The jungle

How could the truck be gone?

I ran out to the gas pump and looked both ways down the dirt road. Nothing. No dust cloud. No people. Nothing.

Maybe the driver forgot about me? Maybe he needed to get something and is coming back? Maybe the truck was stolen and the driver is still around here somewhere? I knew none of these were likely scenarios, but they made me feel hopeful - if only for a minute.

I walked around to the other side of the gas pump and found my black bag lying in the dust. I rushed over to it, picked it up, and checked inside. Everything seemed to be in order.

(Edit)

Suddenly, I heard a noise behind me and whirled around to see Ren sitting by the side of the road. His tail twitched back and forth while he watched me. He looked like a giant abandoned puppy wagging his tail hopping someone would claim him and take him home.

'Oh, no! This is just great! "Nothing will go wrong," right Mr.Kadam? Ha! The driver must have stolen the truck and let you out. What am I going to do now?'

Scared and alone, my mom's words of advice came flooding back: 'bad things sometimes happen to good people'; 'the key to happiness is to try to make the best of and be thankful for, the hand we were dealt,' and her all time favorite, 'when life gives you lemons, make lemon meringue pie.' Mom had tried and practically given up having kids - and then I came along. She always said that you never know what's going to be right around the corner.

So, I focused on the positives. First, I still had all my clothes. Second, I had my traveling papers and a bag full of money. That was the good news. The bad news was that my ride was gone and a tiger was on the loose. I decided the first order of business was to secure Ren. The last thing I needed was scared people hunting my tiger, I had to make people believe I had him under control. I went back to the store and bought some jerky snacks and a long length of rope.

After I paid, I walked outside and tried to get my tiger to cooperate. He'd moved off several paces and was now heading for the jungle. I ran after him.

The sensible thing would have been to go back to the store, borrow a phone, and call Mr. Kadam. He could send a team of professionals, maybe from the reserve, to catch him. But I was far from thinking sensibly at this point. If I was thinking clearly I would have borrowed the phone when I went to buy the rope. But I didn't. I was afraid for Ren, and I could think of nothing else. What if people saw him and panicked, tried to subdue him with weapons, hurt him, or worse? I also worried that even if he escaped, he couldn't survive in the jungle. He wasn't used to hunting anymore, he's been captive for many years. I knew it was utterly foolish, but I chose to follow my tiger.

I begged, 'Ren, come back! We need to get some help! This isn't your reserve. Come on, I have meat!' I waved the jerky snack, trying to entice him, but he kept moving. I was weighed down with Mr. Kadam's backpack and my bag. I could keep up with him, but the extra weight was too much for me to overtake him.

(Houck)

He wasn't moving very quickly, but he always managed to keep several paces ahead of me. Suddenly, he loped of and darted into the jungle. My backpack bobbed heavily up and down as I chased after him. After about fifteen minutes of pursuit, sweat was trickling down my face, my clothes were stuck to my body, and my feet were dragging like heavy stones.

As my pace slowed, I entreated again, 'Ren, please come back. We need to go back to the town. It's going to be dark soon.'

He ignored me and began winding through the trees. He'd stop to turn and look at me every so often.

Whenever I thought I'd finally catch him, he'd accelerate and leap ahead a few feet, causing me to chase after him again. I felt like he was playing a game with me. He was always just out of reach. After following Ren for another fifteen minutes and still not catching him, I decided to take a break from my pursuit. I knew I'd traveled far from town, and the light was dimming. I was totally lost.

Ren must have realized that I wasn't following him anymore because he finally slowed, turned around, and ambled guiltily back over to me. I glared at him.

'Figures. The minute I stop, you come back. I hope you're happy with yourself.'

(Edit)

We were so far from the town there was no need for the rope now, so I stowed it into the backpack and turned around in a circle carefully studying each direction to try to get my bearings.

We had traveled deep into the jungle, looped in and out of trees, and twisted and turned numerous times. I'd lost all sense of direction. It was twilight, and the dark canopy of trees overhead blocked out the little sunlight we had left. A choking fear started to settle inside me, and I poured it onto my tiger. 'Thanks a lot, Mister! Where am I? What am I doing? I'm who knows where in India, in the jungle, at night, with a tiger!'

Ren sat down quietly beside me.

