The American (part 2)

Sofi struggled to zip up the back of her dress in the dark. When she was done getting dressed, she stumbled out of the closet in her matching heels. She froze and listened to hear if she had woken anyone. When she was sure that everyone was still asleep, she quietly shuffled over to the mirror.

The only thing she could see in the darkness of her room were the teal sequins on her cocktail dress reflecting the moonlight pouring in from outside. The height of her heels elongated her legs, giving her the regal and slender silhouette of a peacock. Sofi's face, however, was hidden in shadows. It was so dark that she could barely make out the mole by her eye.

Satisfied with her appearance, she approached the open window and maneuvered herself through the opening. She effortlessly landed on the pile of dead palm leaves that lay outside her room. After checking the front of her dress for any window remains, she silently took off for the rainforest, guided by the light of the moon.

As expected, Amancio was waiting for Sofi on the overhang slope. She stopped short when she saw the trees forming a portal of light above his figure. Amancio stood with his hands in his pockets, gazing out at the placid river, the midnight wind rustling his wavy red hair.

This time he was wearing something other than a plaid shirt with jeans. His shirt was white and made of cotton with quaint wooden buttons along the front. Half the shirt was unbuttoned, revealing his tan chest. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. From the hip down he wore Bermuda shorts that swayed with the breeze. Strapped to his feet were ordinary leather sandals.

Other than in dreams, Sofi had never seen Amancio at night before. She noticed the harsh contrast of his body against the midnight background. Everything around him was faded shadows – only the moon gave off light. Even Sofi and the plants around her blended in with the midnight paleness. But not Amancio. He was a small flame in the damp, dark jungle. 

The fireflies trapped in his amber eyes were glowing fiercely. 

The moonlight humbly stepped aside to make way for the light of his red hair and the gloss of his tan skin. It was as if his entire body competed to outshine the moon. Sofi felt like she was gazing upon a sun that refused to set. When Amancio saw Sofi emerge from the wall of vegetation, he smiled and held out his arms.

"Do I look like a tourist?" he greeted. 

Sofi approached him and said as she adjusted his collar, "You look more like a jet-setting super model."

"Whatever that's supposed to mean," he chuckled. Sofi twisted her finger in one of Amancio's locks and tugged on it.

"You're going to have to do something about this hair, you know."

He nodded and pulled out a small comb from his back pocket. He combed his curvy bangs and the back of his hair. Sofi snatched the comb out of his hand and giggled, "That's not what I meant!"

Amancio kept up his playful grin and gave a shrug. Sofi was about to scold him again, but she realized that his hair had lost its crimson glow. It was dark brown. He had stealthily changed its color while styling it. Amancio laced his arm around Sofi's shoulders and said, "Shall we?"

After a few minutes, Amancio and Sofi emerged out of the forest and onto the deserted road.

"Are you sure that this road will take us to the city?" Sofi asked. 

Amancio pointed to the cluster of lights blinking off miles ahead of them and said, "I'm positive. Let's go."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sofi had never seen so many people since she moved to Brazil. The city was teeming with young couples who roamed the streets. The youthful happy faces were a nice change from the usual dirty, blank expressions of the village folk.

Sofi and Amancio goggled at the multi-colored lights that streamed from restaurant to restaurant. It seemed so long since Sofi had seen real buildings. They wandered through the streets until they came upon an outdoor bar equipped with a crowded dance floor.

Sofi didn't waste any time. She began to scan the multitude of people for her target: Joshua. Amancio interrupted her search.

"Let's dance." He suggested. Distracted by his offer, Sofi quit looking for Joshua and turned to the Encantado. She shot him a look. "Dance? We don't have time for that. We have to find the American."

Amancio took Sofi by the hand and led her onto the packed dance platform. As he pulled her along, he said, "Look what a beautiful night it is! That man isn't going anywhere. Come on, Sofi. All I'm asking for is one dance."

Sofi wished she hadn't given into to Amancio's pleading gaze. But his smoky orange eyes pierced into her and his soft voice urged her to let go of her worries and follow him.

"Alright, Amancio. You can have one dance."

