Chapter 7: Freindship

After church, Valerie, Hailey, and I went to the beach. While Hailey and I tanned, Valerie went surfing. She's pretty good at it too. Then, we all went swimming. It was six thirty when we were done, so we walked to Valerie's house. We had already gotten permission from all of our parents to eat dinner there.

When we got there, Dr. Perry had dinner all ready. He had bought us all Chinese food. He got all our favorites. He usually treats us when we come over for dinner. I looked at the pictures of Valerie's mom on the wall. She looked just like Val. Valerie never seems to cry about it… She never met her mom. But she did tell me, that sometimes she wishes she had one.

After dinner, I went home and went to bed… Tomorrow, I'm going back to the statue. I just need one more look. Though it holds a painful memory. I just need to see it… one last time…

***

At three o'clock the next morning, I snuck out of the house and went to the jungle. Then I saw it. The statue. I touched the smooth surface of it, and saw that night, so long ago, flash in my eyes. "What are you doing here?" I heard from behind. I turned around and saw Sasha, sitting in a tree above my head.

He jumped down, right in front of me. "I thought I told you to stay out." He said. "I-I…" I began. "I just had to see this statue again. It makes me feel… At peace I guess… But it sadly holds a bad memory… from when I was four…"

Sasha's eyes grew wide. "Really?" he asked. I nodded. "This place holds a bad memory for me… from when I was six." "Really? Isn't that weird." I said. "How old are you?" he asked, trying to change the subject. Maybe that's why his eyes are filled with pain… "I'm fifteen." I answered, trying to sound mature. "You?" "Seventeen." he answered.

"Sasha?" I asked. "Yes?" he said. "How do you speak English so well… Like it was your first language." He turned away. "When I was six, I was taken away from my father. As was the other children… They also took the teenage women. They brought us to another island. We thought it was because one of our tribe members had angered your kind…" he said. "No. My parents would never do anything like that!" I said. "We worked like slaves… for ten years. I learned English since I had to take my orders in English." he continued.

He still couldn't look me in my eyes. This must have been hard for him. "They made it illegal to have slaves there. So we were sent home. When we got here, I hoped to see my father welcoming me with open arms… But instead… I found out that he had been charged with crime I was not allowed to know… And, he was… hung for it." he said trying not to cry.

He turned around and grabbed my arm and said, "I don't tell this to everyone! But for some reason… I trust you…" His grip loosened for a minute, then tightened again. "Don't you ever tell anyone this!" he yelled. I nodded. He let loose of my arm, but I wish he hadn't. For some reason… I liked it.

"Sasha…" I said. He looked at me, eyes still filled with pain. I touched his arm. Could his father have been Roshu? I wanted to ask him, but I just couldn't. We sat there, just staring at each other. I felt so weird around him… I've never felt like this before…

"Danni!" I heard someone yell. It was my brother. "Who are you?!" Sasha asked, stepping between Justin and me. "Who are you?!" Justin yelled back. "P-Please! Guys!" I interrupted. "Sasha, this is my brother Justin. Justin, this is Sasha." They glared at each other for another minute, and then Sasha said, "Nice to meet you." Justin was taken aback. "Wait! How do you speak English?!" he asked. "I grew up in a strange place." Sasha answered.

"I'll say! Come on Denni, we're going home!" he demanded as he grabbed my arm. "Home?!" I asked. "Yes Den, it's four o'clock in the morning! This is the time normal people sleep. Not sneak out to go see boys." he said sarcastically. Val's rubbed off o him. "We met by accident. We're just friends." Sasha said.

"Don't be angry with her. She just wanted to see the statue. And it's better that she came now, than in daylight, where my tribe would have seen her, and then taken her in for Trespassing." He argued. Justin let go of my arm and said, "I guess you're right. But don't scare me like that again Denni!" "Okay…" I said. "Let me walk you both out of the jungle. It's very dangerous at this time of night." Sasha said. Justin agreed, and we began heading home.

Sasha led, and Justin followed. I stayed right next to Sasha. I liked the feeling I got when I was close to him. "So… what is written on that statue?" I asked. "Our history." Sasha answered. "From the moment we came to this world." "Wow." I said. "Does it include the kidnapping from 11 years ago?" "Indeed. It does." Sasha said. "We have a guy who carves in it every time something important happens. His family's been doing it for centuries."

"But what happens when you run out of room to write?" I asked. "Well, legend says, that's when life itself will end. But, it's just a legend." Sasha said. "Other legends say we will get a new statue next to it, when no one is watching." "That sounds interesting…" I said.

Before we could say anything else, there was a scream from behind. It was Justin! He was being attacked by a mountain lion! "Stand back!" Sasha yelled as he pulled out his dagger. The lion slashed Justin, I ran and caught him as Sasha began wrestling the mountain lion. The lion pounce the rock that I was lying against, and scratched my face. I was okay at first… but then everything grew dark. "Danni!" I heard Sasha yell. Then I fell cold.