AND MY PATH LED ME TO YOU
Chapter 5: "Jungle Girl"
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic
By Bill K.
Usa and her friends entered the suite where she and Hotaru would be staying in Sao Paulo. It was large and plush with all the amenities due a visiting dignitary and her staff. The Asteroids had the suite next door and it was equally sumptuous.
"I will NEVER get used to rooms being this big and this plush!" marveled Jun.
"And this is just the main room," Usa chuckled. "The bedroom is in there."
"It's as big as our quarters back home!" Jun raved. "Ves is really missing out!"
"Ves wouldn't appreciate luxury like this," sniffed Cere. "She's more comfortable in a cardboard box. As long as she's got a dish of water beside it, of course."
"Cere," sighed Jun.
"I, on the other hand, feel like I'm home," Cere beamed. "If only we could stay here forever."
Cere felt a tug on her sleeve. She looked down at Palla-Palla.
"Palla-Palla is sleepy and wants to go beddy-bye," the teen pouted.
"That's fine," Cere nodded. "Oh, I guess I better show you where the room is. Don't want you getting lost in an unfamiliar place."
Palla-Palla beamed and allowed herself to be escorted out.
"Can Cere-Cere tell Palla-Palla a beddy-bye story?" Palla-Palla asked as they exited.
"If I have to," sighed Cere.
"Well I'm not sleepy," Jun stated. "Want to do something?"
"We can call room service - - have something sent up," Usa suggested. "Maybe catch a vid."
"All the vids here are in Portuguese," Jun reminded her.
"Maybe you could tell us about your time with Father Melendez," Hotaru suggested. "I mean, Palla-Palla did. That is, if you don't mind."
"Sure," Jun shrugged. The three sat down, Usa grabbing her PDA and contacted room service. "Thinking back, it wasn't always bad at Quatro Pai. A lot of that was due to Cere and Palla-Palla. But a lot of it was due to Father Melendez, too." She grew sober. "But those first days there were an experience."
After leaving Palla-Palla, Aysiri and Father Melendez went to the room where the IQ testing computer was. The door to the room hissed open and Aysiri, still wary and seeing no windows in the room, began to shy.
"There's no need to be afraid, Aysiri," Father Melendez told her, kneeling next to her in order to keep her calm in this alien environment. "These machines will just test how much you know. That's so we know how much to teach you. I promise you won't be harmed. As a man of God, I give you my word."
That seemed to assure the green-haired girl enough that she entered. Waiting for them was Sister Arcia. She took one look at Aysiri's headdress and frowned.
"That will have to come off," Arcia fussed. She reached for the headdress and Aysiri shied away.
"Do not touch!" Aysiri barked, backing away from Sister Arcia.
"That's no way to act in public!" Arcia said sternly, trying to establish authority in the girl.
"No! Do not touch!" Aysiri snapped.
"Why, Aysiri?" Father Melendez asked calmly.
"It is sacred," Aysiri told him suspiciously.
"Sacred?"
"It is the crown of the water goddess," Aysiri continued. "Mi Padre told me that I was her favorite and under her protection, and that I must wear it to honor her."
"Pagan rubbish," sighed Sister Arcia.
"That's important to you, isn't it?" Father Melendez asked. Aysiri nodded. "Then I don't think it will hurt anything if you keep it."
"Father," Arcia spoke up, "it will draw ridicule. Her background and the fact that she's obviously a victim of the Chemical Incident will draw enough attention to her. This will only give the other children one more target."
"Being different can be a burden," Melendez countered. "But being different also demonstrates God's infinite complexity and infinite diversity. We must teach her to accept her differences, to cherish them and to use them to benefit everyone, as God intended when He made her."
"I wish God had given you common sense," Arcia sighed, "blessed be His name."
Melendez smiled charitably at the nun, then helped Aysiri be seated in front of a computer.
"Answer the questions as best you can," he told her. "You're not being graded and there is no fail." Aysiri nodded.
"What is this letter?" the computer asked. Aysiri jumped out of her seat and backed defensively against the wall.
"It is alive?" she gasped, staring at the machine. Sister Arcia sighed and glanced skeptically at Father Melendez.
"You graded out surprisingly well in some areas, Aysiri," Father Melendez told the girl as they walked down the hall of the orphanage. As they walked, two girls passed them in the opposite direction. They giggled after passing, but a stern look from Melendez quieted them. "You show a particular aptitude for reading. Who taught you, if I may ask.?"
"Mi Padre," Aysiri replied nostalgically. "He had a Holy Bible and taught me how to read with it."
"Really? Was he Catholic?"
"No."
"Pity. But we all have flaws." Aysiri looked up and saw Father Melendez smirking. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. . ."
"John 3:16," Aysiri said.
"Very good. Were there any other books you were familiar with?"
"No," Aysiri sighed. "We did not have much room to keep books. I would like to read some others. I have heard about them, but I have never had the chance."
"A worthy ambition," Melendez commented. "Now you also showed great aptitude in Portuguese. Your Padre must have been a very good teacher. However, you will need to work on your math and history skills. And if you wish to learn about computers or other interests, we can help you with those. Sister Arcia will also be working with you on your social skills."