Before she knew it, his hands were on her hips, and the lights surrounding her started to spin. After a while, the music blended into an incoherent slur of melodies. It was as if Amancio's hypnotic eyes had disconnected Sofi from the tangible world. She didn't mind this unusual sensation of detachment. Her senses were sharper than ever. She could feel every stitch in Amancio's cotton sleeves. Her keen sight drank in the energy of the crowd. 

The night lights seem to cast an orange halo over Amancio's form. Sofi let herself lean forward to rest her head on the base of his neck. She breathed in his strong citrus scent and closed her eyes. As the high lingered on, she honed in on the pulse of a butterfly's wings beating somewhere deep in the background.

It wasn't long before Sofi finally spotted the five Americans through the mass of people. They were all huddled around the bar table. Joshua was among them telling jokes and ordering drinks for everyone. Sofi stopped dancing.

Amancio pulled back. "Is something wrong?"

His voice was hazy, which meant that he was still coming down from the high. Sofi, completely alert now, squeezed Amancio's arm and whispered, "That's him."

Amancio's gaze swiveled over to the bar. Out of the corner of her eyes, Sofi could see the tips of his hair flash red with excitement. She blinked and it was back to normal again, but she could tell that Amancio was ready for a chase.

"Alright," he said, "you go talk to him – I'll keep the others busy. Be careful not to let his friends see you leading him away."

Sofi nodded in agreement. Amancio let go of her and headed for the dance floor. Sofi breathed in deeply before she made her way to the bar. As she approached, Joshua noticed her and nudged his crew members. He muttered something to them in English and they all got up and made their way to the packed dance floor. 

After his crew members scattered, Joshua looked to Sofi and patted the seat next to him. Sofi sat down and said, "You have a deal."

Joshua smirked. "I wonder how you got all the way here without your parents knowing. But then again, you are a professional at that."

"I took a shortcut," Sofi replied. It seemed Joshua was more interested in starting small talk with her than negotiating. But her chat with the American was interrupted by a rich chord ringing through the bar.

Joshua and Sofi both looked up to see that the band on the small stage had pulled someone up from the crowd. The volunteer performer was Amancio. Everyone on the stage as well as the dance floor regarded him with surprised yet awed looks.

Women in the crowd whispered amongst each other, trying to figure out how old or rather how young the tan Adonis was. The men just looked rather uncomfortable as they observed the reaction of the women to this confident, mysterious young man.

Amancio borrowed one of the musician's guitars and started playing one of his hypnotic love songs. It was so entrancing that both the men and the women swayed to the soft music.

By now Sofi was completely immune to the spells of ecstasy Amancio could cast with his instruments. She took this time to watch Joshua out the corner of her eye. 

The American studied Amancio from a distance. When he finally turned to her, he said, "Whatever genes that kid's got, I'd like some of it."

"Why would you say that?" Sofi asked with a knowing grin.

Joshua downed his shot. "It's not fair that he gets to look that damn good."

Sofi silently chuckled at his reaction to Amancio's appearance.

Joshua returned to the previous subject of discussion.

"So, do you want to meet me and my crew somewhere tomorrow morning or . . . ?"

Sofi said, "Actually, I wanted to show you the path to the river tonight. You can bring all of your equipment tomorrow. For now you should just get an idea of where it is."

Joshua shifted in his chair in anticipation."Really? Can we go now?"

Sofi nodded, intrigued by his excitement. Joshua hopped down from his stool and hastily paid for the drinks. Sofi could hear Amancio nearing the end of his song and his voice rising at the climax, like a sun dawning above the peak of a mountain. Before she and Joshua took off, he said, "Wait, let me tell the others."

Sofi seized his arm. "No, we'll be back before they know it."

Joshua's eyes widened at Sofi's strong grip. Anyone else would have seen it as a bad sign, but the scientist was far too anxious about his expedition to argue.

"Okay," he agreed and allowed Sofi to lead him out of the town and down the road. Once they were on the outskirts of the city, Sofi pulled the American down the road to wait for the bus.

About half an hour later, the mostly vacant bus dropped them off close to Sofi's sleepy village. From there, Sofi led Joshua off the road and into the bush. With only the moonlight as their light, they trudged through the Amazon.