My fears started to overwhelm me and I realized that I was on the verge of a panic attack when the jungle started to close in. Before it could completely take over me and my imagination got the best of me, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I couldn't lose my head now, breaking down wasn't going to help me. I focused on my breathing and on slowing my heartbeats, and when it wasn't enough, I put my hands on Ren and started to stroke his fur, and focused on his warmth beneath my hands, on how soft yet powerful he felt, and on his quiet breathing besides me. When I finally felt in control of myself, I opened my eyes but continued to stroke him, this time on his cheeks and between his ears.

'Thank you for keeping me company, I fell much better now. And I'm sorry I exploded, it's not your fault.'

He looked away from me for a moment and he almost looked guilty, but of course I was imagining it. 'Well, we are here now, and until we find civilization and a way to contact Mr Kadam, we'll do the best we can in our circumstances. Call me crazy, but I feel you're trying to take me somewhere, so I'll let you lead the way. I will follow you. We won't get separated, okay?'

He looked at me and blinked twice. I decided to take it as an agreement. Ren got up and moved ahead while I followed. Internally I was trying to convince myself it was not complete madness to let a tiger lead me through the jungle, but really, there was no point in me trying to lead the way. I had no idea where we were. Ren continued walking on some unseen path and I followed. While we walked I started to think about what I was going to do since it looked like we were going to spend the night in the jungle. I opened the back pack to check how much water we had and found a flashlight. I took it out because soon it was going to be completely dark and I needed to see where Ren was going.

I lost track of time, but my guess is that we walked through the jungle for an hour, maybe two. I was scared, but trying to keep my fears under control. I was so thankful for the flashlight, even if the light beam didn't penetrate very far. It was enough to see where I was going and to follow Ren.

Prickly undergrowth on the path started to scratch his silvery white fur. He responded to the torns by roughly shoving the plants aside with his body. It was like he was cleaning a path for me and I felt gratitude swell in my heart, even as I hopped he wasn't getting hurt in the process.

After walking for a long time, he finally stopped near a copse of bamboo that was growing near a large teak tree. He stuck his nose up in the air, smelling for who knows what, and then wandered over to a grassy area and lay down.

'Well, I guess that means this is where we sleep for the night.' I shrugged out of my backpack while listing to myself what I needed to do. 'I'm nervous. I'll spend the night alone in the jungle with a tiger. I must be going crazy.'

First, I pulled out a long sleeved shirt and tied it around my waist, then I got out two water bottles and three energy bars and held them out to Ren.

He carefully took one out my hand and gulped it down.

'I don't know if tigers should eat energy bars, but that's all we have. I do know that you need a lot of protein on your diet, but unless you hunt, we'll have to make do until we find help.'

He quickly swallowed the second energy bar while I opened the third and slowly nibbled on it. Unzipping another pocket, I found the lighter and decided to make a fire. Searching by flashlight, I was surprised to find a good amount of wood close by. I looked at my tiger. 'Was this place used by someone as a camping site before? It doesn't look like it, but this pile of wood...' I trailed off, it was no use speculating, and I wasn't about to look a gifted horse in the mouth.

Remembering my Girl Scout days, I built a small fire. The wind blew it out the first two times, but the third time it took, making homey little crackling sounds.

Satisfied with my work, and setting aside larger logs to add later, I moved over the backpacks closer to the fire. Finding a plastic bag in the pack, I picked up a large curved piece of bark, shoved small chunks of wood on the ends, and lined the inside with the bag. I poured a bottle of water into it and carried my makeshift bowl over to Ren. He lapped it all up and started licking the bag, so I poured in another bottle for him, which he also drank greedily.

I walked back to the fire and was startled by an ominous howl nearby. Ren jumped up at once and rushed off in a whirl, disappearing into the darkness. I heard a deep growling and then an incensed and vicious snarl. I stared gravely into the darkness between the trees where Ren had disappeared, but he soon returned unharmed and began rubbing his side on the teak tree. Satisfied with that tree, he moved on to another one, and another one, until he'd rubbed up against every tree that surrounded us.

Remembering the information I knew about tigers, I realized that he was marking the territory, leaving his smell. 'Oh, I see. You're making sure we won't receive any unwanted visitors.' I smiled and left him to his scratching, plumped the softer bag with my clothes in it to use as a pillow and slipped my long sleeved shirt over my head. I pulled out my quilt, hating to get it dirty but desperately needing the warmth and comfort it offered and, on the practical side, recognizing that it was the only thing that I could use to avoid sleeping directly on the jungle ground.

