Jungle Land

by Eric Walters

  “My grandfather asked.”

  “You could have said no,” I said.

  “I do not know anybody who says no to my grandfather. He is a very important person in our country. Could you have said no to your grandpa?”

  “I didn’t want to say no. I really like being around him. He’s, well, cool.”

  “You think your grandpa is cool?”

  “Yeah, I do. He’s a pilot and a war hero and he’s lived all around the world and—”

  “Fine!” she snapped, cutting me off. “Your grandpa is cool. It’s too bad that his grandson isn’t!”

  “So are you mad at me or your grandfather?”

  She shook her head, and her angry expression faded. “I love my grandfather. It is because of you that I had to come here, so it is you I am mad at. Are you not angry that you have to be here with me?”

  “Not angry so much as annoyed. I was supposed to spend this time with my grandpa, not some girl who hates me.”

  “I do not hate you. I just hate being here in the jungle, away from my friends and my phone and from the things I like to do.”

  “If you could do anything instead of being here, what would you want to do?” I asked.

  “I’d be by the ocean. I’d be swimming, sunning, surfing and snorkeling.”

  “Maybe that’s what’s planned for us,” I said.

  “If it was, wouldn’t you think we’d be staying somewhere closer to the ocean?” she asked.

  “It’s not that far. I’ll ask my grandpa to fly us to the ocean tomorrow. I’ve always thought it would be pretty cool to try surfing.”

  “You’ve never surfed?”

  “Never.”

  “I have surfed since I was five,” she said. There was that look again. It was a combination of disdain and pity.

  “Have you ever downhill skied?” I asked.

  “Of course not. There is no snow here.”

  “And there’s no surf where I come from. But tell you what. You teach me to surf, and I’ll teach you to ski.”

  “Are you inviting me to come to your country?” she asked.

  “Well…sure…if you’d like.”

  “I am not sure my boyfriend would be pleased with your asking me to go on a vacation with you.”

  I didn’t know what to say.

  “He is older. Much older. He is almost sixteen.” She smiled. “Then again, what he does not know will not harm him. Perhaps I could come to your country someday. Deal?” she said and offered me her hand.

  “Deal,” I said as we shook hands.

  * * *

  I pulled myself up onto the ledge. Alejandra was already standing there, the waterfall cascading down beside her, as she looked over the edge and down into the pool of water where we’d just been swimming. Slowly, carefully, I got to my feet. My knees were all gooey. It didn’t matter whether you were in an airplane or on a ledge—heights were still heights. Maybe this was worse. You couldn’t fall off an airplane. You could close your eyes, sit back and trust the pilot to get you back down. That hadn’t been the case on the climb up to this ledge, and the climb down was going to be even worse. But I guessed this could have been worse too—we were far, far from the top of the waterfall that extended way, way above our heads.

  “It’s pretty far down,” Alejandra said.

  “I believe you.”

  “You do not have to believe me. Come and see for yourself, unless you are afraid.”

  “I’m not afraid,” I lied.

  I inched forward until I could just peer over the edge to the pool of water below—far below. My legs were quivering, and I leaned away. Why was I doing this? Why had I ever let her convince me to climb up here to begin with?

  “I think we should do it,” she said.

  “Do what?” I asked.

  “Jump.”

  “What?”

  “Jump. I think we should jump.”

  “Are you crazy?” I demanded.

  “I am not loco. This ledge is not that high—”

  “It’s not that low. It’s got to be six meters.”

  “I think higher. We were just swimming there, so we know the water is deep enough and without rocks.”

  “I’ll give you that much.”

  “Besides, it’s not like we’re going to dive. We’ll jump feet first…unless you want to dive.”

  “No!” I exclaimed.

  “Good, then we’ll jump, if that’s what you want.”

  That wasn’t what I wanted at all!

  “Do not be afraid. We will go together.”

  “Together?”

  “At the same time.” She reached out and took my hand.

  I should have turned away. I should have backed away. I should have started back down the way we’d come up, but I didn’t. I felt even more anxious, although I wasn’t sure if it had more to do with holding her hand than with standing on a ledge, getting ready to jump into a pool of water far below.

  “We will go on the count of three, okay?” she asked.

  “Okay.”

  “One…two—”

  “Wait!” I exclaimed. She looked disappointed.

  “I’d like to do the counting,” I said. “Uno… dos…tres!”

  We stepped forward and jumped into the air, out and away from the rocks, both of us screaming, and then we went down, down, down, splashed on the surface and plunged below. My eyes opened and I looked up to the surface, now high above our heads. For a split second we settled, not sinking and not rising, and then the remaining air in our lungs started pulling us up.

  I released her hand and used both of mine to swim, crawling my way to the surface. Bursting free, I took a deep breath. The air was so amazing, so refreshing. We’d done it. Wait until I told Steve about this! He always said I was too careful and didn’t like to take chances. Careful had nothing to do with this.

  The three guards, who were standing at the edge of the pool, cheered and whooped and yelled out things in Spanish that I couldn’t understand but still understood.

  “That was amazing!” Alejandra exclaimed.

