Pinto, The Jungle Girl.
Episode 2
…We arrived at the Jungle, I climbed down and then carried Joe, and we all went into the mud house, to my surprise, Grandma was already setting up the rooms gradually. I hadn’t been there since the last time I came, despite Grandma’s pleadings to come help her out which I always declined and she ended up paying some men in the village who followed her once.
Grandma already put two wooden chairs and a wooden table in the living room with a local lamp and a lighter on it, while one of the two extra rooms had a wooden bed with a mat covering it. I went into the kitchen and found a few plates and cups with spoons, a very old cooker of woods, and a drum at the back of the door already filled with water.
“Wait, was Grandma a seer?” I asked myself with a hand under my chin, and then I went back into the living room where Lilo and Joe were already sitted.
“I’m hungry” Joe said rubbing his stomach, looking into my eyes.
“That’s where the problem is. I don’t even know how we are going to get food, Joe. But come…” I said standing up with a hand stretched forward.
“Let’s go hunt for fruits” I added with a smile.
Joe jumped up, and Lilo too. We took a bag from the kitchen, climbed the horse with Joe and we went in search of fruits. We ended up plucking and picking different fruits which we arrived home with, ate to our fill, and we all slept off there in the living room and I woke up later at night with mouth agape. Everywhere was dark with the door still widely open. But thank Goodness, the moon was there in the sky with its beautiful brightness but I was still so fr!ghtened. I rushed toward the door and then slammed it, but the windows were still open. With the brightness of the moon shining in through the window, I was able to locate the lamp and the lighter still sitted comfortably on the table. I lit the lamp, went toward the windows, and then shut them. I carried Joe from the floor into the bedroom where we both lay on the bed. I brought out the diamond, stared at it and I gave it a kiss, holding it so tightly to my chest.
The next morning, it was Lilo the horse that woke us up, sniffing the side of our faces. I immediately opened my eyes and started to stretch my b0dy when he started to sniff my face again.
“Get off, you silly h0rse” I said with a giggle, pushing him aside. And then, Joe too woke up.
“I’m so hungry” He said as soon as he sat up. Joe never jokes with his stomach, even when Grandma was alive.
“Not again!” I said to myself, getting off the bed.
“Let’s go pick some fruits” I added, bringing him down from the bed.
“I don’t want fruits” Joe said angr!ly with folded arms.
“There’s nothing else out here Joe, we didn’t come with any foodstuff. So we are just going to manage fruits for now till I come up with something.” I said staring at him.
And then, Lilo started pushing me from the back using his head.
“Stop it Lilo, this is no time for jokes. I know you’re hungry too and so am I. ” I said turning swiftly to him but he still wouldn’t stop. He continued pushing me till he pushed me out of the house and he still didn’t stop.
“Ok, now stop it! ” I yelled but he ignored, till he succeeded in pushing me into a large potato farm just a few steps away from the house.
“Wow!” I exclaimed looking around, and then I discovered something on the ground which was wrapped around the farm.
“Pinto, see, Grandma’s potatoes.” He said pointing towards the farm with a grin, and wanted running into it when I screamed.
“Joe, wait!!! ” And he turned swiftly all of a sudden.
There were trap wires around it on the ground, Grandma must have put that to protect the farm from animals. I carried Joe up, and I asked Lilo to wait for us. And Joe and I went into the farm as I crossed those wires being extra careful.
“See, I planted this, this, and this” Joe said with a grin as soon as I dropped him on the farm, pointing towards the plants.
He ran forward again, paused, and then started to scream my name, pointing at something.
“Pinto, look” He screamed again. I rushed over to him, and saw an an!mal that was already caught in a trap.
“It’s Grandma’s” Joe said with a grin again.
Well, I squatted, took out the an!mal, and then went to drop it in our bag, and started to harvest some potatoes.
Grandma never told me she grew all these, not even for once did she mention it to me. To date I still wonder how Grandma got to know that we would later end up in the jungle, even though she told me she saw it in her dreams but I still don’t believe that.
I carried the bag of potatoes out of the farm, put it on Lilo, and then went back for Joe. We were about marching home when I turned back and saw a monkey running after us from afar. I carried Joe all of a sudden and then I let out a very loud scream “Run!”. We ran as fast as we could into the house, and then I slammed the door as soon as we entered. The monkey approached, and hit the door severally till it went back. Our hearts were almost in our mouths.
We were there in the jungle for years, I was now 25 while Joe was 16. He could communicate with animals, and most of them were his friends. At times Lilo and I would have to go deep into the jungle to call him home, and would find him sitted comfortably with some animals before him. It baffled me cos, I don’t even know what Joe would always say to them that would make them feel so comfortable around him.
There was a time we even went back into the village after so many years but found no single soul, not even a soul in the dilapidated palace.
One day I went to pick fruits as usual when I saw Lilo from afar running towards me. I immediately abandoned what I was doing and then halted him. He paused all of a sudden, and started to twist his neck, pointing his head towards the direction of the house. I climbed him swiftly and we rode home, only to see some people already driving away in a truck, with Joe in chains at the back of the truck…
To be continued.
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©️ Blessing-Enejo Abrahams Elleywrites