Aysiri scowled.
"Social skills are necessary if you are to function in civilization," Melendez told her. "Or were you objecting to Sister Arcia?"
"She does not like me," Aysiri said flatly. "I am wary of her."
Melendez smiled. "Sister Arcia can be demanding," he said, "but she only has your interests at heart. God speaks through her as well." The priest struggled to stay serious. "He just uses a stronger tone. Open yourself to learn from her and she will teach you how to blend in with this new environment so you're less likely to be preyed upon."
"Oh," Aysiri nodded. "That makes sense."
They stopped at a door. Melendez turned to the girl that was almost half his height.
"We'll begin you in classes tomorrow," Melendez told her. "Dinner will be at six." Then he opened the door. "Until then, you are free to amuse yourself, so long as you respect others."
The door slid open and Aysiri's breath caught. She tread softly into the room, fearing to disturb the sight. On three sides the walls were covered by shelves and on each shelf were books; hundreds of books. Scarcely believing it, Aysiri turned and looked up at Father Melendez.
"Select whichever one you wish. Read it and enjoy it." Aysiri started forward, but stopped when she felt the priest's hand on her shoulder. "When you are finished, you must return it to this room. Only then can you have another one. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Father Melendez!" gasped the ten-year-old. She turned back and scanned the shelves, then turned to him again. "But which one should I take?"
Melendez smiled at her, then walked over to a shelf on the right. Aysiri followed him and watched him select a book from the shelf. It had a worn leather binding and words stamped on it in gold leaf. The priest presented it to her.
"Try this one. You may identify with the lead character," he said. Aysiri looked at the cover.
"Tarzan of the Apes?" Aysiri read aloud, then looked up at him.
"It was one of my favorites as a boy. You may read it here, or take it back to your bunk in the dormitory, whichever is comfortable for you. But take care of it. Someone else may wish to sample its treasures when you've finished."
"I will!" gasped Aysiri. She hurried off for the dormitory. Father Melendez watched her go. He had read the preliminary report from the nun in Leticia and was pleased that he'd managed to reach this wild child.
"Tarzan of the Apes?" Hotaru repeated. "I don't think I've read that one."
"I saw the movie," Usa shrugged.
"The book is better," Jun replied with an assurance that told them she was ready to argue the point.
"Than the movie? Which version?" chuckled Usa.
"ALL of them," Jun answered.
"Oh, is she boring you with those stories about her dreary books again," sighed Cere as she entered. "Palla-Palla's down for the night - - I hope." Cere paused. "She's really taking this hard."
"Well, she knew him the longest," Jun said. "He sort of became the father figure to her that she never had. And Mi Padre was great to me, so if I miss Father Melendez, imagine how she feels."
"Yeah," Cere sighed. "Father Melendez was one of the few nice things about Quatro Pai." Compartmentalizing her sadness, Cere brightened. "So how far did you get, Jun? You tell them about the courtyard yet?"
"I was getting there," Jun smiled nostalgically. Usa and Hotaru leaned in.
There was a huge tree on the north end of the enclosed courtyard where the orphans of Tanto Quatro Pai played. It was near the north wall, though all of the limbs on the north side of the tree had been cut away to try to dissuade the more adventurous or embittered orphans from climbing it, leaping over to the wall and then dropping to the street below.
Under the shade of the tree, Aysiri Yaku sat, "Tarzan of the Apes" propped on her knees, devouring every word of the novel. Father Melendez was right in that young Tarzan's time in the African jungle had mirrored her own life in the Amazon. But he was so different than she was: strong, fast, sure of himself, not needing anyone once he'd mastered French from his friend Paul D'Arnot. Aysiri could understand Jane Porter's attraction to him. She felt herself being attracted to Tarzan too.
Hearing footsteps, Aysiri looked up and found three boys approaching her. They were orphans at Quatro Pai like she was. The leader, Ramon, was a boy of fourteen, with dark hair and caramel skin, his frame fit and lean and wiry. With him were Manuel, a brown-haired youth of twelve who was a little heavier and a little less athletic, but with the same aspirations as Ramon; and Beinvenudo, or Ben for short, an eleven year old with black hair, dull eyes, and clenched fists, following the others and learning. Aysiri's eyes narrowed. She could recognize a pack when she saw one.
With practiced skill, Aysiri got up and scaled the tree, coming to rest in the crook of a large branch fourteen feet above the grounds.
"Hey!" gasped Ben. "How'd she do that?"
"I told you she was part animal," sneered Ramon. "Come on down, girl. We're not going to hurt you. We just want to get to know you."
Aysiri settled in the tree and went back to reading.
"What's with that funny hat?" snickered Manuel. When no answer came, he grew angry. "Hey, we're talking to you!"
"Maybe she's too stupid to understand," chuckled Ramon. "Maybe we've got another low achiever, like that other girl."
"Low achiever," chuckled Ben, because Ramon was laughing.
"Maybe I should come up there after her!" Manuel growled. "Teach her some respect!"
Manuel began to scale the tree. He didn't do it as effortlessly as Aysiri had, but he got up to the branch fourteen feet off of the ground.
