Chapter 2: The Farther, the More Interesting
After four hours of pounding and shaking along the rocky road, the jeep reached a high plateau, bounded by a ridge of rocky cliffs covered in moss and fern sprouts. Their peaks were rising menacingly into the pale sky, as if warning the strangers against rash action.
At the top the travelers were greeted by a recognizable tier of monsoon forest, with the typical, but inimitable sounds of wildlife. It was perceptibly drier here than below, but not enough to feel much relief. Certainly the weary faces of the weary passengers spoke eloquently of this.
- And how do you manage without air conditioning, Caelian? - Castle muttered with a slight reproach. His handkerchief no longer absorbed a gram of moisture.
- Oh, Mr. Castle! I beg your pardon, but this car is too old to be comfortable! - sincerely apologized the guide, driving around a small boulder, barely visible in the thicket of ferns. - And, unfortunately, not every farang (i.e., foreigner) easily tolerates the peculiarities of the local climate! We Thais are used to everything and can do much! - Kaelian added without showing off.
- That's right, that's right! - Castle readily agreed. - We could not have done it alone!
During the ride uphill Rick was able to repeatedly ascertain his guide's driving skills. Sometimes the road narrowed so much that one side of the car touched the rocks, while the other hung over the precipice. Perhaps Rick would never have ventured on such a perilous journey had it not been for the oppressive anxiety about Kate's state of mind. Since she was accompanying her husband only by virtue of his gift of persuasion, Rick had no right to backtrack.
- Would there be more steep climbs? - Kate asked tiredly, biting her fingernail thoughtfully. Her clothes, soaked through, clung unpleasantly to her skin, and she felt an irresistible urge to undress.
- No, ma'am!" the Thai turned his head toward the passengers and smiled encouragingly. - The path to the temple of Wat Phra Keo begins at the end of this plateau. One only has to wait for the messenger of the abbot. By the way, would you like something to eat? The basket with fruits and water is behind you," the Thai added thoughtfully, keeping his eyes fixed on the landmarks which he alone knew.
- We shall be patient! - Castle muttered, his cheeks playing tiredly, and his eyes flicked to Kate. With her hands folded over her stomach she stared absently out the window. - However, what space for Tarzan here! You could make a movie out of it!
They made their way through the mixed forest again, but the oaks and pines were nothing compared to the giant trees at the bottom of the ravine. What was really striking was the staggering number of gliding palm-calamus trees.
Clinging to the tree trunks, they lifted their flexible, prickly branches toward the sun. Scattered with small yellowish fruits, the shoots spread out to the sides in long thin branches, creating an inconceivable, akin to the trapping net of a giant heteropod, a green tangle of branches, trunks, and leaves. Invisible in the sprawling ferns, the tree trunks were now and then wrapped around the wheel halves. When the car began to stall, Caelian patiently shut off the engine and, clad in threadbare spiked leathers, took an imposing blade on a wooden handle from the trunk. The skinny figure of the guide swiftly circled around the car, sometimes completely out of sight, but the measured strokes of the cleaver said that the Thai knew his job well. Coming back to the passengers, tired, but without losing his benevolence, he smiled charmingly and slightly embarrassed, shrugging his shoulders as if to say: "Well, what do you want, it's the subtropics!", and the passengers understood him perfectly.
Kate squinted silently, rubbing her slicked bangs, and Castle clicked his tongue approvingly, remembering in passing everything known about rattan. The extended musings were utterly self-satisfying, especially when you consider that the Hamptons' favorite rocking chair might have come from there. Rick gave another satisfied chuckle, figuring out how much effort it would take to get beautiful and elegant things out of the unfriendly thorns. Caelian must have been a rattan miner back in the day! He's quite handy with a cleaver, and what a guide he is. I wonder how he finds his way. The tropics are so monotonous!
Looking annoyed at the bushes surrounding the car, Castle fidgeted on the sticky seat. He had the persistent impression that an invisible guiding thread was pointing their way, and that even the advancing twilight was not a hindrance. Apparently, his thoughts unintentionally formed into a soft phrase, because Kate gently touched her husband's arm.
- It's very simple, Castle! - she smiled modestly, squeezing her fingers on his wrist. - When the leaves fall off, the locals memorize star landmarks, and then drive by memory. Didn't you know that?
Castle even opened his mouth in amazement. He's being hit again with his own weapon! He puffed out his cheeks pompously, about to vent his feigned anger, but Kate had already withdrawn her hand and carefully lowered her head to his lap.