I spread it out and laid down on one side, then I pulled the other side over me like a blanket and tucked the corner under me like a makeshift sleeping bag. Now that I finally stopped moving and had no task to complete, there was nothing I could foccus on to keep my fears under control. I felt my grasp over my feelings slip, and tears slid down my face as I stared into the fire. I didn't even left a message to Sarah and Mike, they were probably wondering where I was, what happened. I felt completely alone, scared, and the sounds of the jungle around me started to play tricks on my mind, my imagination bringing forward creepy images. I was restlessly moving around jumping at every crack and pop I heard, and was about to turn again when Ren laid down next to me, snuggled his back against mine, and began to purr.

Grateful, I wiped the tears off my cheeks and was able to tune out the night sounds by listening to Ren's purr, which later changed into deep, rhythmic breathing. I inched a little closer to his back, surprised to find I could sleep in the jungle after all.

A bright ray of sun hit my closed eyelids, and I slowly cracked them open. Not remembering where I was for a minute, I stretched my arms over my head, only to cringe in pain as my back rubbed against the hard ground. I also felt a heavy weight on my leg. I looked down to see Ren, eyes squeezed tightly shut in sleep, with his head and one paw over my leg.

I whispered, 'Ren. Wake up. My leg is asleep.'

He didn't budge.

I sat up and shoved his body lightly. 'Come on, Ren. Move!'

He growled softly but stayed put.

'Ren! I mean it! Mooove!' I shook my leg and shoved him harder.

He finally blinked open his eyes, yawned a giant, toothy tiger yawn, and then rolled off my leg and onto his side.

Standing up, I shook out my quilt, folded it, and tucked it into the bag. I also stamped out the ashes from the fire to make sure nothing was still burning.

'Just so you know, I hated camping like this!' I complained loudly. 'I'm not saying I hate nature, there's a lot to love, what I don't like is sleeping on the hard ground and not having a bathroom nearby. Nature calls while walking in the jungle are my least favorite things.'

I gathered the empty bottles and wrappers and put them into the pack. I sighed and looked around to guarantee I wasn't forgetting anything, then I turned to my tiger.

'Okay, Ren. I'm ready. Where are we heading off to today?'

Turning, he stalked off into the jungle again. He waved his way around trees and undergrowth, over rocks and across small streams. He didn't seem to be in a hurry, and he even stopped for a break every once in a while, as if knowing I needed one. Now that the sun was out, the jungle was becoming quite steamy, so I took off my long sleeved shirt and tied it back around my waist.

The jungle was very green and had a peppery kind of fragrance, much different than the forests of Oregon. The large deciduous trees were sparse and had graceful, willowy branches. The leaves were an olive green color, rather than the deep greens of the evergreens I was used to. The bark was dark grey and rough to the touch; where cracks formed, the bark peeled away and sloughed off in thin, flaky layers.

Flying squirrels leapt from tree to tree, and we often startled grazing deer. Smelling a tiger, they quickly bounced away on springy legs. I watched Ren to see his reaction but he ignored them. I wasn't sure if I was grateful he wasn't leaving me behind to go on a hunt, or worried that he wasn't showing any inclination to go after food. I reached the conclusion that right now it was good he preferred to accompany me, but once we reached the reserve I would report to the professionals in charge of him. They would know how to help him to hunt again.

I noticed another common tree that was more moderate in size and also had a papery bark, but where the bark split on this one, a sticky, gummy resin dripped down the trunk. I leaned against one to pick a pebble out of my shoe and spent the next hour trying to peel the goo of my fingers.

I'd just gotten it off when we weaved through a particularly dense undergrowth of tall grasses and bamboo and sent a flock of colorful birds into flight. I was so startled that I backed into another tree and got sticky sap all over my upper arm.

Ren stopped at a small stream. I pulled out a bottle of water and drank it all down. It was nice to have less weight in the backpack, but I was concerned about where I would get water after my supply ran out. I supposed I could drink from the same stream as Ren, but I would put that off for as long as possible.

I sat down on a rock and searched for another energy bar I ate half of one and gave Ren the other half, plus another one. I knew I could survive on that many calories, but I was pretty sure Ren couldn't. He'd have to hunt soon.