"Hey!" he exclaimed.
Aysiri wasn't there. Manuel looked around and then up. Aysiri was on another branch, twenty feet in the air, and had resumed reading.
"Think you're smart," grumbled Manuel.
He began to ascend the trunk of the tree, headed for her. However, his foot slipped on some bark and he lost his balance. Manuel lost his grip, fell onto the fourteen foot branch, glanced off of it and landed on the ground like a sack of flour. Ramon and Ben laughed at him as he groaned. Aysiri kept reading. Moments later three nuns ran up, Sister Arcia among them.
"What happened?" Arcia demanded.
"She pushed Manuel out of the tree," Ramon claimed. Ben began nodding.
"Sister Alonso, call the doctor," Arcia told one of the nuns. She turned to Ramon. "Just what was he doing IN the tree?"
Ramon was silent for a few moments, then shrugged. Ben didn't answer. That was all the evidence Arcia needed to know in a general sense what was going on.
"Back inside, you two," Arcia told them. "Sister Vazquez will find some chores for you."
"We didn't do anything!" howled Ramon.
"IN-SIDE!" snapped the nun.
Knowing the battle was lost, Ramon retreated and Ben followed him. With the doctor tending to Manuel, Arcia turned her attention to Aysiri, twenty feet in the air reading a book.
"Aysiri!" she called up to the new girl. "Wait there. We'll get a ladder."
"No need," Aysiri said. With amazing dexterity, Aysiri descended the tree and dropped to the ground. For a moment, Sister Arcia was startled.
"Did you push Manuel out of the tree?" Arcia asked.
"He was climbing after me and fell," Aysiri replied. "He does not climb very well."
"And what were you doing in the tree?" Arcia asked. "It's dangerous. You could have fallen."
"I have never fallen out of a tree in my life," Aysiri scowled. "I have jumped a few times, when I ran into an anaconda . . ."
"It's . . ." Arcia began, then stopped, for she'd never encountered this before. "We don't do that in civilization, Aysiri. This isn't the jungle."
"Sometimes trees are safer than what is on the ground," Aysiri maintained.
"Did they threaten you?"
"I thought it better not to take the chance," Aysiri told her.
The nun heaved a heavy sigh. "Aysiri," she began, "please stay out of the trees. Despite your experience, they can be dangerous. God meant for us to be on the ground. Otherwise he would have given us wings."
Aysiri looked up. Arcia followed her line of sight and spotted a shuttle flying from the Sao Paulo port to Rio de Janeiro. She looked down and found Aysiri looking skeptically at her.
"Just stay on the ground," Arcia huffed and walked off.
Aysiri exhaled in frustration and wondered how long she would have to stay here. Then she caught sight of Manuel as he was being carried off. The boy glared at her and Aysiri's jungle sense told her that things weren't finished between them.
Book under her arm, Aysiri headed down the hall toward the room where the other books were stored. Father Melendez had given her permission to select another book to read, after hearing her glowing review of the Burroughs novel. His caution that she finish any homework dragged on her euphoria. She would much rather be reading another novel than working on the simple arithmetic lessons that had made up her first day of school. Only the lure of another literary adventure pushed her to finish.
A sound was caught by her trained ears and Aysiri turned. Following her was the girl she had met on her first day - - the strange one - - Palla-Palla. The blue-haired girl approached her and smiled with child-like innocence.
"Where is Jun-Jun going?" Palla-Palla asked.
"I told you," she responded curtly, "my name is Aysiri."
"Yes, Palla-Palla knows," the girl nodded. "But that's too hard for Palla-Palla to say, so she's going to call you Jun-Jun. Where is Jun-Jun going?"
"To return this book," Aysiri said as she walked. "And get another one. Do you read much?"
"Palla-Palla doesn't read very well," the girl grimaced. "She likes books with lots of pictures. She can understand them."
"That is too bad. You are missing a lot."
"Where did Jun-Jun learn to climb like that?" Palla-Palla asked as they walked.
"In the jungle," Aysiri replied. "You learn to climb early or you get eaten. And even then you have to be careful, because the jaguar and the anaconda climb, too."
"Snakey-snakes are icky," scowled Palla-Palla. Aysiri was mildly surprised, as she didn't think someone she judged as simple would be familiar with the anaconda.
They reached the makeshift library and the door hissed open, again startling Aysiri. Recovering, she started to enter, but a hand on her forearm stopped her.
"Jun-Jun needs to be careful," Palla-Palla warned. "Ramon-Sir doesn't like Jun-Jun. And Manuel-Sir really doesn't like Jun-Jun. And they're both very mean. They want to be mean to Jun-Jun."
"Are they mean to you?" Aysiri asked.
"A lot of people are mean to Palla-Palla. It's because she's stupid," Palla-Palla murmured. Then she set it aside. "Jun-Jun needs to be careful."
"I am always careful," Aysiri replied. She started inside, but stopped and looked back, about to say one more thing to Palla-Palla. But Palla-Palla was skipping down the hall to the dormitory. Shrugging, Aysiri went inside and wondered what world she was going to visit next.
Continued in Chapter 6