Their trek was not a short one and with each hour that slipped by, Sofi grew nervous. As they wove their way through the tangled plant life Sofi said, "I'm sorry if your clothes get dirty. The waterfall is not too far from here."

"No, it's okay. I live for this. Besides, it's so beautiful here in the moonlight. It's a shame most of the people living here can't enjoy the magic of this place because of some stupid superstition."

"Tell me about it," Sofi replied in English. Joshua started to nod when he realized Sofi had switched languages.

"You speak English?" he asked with a critical eye. 

Sofi shrugged. "You never asked. You just assumed that I didn't."

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" Joshua said as he shook his head. Then he added, "So tell me. How does a pretty Colombian girl who speaks perfect English end up in the jungles of Amazonia?"

"I'm half Colombian. My mom is from São Paulo. I spent most of my time in the US going to school and staying with exchange families. My dad died a couple of months ago and this is the last place where I have family – Ouch!"

Sofi stumbled. One of her heels got caught in a bush that was sticking out of the ground. She had difficulty working her foot out of the thorny bushel. Joshua stopped and turned around.

"Are you alright?" he asked. 

"I'm fine. Go ahead without me – I'll catch up. The waterfall is on an island just up ahead."

"Okay," said Joshua without protest. After a few minutes, Sofi finally managed to retrieve her foot from the clinging brambles and rose to her feet. She couldn't see in the darkness, but she knew that her dress was a mess and her heels were consumed in mud.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The American scientist plodded on clumsily through the jungle. With practiced reflex, he slapped a mosquito that had landed on his neck. Joshua wiped the remaining guts on his cargo pants. It was so dark, he thought, nearly black. Only the sound of the nearby river guided him.

Sometimes it was difficult to hear over the screaming forest insects. Yet other times it was eerily silent and the water was the only sign of life. In the thick, unpredictable fogginess, Joshua couldn't help but feel like he was Marlow, plunging into the heart of darkness after the insane yet brilliant Kurtz.

"We'll see if we can find any ivory tonight," Joshua muttered to himself as he forced back a knot of creepers. As if on cue, the island that Sofi described appeared up ahead and the forest floor melted into soft, mushy earth. Joshua measured the distance between himself and the precious marble of land.

"Jeez, does that girl expect me to swim over there?" Joshua wondered as he adjusted his angular glasses. Then he thought, What if that little girl led me here on purpose? What if she wanted me to get lost?

Before he could make up his mind whether to go back, Joshua caught sight something out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head and stared at one spot for a long time. There was something standing next to him at knee level. 

It stood unmoving, almost blending in perfectly with the midnight backdrop. But there was something of an outline. And it was this curvy shape that Joshua stared at frozen, trying to decipher. Finally, the thing moved when something resembling a tongue flicked out and moistened a whiskered face.

The screaming choir of insects was interrupted by an ungraceful and abrupt splash. In an instant, Joshua was swimming for his life as well as releasing an assembly line of curses and exclamations. He found some comfort in the fact that he was in the river and putting some distance between him and the black jaguar. But then his degree in zoology kicked in and he remembered how in the family of big cats, jaguars were excellent swimmers. Still Joshua paddled on; so furiously in fact, that he lost his glasses in the effort.

When the human reached the island, he seized the grassy earth and climbed it like a young ape clinging to the back of its mother. Once he climbed high enough and rolled a good distance from the edge, he rested on his back and tried to put air back into his lungs. The constellations in the black web above gave Joshua a little solace as he came to his senses.

"Christ!" he exhaled, acknowledging how terrified and cold he was. The scientist prayed for the best as he rolled over onto his side. He curled into the shape of a fetus and shivered in his soaked clothing. 

I'm alone and lost in the jungle. There is a jaguar stalking me. And not to mention I'm practically blind without my glasses.

The only thing that called Joshua out of his stupor was the sound of warm, rustic notes going off one by one. The scientist lifted his head and stared into the interior of the island. His bright blue eyes became enveloped in the black foreboding abyss of his expanding pupils.

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Obrigada,

~ Coco