around me, caressing
my shoulders. I pressed my face into the flowers, smelling
their sweet, honey-tinted, scent. Soon I was far from the
path, letting my feet take me deeper into the midst of this
beauty. A flame-colored monarch butterfly flew past me,
fluttering in a up and down pattern. Since the Erosion,
butterflies were rare, and a monarch butterfly was even more
rare. I brought a sketch pad with me…perhaps I could sketch
it, capture its beauty. I followed it further.
Go further. And once again I felt that strange calling
I had felt when approaching the flames the other night at the
bonfire – the sense that I was being summoned, that I was
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wanted somewhere. Go deeper.
Like a sleepwalker, I listened to the voice, allowing
my feet to guide me. The monarch butterfly flew along
besides me, fluttering up and down, like a small torchlight. I
was deep within jungle now – the sun was high in the noon
sky and I climbed up the ridges to the top of one of the
mountains. My mind was overcome by the beauty, by the
smell of the flowers. I could focus on only one phrase,
repeated
