SPLAT!
An enormous raindrop landed on my helmet knocking me out of my own head and nearly off the seat. I grabbed the back of his sweatshirt to stabilize myself. He squeezed the brake slightly and called to me over his shoulder.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes,” I shouted. Just give me a minute to recover from being stupid!
I settled on simply telling him the truth. He was right about this place and he should not come any further because who knew what other dangers were lurking out there. I would thank him for the ride, offer him some money for all his trouble, and send him on his merry way. The truth might actually help me this time.
My hand unclenched from his sweatshirt when I came to my decision. “Sorry!”
“It is okay. Do not fall off!”
The hood of his sweatshirt slid off of his head as he turned, revealing rain dripping from his hair and face. I looked at his arms that were tightly gripping the handles; the fabric was discolored, saturated.
“You’re soaked!” I yelled.
His neck twisted again. “What?”
“I said you are really wet!”
He turned back and shrugged his shoulders grabbing the hood with one hand and pulling it back over his head.
“Jay, stop!”
He squeezed the brake and brought us slowly to a stop on the side of the path. I climbed off the back and circled around to the front for a better look. He was grinning from underneath the soggy hood.
“Zhay?” he questioned.
Did I say that out loud? Oh man. I pulled the helmet off of my head and stretched out my arm, letting the helmet hang from my fingertips.
“You need this way more than I do...and yes. I did say Jay. I’m sorry. I couldn’t understand you when you told me your name and I was too embarrassed to ask again, so I gave you a nick-name.”
He batted the helmet away. “It is Jacques,” he said slowly. Then he sat up a little straighter and smiled. “Jacques,” he mumbled at his normal speed. His eyebrows rose, waiting for me to repeat.
“Jock,” I said, trying to match his accent. I cringed as the word came out of my mouth and I realized that I might have just called him an under-garment. I pushed the helmet back at him, hoping he didn’t realize my faux pas.
His nose squished. “Jacques.”
My laugh sounded more like a snort. “I’m sorry.”
I tried once more to hand him the helmet, but he refused.
“Please take it Zack, you are soaked. I’ve already taken your jacket. Please?”
He reluctantly grabbed the helmet. “Zhay is okay for you to say. We will work on the rest. And thank you. Unless, do you want to drive?” His smile was back, giving me a reprieve for being a jerk and nicknaming him instead of ’fessing up to not knowing what he said.
“Uh no, you would definitely need more than that to protect you,” I said, flicking the helmet. “Do you have something else to put on? You’re going to get sick.”
He shook his head and smiled, his cheeks reddening. “Eh. No. I am dry underneath, many layers. I am … cuh-zee.”
The way his gentle voice murmured the word cozy brought a smile to my face. Right, cozy in the rain and mud. Apparently I was not the only fibber. I would forfeit this battle for now. But I would keep my eye on him and make sure he didn’t turn blue. Although it was very warm earlier, it seemed the farther we drove away from town, the cooler the atmosphere became.
“Do you need a drink?” he said, popping up off the seat. He unzipped the bag, pulled out a bottle of water and handed it to me. I thanked him, not realizing how thirsty I was until his offer, and twisted off the cap. After guzzling half of the bottle, I turned and rested against the seat, taking in more of the view.
"Are you from here, Jay?"
He swallowed a gulp of water, shaking his head. "No. Not here. A little farther east."
East? Any farther east and we would be in the ocean. Maybe he's a mermaid, I laughed to myself.
"Do you have family there?"
He joined me at the side of the four-wheeler and leaned against it. "I do. My mother.” He dragged his foot back and forth in the dirt as he thought.
I wasn't sure where my sudden curiosity was coming from; maybe it was my need to learn more about him so I could say he wasn't a stranger. Or, more likely, I was just nosy.
"Are you close with her?" I asked.
The lines in the dirt sank deeper and he sighed.
"I used to be."
This is where my curiosity leads. I refocused my attention on the view, not able to look anymore at his sullen expression.
"And you?" he asked, taking a sip from the bottle. "What part of America do you come from?"
"Idaho."
He smiled. "Ah, potatoes. Yes?"
Ugh. He wasn't even from my country and he knew about the potatoes. Wasn't it enough that our license plates said Famous Potatoes? Apparently they are a worldwide phenomenon. When Irelynn became governor, she would have to reconsider our state's mascot.
"No, I'm from the northern part. Really close to the Canadian border, and there are no potatoes there; only mountains, lakes and ski resorts.
"Do you like it there?"
That was a good question. Did I? "I suppose so. I've never lived anywhere else and this has been my only trip out of the country."
He finished drinking and flattened the bottle. "How do you like, so far?"
I laughed and twirled around with my arms stretched, taking in the beauty...and a little rain. “It's the most amazing place I've ever seen.” I stopped mid twirl and met his sparkling eyes. “And the people are awfully nice.”
He promptly broke his eye contact and began tracing the lines again. “Yes. What is not to like?”
“Exactly.”