Opening a pocket of Mr Kadam's backpack, I found a compass. I pushed it into the pocket of my jeans. There was still money, the traveling papers, more water bottles, a first aid kit, bug spray, a candle, and a pocket knife, but no cell phone, and my personal cell phone was missing.

Strange. I should have checked this before, but I was so panicked that I wasn't thinking. Maybe my cell phone was stolen like the truck? But why, when all the money was left untouched? It doesn't make sense. And this bag was so well prepared. Could Mr. Kadam have known that I would end up in the jungle? I thought about the man who looked like Mr. Kadam standing by the truck right before it was stolen and wondered aloud, 'Did he want me to get lost out here?'

Ren wandered over to me and sat down.

'No,' I said, looking into the animal's blue eyes. 'That doesn't make any sense either. What reason could he possible have for flying me all the way to India just to get me lost in the jungle? He couldn't have known you'd lead me in here, or that I'd follow you. I... have the distinct felling that something is happening, and Mr Kadam isn't telling me something, but it's not bad... at least I think so. He doesn't look like the type to deceive. Anyways, let's focus on finding a way to contact Mr. Kadam. Then I'll get to bottom of this.'

Ren's gaze shifted to the ground as if he felt guilty.

'Innocent until proven guilty, right? Let's believe that Mr. Kadam is just a really well prepared boy scout.'

After a brief rest, Ren got up again, walked off a few paces and turned around to wait for me. I sucked up my complaints and got up from the rock, following along behind him. Pulling out the bug spray, I gave my limbs a good spritz, and when I noticed Ren looking me I playfully squirted some on him too. I laughed when he wrinkled his nose and a big tiger sneeze shook his body.

'So, Ren, where are we going? You act like you have a destination in mind. Personally, I'd like to go back to civilization. So if you could find us a town, I'd be most appreciative.'

He continued to lead me on a trail that only he could see for the rest of the morning and into the early afternoon.

I check my compass often and figured out that we were traveling eastward. I was trying to calculate how many miles we'd walked when Ren burrowed between some bushes. I followed him to find a small clearing on the other side.

White great relief I saw a small hut that sat right in the middle of the clearing. Its curved roof was covered with rows of canes tied close together that draped over the top of the structure like a blanket. Stringy fibers, tied into intricate knots, lashed large bamboo poles together to make walls, and the cracks were thatched with dried grasses and clay.

The hut was surrounded by a barrier of loose stones pilled on top of each other to create a short wall about two feet high. The stones were covered in thick, verdant moss. In front of the hut, thin panels of stones were affixed to the wall and were painted with and indecipherable assortment of symbols and shapes. The shelter's doorway was so tiny that an average sized person would have to bend over to enter. There was a line of clothing flapping in the wind, and a small flourishing garden was planted on the side of the home.

We approached the rock wall and, just as I was stepping over, Ren leapt over the barrier next to me. 'Ren! You scared the stuffing out of me! Make a noise first or something, would you?

We approached the small hut, an I steeled myself to knock on the tiny door, but then I hesitated, looking at Ren. 'We need to do something about you first.' I took the yellow rope out of my backpack and walked over to a tree on the side of the yard. He followed me haltingly. I beckoned him closer. When he finally came close enough, I slipped the rope through his collar and tied the other end to a tree. He didn't look happy.

'I'm sorry Ren, I know you hate it, but we can't have you loose. It would scare the family. We both know the you are strong enough to get free, but we need them to help us. Any semblance of control and security we can pass will be welcome. Unless it's not a family home, but a hunter's lodge. If there's a hunter in there, break free, run and don't look back.'

He only huffed.

'I promise I'll be back as soon as I can.'

I began walking over to the small house but then froze in my tracks when I heard a quiet male voice behind me say, 'Is this really necessary?'

Turning around slowly, I saw a handsome young man standing directly behind me. He looked young, in his early twenties. He was taller than me by a head, and had a strong, well developed trim body that was clothed in loose white cotton garments. His long sleeved shirt was untucked and carelessly buttoned, revealing a smooth, well-built golden-bronze chest. His light weight pants where rolled at the ankles, emphasizing his bare feet. Glossy black hair swept away from his face and curled slightly at the nape of his neck.

His eyes were what riveted me the most. They were my tiger's eyes, the same deep cobalt blue.

Reaching out a hand, he spoke, 'Hello, Kelsey. It's me, Ren.'