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Alona’s Quest for the Golden Tree
Chapter 21: Dangers in the Forest
MY KNEES shivered momentarily. The sweat hang suspended on my forehead, before gliding nervously down the contours of my cheeks and face.
I bit my lips.
Perched precariously atop the fragile body of the banana tree, I struggled to reach the whole branch of the banana to pick its fruits. The oblivious branch swayed hither and dither, moving tantalizingly close before moving away again. It was torture, to be in this position.
It took me a while to realize that the pesky monkey was a blessing-in-annoying-disguise. In his hairy long fingers, he held the answer to my problem. Realizing that, I sat up straight and hopped to follow the swinging animal, hoping against hope that he would lead me straight to salvation.
I no longer noticed how far we’d gone. The thought of food seemed to provide positive stimulus. Indeed, when the monkey finally stopped and started to stretch his limbs in apparent cozy comfort, I swear I saw a ray of sunshine shone on the most magnificent tree I had ever seen.
At least until I realized how challenging it was to climb the tree in my current condition.Â
Ants began to swarm across my legs. As I reached to brush them off, my feet slipped dangerously. My heart almost jumped out.
“Oy!”
I knew that high-pitched girl’s voice. I looked down.
“Alona, what are you doing there? Get down!”
It was Ate Rachel.
“Just a moment,” I replied, making a huge heave to reach the branch, clinging to it like it was my lifeline.Â
“Oy!” reacted Ate Rachel automatically. “Be careful!”
I was, of course.
At that point, the branch made an ominous tearing sound.
“Uh huh.”
The branch tore off.
I had one last shout before I awkwardly plummeted down. Ate Rachel discarded what she was holding, running fast towards my direction.
I thudded down. And landed on a soft, small, and squishy landing.
I grinned.
“Got it!” I yelled, triumphantly raising the whole branch of banana.
“Great,” groaned a weak voice, “now, could you get up?”
I realized the soft, small, and squishy landing was Ate Rachel.
I hastily got up, grin disappearing.
“WHAT ARE YOU doing?!”
That’s not exactly what I wanted to say. I wanted to ask what brought her here, when she had left me already. I wanted to know why she caught me when I fell. She could have broken her bones.
That’s not what came out.
“What are you doing?!” she answered, in the same exact tone.
“Getting the banana!” I retorted.
“Catching you!” she retorted.
Getting up, she massaged her ribs. One or two might have cracked.
“Why did you get a lot of bananas?” she asked.
I blinked, looking at the whole branch I recently ripped.
Yeah, why did I get a lot? I could have gotten one or two bananas. It would suffice. It wouldn’t be that difficult to get either.
If I was honest with myself, I’d say it was because I was picking fruits for the both of us. Maybe in the deep recesses of my soul, I was hoping she’d get back. I wouldn’t tell her that, though.
“Why did you catch me?” I answered instead.
She grimaced. And I grimaced back.
Yet, there were hints of smiles in each of our faces.
FOR SEVERAL minutes after that, nothing but gulps and swallows could be heard.
With both of us wincing from pain and brushing twigs off our buttocks, the whole branch of banana both caught our eyes.
Both of us swallowed.
“Let’s eat,” I said, a bit awkwardly. She smiled shyly.
That was most unlike Ate Rachel. She was never shy.
But with that, the ice had been broken.
“How did you find me?” I asked conversationally, after the worst of our hunger subsided.
She gulped her food down first before she answered.
“Wasn’t too hard to follow,” she answered. “You left mud prints behind.”
Not an expert hiker, couldn’t even hide my tracks, that was me.
“Oh,” she said, suddenly remembering something. “Wait, I brought something.”
She ran towards the place where she discarded her things. When she went back, she was carrying juicy heart-shaped pink fruits in her shirt.
 “Macopas,” I said, brightening up.
I loved the juicy berries.
“I picked them off the ground,” boasted Ate Rachel. “There’s a lot strewn on the ground not far from where we separated.”
“I envy you,” I chuckled. “I wish I could have discovered that. I wouldn’t have to climb this dratted tree to be fed.”
Wiping dirt off the macopas, I chewed half in one bite. It was sweet.
For a while, the two of us feasted on bananas and macopas. After the torture of hunger, this felt like heaven. Our heads were lighter. It was easier to laugh.
Soon, however, we grew parched and thirsty.
“I saw a stream where we could get water,” said Ate Rachel helpfully, replying to my silent dilemma. “It’s not far from here.”
“Let’s go,” I said, standing up immediately.
“Are you sure you’re up to it?” she asked, frowning at the limp of my steps.
I nodded.
Together, dragging our food supply, we walked toward the stream. We were deep in the forest, but the trees here were gradually thinning. We could see the overhead sky. It was changing to the colour of the dusk.
“We’ll be able to find our way home before the moon comes out, noh?” Ate Rachel asked as we walked, her voice almost too casual. I wasn’t fooled. I heard the longing to be reassured in her voice. And the decision to let go of chasing impractical impossibilities.
I looked up, gazing at the sky. It was signaling the coming of the night. It was vivid orange, with specks of blue and white. The sky was gorgeous.
“No doubt we will, I’m sure,” I reassured her.
I had no idea where we were, actually. However, I was positive that bolstered and equipped with energy, we will be able to find our way home.
Also, I was greatly hoping my mother and brother had noticed my absence. I was hoping that they’re leading an entire search party to look for us, like right now. Will they be angry? Absolutely, I’m sure. Nonetheless, even that was not so unwelcome.
I badly wished I was correct.
Ate Rachel looked wistfully at all the trees, willing it to take on the shape of a huge and golden one.Â
I sighed.
“We’ll look for it again, you know,” I said. “We won’t give up. We just, er, packed up for now.”
She looked at me, eyes misty. For once, I saw her as she really was, a child.
“It was foolishness,” she said, “this. Right?”
I nodded, slowly.
She smiled, a bitter one.
“I hoped, with all my heart, that it was true. How happy we could be if it exists, if we find it. I reckon it will solve all our problems. I thought that if I wished, then it will be true.”
I patted her shoulders, knowingly and consolingly.
(c) 2016, Herbel Santiago