I felt guilty again, for not continuing to enjoy the scenery as we drove. We had ridden the trail alongside the canopy as far as we could until it sloped lower and entered into the trees below. My butt was really starting to tire of riding and I really wished we could walk for a while. I wasn't sure how long it had been since we stopped earlier, but the sun was almost set and I wished we would get there soon because the longer the ride took, the weaker my resolve became. However, I was not going to be the annoying person to ask if we were there yet.
“Hold on!” Jay suddenly shouted. I leaned forward off of the bag and circled my arms around his waist. The tires locked as we began sliding sideways down the muddy trail. I squeezed my eyes shut and held my head against his back as all the muscles in my body tightened. I could feel him wrestling with the handles to straighten the four-wheeler so we wouldn't roll over. We came to an abrupt stop and together lurched forward off the seat then slammed back down.
"Ow!”
I unhooked my arms and Jay immediately jumped off the seat, tearing off the helmet and spinning as he leaped, planting his worried eyes inches from my face.
"Are you okay? I am very sorry."
"No, I'm fine."
He blew out a breath and rocked back on his heels. "Good.” He looked down the path. "I am sorry but there is a problem down there. You stay here and I will go look."
I nodded and tried to get my nerves back in order as he made his way down the path. He stopped where a tree had fallen across the path several feet ahead. Resting his hand on another tree, he slowly leaned forward. Further out from where he was standing, there were no more trees that I could see. That's not a good sign. I wondered if someone had been logging; it wasn't uncommon in the mountains at home to be wandering around and come upon an abrupt line where there were no more trees- just rocky, dirt roads for the big trucks to haul their loads.
Jay didn't seem concerned at all by the tree blocking our path; there was something beyond the tree that he was focused on. I strained to see what he was looking at, but all I could see beyond him was gray sky. He looked at the base of a tree to his right and followed the trunk all the way up to the branches. He scratched the back of his head, his gaze following the branc
hes as they met those of the tree he was leaning against. He let go of the tree and hooked his thumbs in his back pockets, making the cycle around the trees again. Finally, he turned and strolled back.
"What is it?" I asked, trying to read his expression as he approached.
"There is no more path ahead. The rain, eh, and mud.”
I shook my head. "What, like a mudslide?"
"Yes, it has washed a part of the path away."
"Is there any way around it?"
I leaned backward as he slipped his leg over the seat of the ATV and plopped down. "No," he replied.
Jay turned the key, giving life to the ATV and we slowly crept forward. I wondered what we were going to do if this path was gone. I had to get to my family – stable path or not. He stopped and once again jumped off, leaving the key in the ignition, and walked to the fallen tree. I decided to follow this time. I had to help him figure out how we were going to cross.
I stepped off and jogged a few steps just as he swung his arm backwards blocking me from moving forward any more. My mouth opened to complain, but no words came out. Mudslide was not the proper term for what lay on the other side of the fallen tree. Total earthly devastation was more appropriate.
Past the tree's roots, where the path would have continued upward, a gigantic crevice several yards wide had been gouged from the side of the mountain, it was as if someone had pulled the two sides of the path completely apart, causing the left side to sink.
Had I been running any faster, or had Jay not reached out to stop me, I would have tumbled right over the edge. All of the trees beneath us had been ripped from their roots, scattered and broken for as far as I could see. A thick layer of mud and debris covered the trees, gluing them perfectly still. I looked to my right and to the other side of the crack. There was a solid wall of rock from where the earth had split away, rising high into the sky. There was no way around it.
My heart dropped as I searched desperately for some way, any way, to get across.
"How important that you arrive today?"
"Extremely," I breathed out.
He looked at the two trees on either side of us again and then walked back to the ATV.
"No! Jay, please! Please don't leave. I have to go. There is something I have to d-.” I stopped short of admitting to premeditated murder. "See,” I finished.
He grabbed the bag from behind the seat and carried it back, dropping it at my feet. Immediate relief flooded my body when I realized he was not going to leave; he was going to help me get to my destination.
"Thank you...very much. Thanks. Are we going up and around or climb down there?" I asked, pointing to the destruction below.
His nose crinkled and he shook his head, flicking his index finger up toward the sky.
"Heh?” Either he was about to sprout wings, or I was not following what he was referring to.
He laughed and extended his arm fully continuing to point. And then I saw hidden in the leaves high above me a shiny metal object attached to the trunk with a thick black cord wrapped numerous times around the largest bough. The cord was pulled tight upward and again wrapped around a smaller, but sturdy branch. Hanging from the cord was a tangle of straps and buckles. I groaned as my eyes followed the cord that reached out of the foliage and hung loosely, stretching across the gap. I groaned even louder when I realized I couldn't see the end.
"Is that the only way?"
His lips formed a thin line while he tried not to laugh again and he nodded.
For a fraction of a second, I forgot why I was there, about to risk my life by falling into a bottomless pit outside of Whoknows, Costa Rica.
Jay climbed up to the lower branch and tugged on the tangle of straps, causing them to break free and slide down toward my frozen body. Before I could block it from hitting my face, his hand caught it.
“It is a, um.” He held the strap to his chest and motioned as if he were fastening a buckle. “And like this.” He started to wrap his upper thigh with one of the loose straps.