  “It was pretty amazing,” I said. My heart was pounding, and I was just so grateful to have lived through it and—

  “Do you want to do it again?” she asked.

  “No!” I yelled.

  “I was hoping you would say that.”

  “You were?” I asked.

  “Almost as much as I had hoped you would say no to the first time. You know that was a little bit loco. You are a bad influence on me.”

  “I’m a bad influence on you?”

  She laughed and swam away toward the edge of the pool. I swam after her.

  FOUR

  The walk back to Jungle Land seemed longer than the walk to the falls, although I knew that wasn’t possible. I guess it just seemed that way because we were tired, it was hotter, and maybe I was feeling a bit worn down after the rush of our plunge into the pool. I still didn’t believe I’d done that—that we’d done that.

  We’d agreed we were not going to tell our grandfathers what we’d done, and the guards had agreed to keep it a secret. At least, they’d agreed after Alejandra talked to them. She basically explained to them that she thought her grandfather would be angry at them for letting us jump, so it was in their best interests to say nothing. I was quickly learning that she was somebody who generally got what she wanted, one way or another.

  “It’s pretty strange to have armed guards escorting us,” I said.

  “You get used to it after a while.”

  “So this happens every time you come out here, I guess.”

  “Yes, but it is not just here. We have guards at our house and when we go out.”

  “You do?”

  “Many people in our country have guards to make sure they are not kidnapped,” she said.

  “Kidnapped? Seriously?”

  “It is a problem in our country. People with little money kidnap other people, especially children of families that have money and influen
ce.”

  “I didn’t know that.”

  “They hold them for ransom. Sometimes the children are captives for weeks or even months while the money is being raised.”

  “Wow, that’s so hard to believe.”

  “That doesn’t happen in your country?”

  “Never. I’ve never heard of anybody who was kidnapped for ransom.”

  “I know of a few from my school alone. That is the reason for all the armed guards.”

  “I don’t even know of anybody with guards, except maybe political leaders.”

  “We have that here too. Oh, by the way, my grandfather’s father—my great-grandfather—was the president of our country.”

  “That’s incredible!”

  “My mother has told me stories about when she was little and her grandfather would simply walk into banks and take out money,” Alejandra said.

  “Um, isn’t that where most of us get our money?” I asked.

  “You do not understand. It was not his money. He could simply take money out of any bank whenever he wanted. He was el presidente.”

  “Okay, our leaders can’t do that.”

  “Of course, that was in the olden days. Back then the president wasn’t elected. My great-grandfather was the head of the army and could do whatever he wanted because of that. Now we are a democracy.”

  “That’s good to know.” Up ahead I caught sight of the wall of the compound. “We’re almost home.”

  “Excellent. I want a cool drink in the shade of the patio.”

  “That sounds good.”

  “Do you see your grandfather’s airplane?” Alejandra asked.

  I let my eyes follow the wall to the far end of the runway. I couldn’t see the plane anywhere.

  “Maybe they went up for a spin,” I suggested. “My grandpa loves to fly.”

  I was a bit sad that he wasn’t around. I wished I could tell him about our walk and the waterfall. I didn’t like to keep things from him and was considering telling him about our leap and swearing him to secrecy. I knew he’d keep it a secret if I asked him to.

  “My grandfather does not like airplanes,” Alejandra said. “That is why he often takes the route up the river and through the jungle in an ATV.”

  “I didn’t know taking an ATV was possible.”

  “It is possible but difficult. My grandfather likes it that way. If it is hard to get in, then it is hard for people out there to cause trouble.”

  “You have a gigantic wall topped with razor wire and armed guards. How much trouble could anybody cause?”

  “You would be surprised what trouble can be caused.”

  We came up to the gate, and the three guards who had been our escorts waved goodbye and continued to walk. I watched them leave and felt a bit exposed. Almost on cue the gate slid open and we went inside. I no longer felt so exposed.

  “I’m looking forward to that lemonade,” I said.

  We walked along the path, through the incredible gardens and then up the stairs and into the house. Alejandra called out a greeting, which just echoed back at us. The house seemed strangely empty.

  “I wonder where everybody is,” Alejandra said.

  “Maybe they went up with my grandpa. His plane has eight seats.”

  “There are more staff than that and—”

  Berta, the woman who had served us breakfast, came out of the house. She rushed over and grabbed Alejandra and wrapped her in a big hug, talking rapidly in Spanish. I couldn’t understand the words, but I knew she was upset, almost on the verge of tears.

  “What happened?” I demanded. “What’s wrong?”

  Alejandra spoke quietly to Berta, as if she was consoling her. Then she turned to me. “There was an emergency.”

  “What sort of an emergency?” I had the worst thought imaginable.

  “It is not your grandpa or my grandfather. It was one of the staff, one of the maids. She had a high fever, and they thought she had a ruptured appendix. She had to be flown to the hospital.”

  “And that’s why my grandpa isn’t here.” I felt an instant sense of relief.

  “Yes, but I do not know why my grandfather went with him. As I told you, he hates flying.”