- "Castle," she asked gently, "would you rub his neck, please? After this shaking my head is about to fall off my shoulders!
Without saying a word, Castle swallowed his unfortunate insult. Gently pulling the elastic band, he released Kate's hair. It fell in a soft, silky locks, adding to the grassy scent of the rain forest the uncharacteristic aroma of berry bitterness.
- Good," Kate murmured, her eyes closed as Rick's gentle fingers gently lifted her curls and ruffled them, gently stroking the back of her neck, moving to her shoulder and back, repeating over and over, "it's getting easier by the minute. If there's still time, I'll try for a little nap.
- Alas, ma'am, not any more! - So Caelian took the most advanced navigation system out of his glove box, causing Castle to gasp in admiration, and after checking the waypoints, he drove confidently into one of the wide gaps between the trees. - Not much farther to go!
The forest darkened noticeably, but it would be another half hour before the car was on an open flat ground with sparse clumps of ferns protruding from small rocky cracks.
- Here we are! - thundered the Thai, turning to the slumbering passengers. He got out and grabbed something from the trunk and disappeared. Some time later, from the gloomy thicket of the forest came the familiar pounding sounds.
Castle melancholy opened one eye, lazily shook his head, and suddenly the sleepiness was gone from him like the wind.
- Oaahhh! Oh, boy! - Rick wanted to jump out right away, but had to hold onto Kate, who was yawning sweetly. The amount of Thai "a little bit" proved to be inconsistent with the truth.
- So what's up, Castle? - Kate struggled to rub her drooping eyelids.
- Yoo-hoo!" Rick enthused as loudly as if he'd reached the cherished spot of a childhood dream. - That's where Storm should have been sent! That would have made a hell of a story! The secret hideout of evil monks who wield a magic spell! And there's our hero, accompanied by an adorable native girl! Boom! Boom! Snap! The prospect is breathtaking!
Castle would have ranted on and on, but Kate, exhausted by the stuffiness, leaned her head on her husband's shoulder and languidly wrapped her arms around his neck.
- What are you praising there, Castle? - she muttered, abandoning her unsuccessful attempt to open her eyes. Right now she didn't care about beauty, no matter how shocking it was. - Except for the rocks, I saw nothing!
To her sleepy indifference, Rick reacted with lightning speed. Amazed, his eyes bulging, Castle cheerfully pecked Kate on her sweat-laden temple and gently rubbed her shoulder.
- Wake up, sleepyhead! - he cheered loudly. - It was worth leaving New York for such beauty!
Rick was impossibly childlike in his delight, and Kate regretfully let him out so she could hold on to his arm and climb out on her own. There was a palpable whiff of freshness in her face, and in the unfamiliar silence the song of a small waterfall sounded distinctly.
Water! Water! That was exactly what she needed now!
Languid sleepiness was gone. Seeking out the source of the noise with her eyes, Kate swung from side to side, spinning her torso with a light workout. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rick doing the same thing in sync, making a bunch of happy interjections and sighs. I could only imagine the mental turmoil going on in his head.
Because it was worth seeing!
They were standing on a level platform, a few steps from the edge of a deep rock bowl into which a clear stream was cascading. A chattering murmur of water flowed from one ledge to the other, and the elastic streams flowed from one ledge to the other. They diverged, disappearing into cracks and rising out of nowhere, to reunite around the mirror of the natural pool, saturating the tropical air with the faintest of drips. Taking Kate by the hand, Rick led her to the very edge of the body of water. Right in front of them, a thin trickle trickled out of the overall refreshing splendor. Castle took a handful of water and, bowing his head eagerly, brought his palms to his wife's face.
- Look, Kate, what a gorgeous shower! - Rick watched her with indescribable delight as she tasted the coolness of the mountain. - I could have sworn there were bamboo levers hiding somewhere around here that regulated the water flow, and the stone bowl was a real natural faucet! I don't know where to get hot water from, though.
- I don't suppose the monks left you a manual, Rick," Kate sneered, wiping her lips with pleasure. The water seemed sweeter than sugar syrup to her. Kate carefully stroked Rick's cheek and added with undisguised gratitude:
- "You know, I'm so glad I saw it. It's beautiful! And thanks for the massage, Castle!
- Always! - With a sly grin, Rick bowed his head subserviently. - And about the instructions, I'll be sure to ask the monks!