I surveyed the damaged earth again before stopping Jay from any more demonstration. “It’s a harness. I get it.” How did I get here? I thought. Yesterday I was decorating for a party and now…
"A harness. Yes, but we need to try something first. We need a pig."
I was back to reality. "A pig?”
He nodded and began scouring the trees and brush around us.
"Oh, a guinea pig.” I accidentally, but appropriately, snorted.
He didn't look up from the bush that he was searching. "What?"
I smiled to myself again. "Nothing."
He popped back out of the bush empty handed and frowning, but he didn't give up. The bag that sat where he had dropped it earlier caught his eye, apparently sparking an idea. He darted to the ATV and was back instantly with a small chain with hooks on each end dangling from his hands. "The pig!" Grinning triumphantly with more life in his face than I had seen all day, he bent over and grabbed the bag. "I will send it down first and if it lands safely, we will go."
How could I put this nicely? "And if it doesn't?"
In true Cami style, I was sure that I'd successfully stomped on his tiny victory. But he surprised me by tossing the bag over his shoulder and climbing back up the tree. After propping the bag against the trunk, he motioned for me to swing the recently freed straps toward him. Surely he wasn't going to use the only harness – I quickly searched the tree – yes, the only harness to send the bag soaring into the unknown. I grabbed the straps and slung it as hard as I could toward him.
He caught it and pushed it behind him and then grabbed the chain, looping it over the cord in front of him. He then pulled the chain through the handles of the bag, securing the hooks together. He slowly took his hands away and the bag slowly slid down the cord until it was level with my shoulders. Jay jumped off the branch and grabbed the bag. "If it doesn't," he smiled, "then the second time is the charm.” And with that, he shoved the bag as hard as he could.
Second time's the charm...that was comforting.
We didn't take our eyes off the bag as it slid with ease down the line toward trees waiting for it in the distance. I finally had to look away and rely on Jay to tell me if it made it safely, although there was really no way he would be able to see that far. There was a long, very long, silence. I debated on how long I should wait before proclaiming, I told you so! But then Jay turned and tipped his head forward.
“The bag has landed with no injuries.”
“H-how do you know that?” I stuttered. “You can see that far?”
“Yes.”
I strained again to see the landing point of the bag, but I couldn't.
Jay was already in the tree with the harness in his hand, the top rolling along the cord as he climbed down. When he finished untangling the straps and inspected the small metal contraption that connected the harness to the cord. The whole thing seemed awfully flimsy. Way too frail for – it struck me that there was only one harness and two of us.
He straightened himself and put his hands in his sweatshirt pocket. "We are ready?"
"We?”
"Eh, yes, we. There is only one harness and two of us."
I looked from him, to the harness, and back again. "How's that going to work?"
"Like this.”
He put one leg into one of the harness holes, then the other, and pulled it up as far as it would go, buckling it around his waist. He pulled two more straps resembling suspenders over his shoulders, buckling them together across his chest. He grabbed the remaining strap that was dangling from the cord fastening it to a metal ring in the center of his chest. After checking every hook, latch, and knot he could find, he pulled slowly brought his legs off the ground. The line lowered under his weight, but it seemed to hold as he bounced a few times. He looked ridiculous and completely uncomfortable. He was strapped in securely, now where was I supposed to be in all this?
He noticed my uncertainty, and planted his feet back on the ground. He
thought for a moment and then tugged the straps down until they here halfway between his knees and thighs. He leaned back again and now looked as he was in a swing without the seat.
I shook my head. "That looks incredibly uncomfortable. What are you doing?"
He patted the top of his thighs and said. "You will have to sit here. You will not have the straps, but I promise, I will not let you go.” His face blushed, and he reverted back to not making eye contact.
I was shocked at what he was suggesting. Although I suspected that he was severely underweight for how tall he was, I knew that there was no way that tiny strap was going to be able to sustain our combined weight. "That's not going to hold both of us!"
He lifted his head and eyed me from head to toe. "I am sure it will. No problem.”
My heart hammered as I slowly walked toward him. Dear God, please let this thing hold us. “I'm heavier than I look, you know,” I warned.
“I am stronger than I look, you know.” His left hand grabbed the line overhead and while his other arm stretched out and motioned for me to come closer. “Wrap your legs around and lock your feet together,” he instructed.
I wanted to die. Not only was I about to crush him under my weight, but the awkward closeness we were about to experience wasn't going to end quickly enough. I silently cursed my addiction to Oreos. But, swallowing my pride, I threw one leg over him and sat down as gently as I could. The line sank again. No more soda, either! He leaned forward and pulled me closer.
“Hold on with both hands and do not let go.”
The strap was the only thing in between us now and the only thing keeping us attached to the line. I grabbed it and, with white knuckles, held as tight as I could. He pulled my legs behind his back and hooked my feet. “Don't put your face too close to that cord. It will snap your face when we get going.” I nodded holding my breath.
With his right arm, he held the cord just above his head and wrapped his other arm around my waist.
“Are you ready?”
The Valley Page 19