  “Probably he wanted to make sure his staff member was okay,” I said.

  “That would make sense. He is a kind person.”

  She turned back to Berta and spoke to her in Spanish. Berta answered and nodded her head in agreement.

  “My grandfather wanted to be sure that she was fine, but there were also some other complications. It might mean that we have to put off whatever plans we had for tomorrow.”

  “Or they might be back soon enough for the plans to still happen,” I suggested.

  “If she needs more complicated medical care than she can get at the local hospital, they will have to fly her farther away. If they are not back tonight before dark, then they will not be back until tomorrow, possibly longer if she needs to be flown to a hospital in a bigger city. They cannot return once it is dark, as there are no lights on the landing strip.”

  I hadn’t thought of that, but of course she was right. It was pretty bumpy and short even when it was light enough to see. Landing in the dark would be incredibly dangerous.

  Berta spoke again, this time in broken English. “Senor Juan…he had a surprise for…for this night for you and DJ, but without him it will not happen.”

  “But we are still here and it is for us, so it should happen!” Alejandra exclaimed. “I love surprises.”

  I didn’t have any doubts about that. I figured she not only liked to be surprised but was an expert at surprising people.

  “At least we should have something to amuse us tonight,” Alejandra said. “Can it happen?” she asked Berta.

  Berta replied with a smile and a shrug of her shoulders that was really no answer at all.

  FIVE

  The setting sun had signaled the fact that they weren’t returning that night, and suddenly I felt incredibly tired. It was more than just the hike and the excitement. Probably my body was trying to make up for the lost and disturbed sleep on the days flying down. I was sorry my grandpa wasn’t there but grateful that I didn’t have to fly again right away. I wasn’t looking forward to taking off from that little runway and didn’t want to do it more times than I had to.

  We ate in relative silence. It wasn’t that Alejandra was giving me the silent treatment again so much as that she looked as tired as I felt. I finished up the last spoonful of my ice cream, stood up and said, “I’m going to go to bed.”

  “What?”

  “I’m tired. I’m going to go to sleep.”

  “And what will I do?” she asked.

  “You could watch television or—” I stopped myself. I’d forgotten that there was no television or Internet or even phone service. “Maybe you should go to bed too.”

  “I do not want to go to bed. Could you stay up and keep me company? Maybe we could play a game or just talk?” Her voice was all sweet and kind, and she smiled at me.

  I was going to argue, but really, there wasn’t much point. One way or another, she was probably going to get her way eventually, so there really wasn’t much point in fighting. Besides, I felt that I should be a good guest, and it was nice that she was being so friendly.

  “Sure, I’ll stay up a bit longer,” I said.

  She jumped up and threw her arms around me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I was so shocked, I didn’t know what to say or do, but I felt my face getting all red. This was so embarrassing…and sort of neat.

  * * *

  A few minutes became an hour, and that hour became another and another and another. We played cards, she taught me some Spanish words, and then we took a walk in the gardens. There were thousands of stars in the sky, and a full moon gave off so much light that we could easily see our way among the pools and fountains. The air was thick with the smell of flowers and flowering trees.

  All the time we walked, I kept thinking about reachi
ng out and taking her hand. I’d never done that before with a girl, but I couldn’t get that thought out of my head. Would it be so bad or wrong? She was my age, and she was really pretty, and she had hugged me and kissed me on the cheek, but she did have a boyfriend who was much older. But he wasn’t here. I could have done it, but I didn’t.

  In my head I could hear Steve laughing at me, saying I was afraid to take a chance. And I guessed he was right for once.

  Jumping from that ledge at the waterfall was scary, but it would be much scarier to take her hand here in the gardens. What if she pulled away or said something harsh or was offended? Even scarier, though, what if she actually let me hold her hand?

  We climbed up the stairs and went back into the house. It looked like everybody had already turned in for the night, as it was now dark and silent except for the sound of our steps echoing off the walls and high ceilings. It was a little eerie, like being in a haunted mansion.

  “Here, take my hand,” Alejandra said.

  “What?”

  “Take my hand.”

  She reached back and grabbed my hand, doing what I’d been thinking about. Obviously, she’d been thinking about it too.

  “I will lead you so that you will not bump into anything. I know the way even in the dark.”

  “Sure, thanks.” Okay, maybe not the reason I’d hoped for, but still, I was holding a girl’s hand in the dark in a mysterious mansion. That’s the way I’d be telling the story to my brother when I got home.

  The farther we got from the front doors and windows, and the stars and moon, the darker it got. I was grateful for her leading.

  “Couldn’t we just turn on a light or two?” I asked.

  “I am not clear why it was done so early in the evening, but I am certain that they turned off the generator, so the lights will not work. We do not need light. Don’t worry. I can get you to your room.”

  Slowly we moved forward, Alejandra leading me along by the hand. We started up the stairs, and I put my other hand on the banister to steady my steps.

  “It is a little bit scary, no?” Alejandra asked.

  “Not really,” I lied. Even if I wasn’t feeling brave, I wanted her to think I was.

  She led me down the hall, stopping in front of my room.