‘Enjoy Tonal, this is also part of the miracle.’ She licked his face, lowered her head on to her paws and sighed. Julio shifted sideways and sat back against her flank, together they watched the clearing settle down again. They stayed that way for more than an hour, both reluctant to break the magic of the moment. Finally, she stood up and moved into the forest. Julio watched her move, a majestic feline in the afternoon sun.
She stayed away for more than an hour. When she returned she walked up to Julio, greeting him. She was hungry. The change cost an enormous amount of energy. Even the partial changes she had done in the past weeks had all but drained her energy. The elation of the cat had fuelled her for a while, but now the hunger had overtaken her feelings and other urges.
Julio had cut some strips off the horse haunches while she had been away. It was a shame to waste the meat. He was laying the strips on the hot coals of the small underground oven he had built.
He indicated the carcass of the horse. ‘Go eat.’ He said. ‘You need it.’ She strode over to the animal, lay down near its haunches and proceeded to gorge herself. After eating she once again disappeared into the forest.
She stayed away all night. Julio was feeling very anxious in the first light of the day when he noticed that the birds were protesting again. Sure enough, there she was at the edge of the clearing walking into the early morning light. She padded over to the lake, waded into the water and swam for a while, cleaning the dried blood and dust from her fur.
When she emerged from the water she had regained her human form.
Tonal walked over to the lean to, dressed and sat down next to Julio. For a while they stayed silent, enjoying the moment and each other’s company. The night alone had made Julio aware of how much he needed her company. How alone and fragile he was in the enormous forest, and how he had missed her companionship. He was glad to see her again. In whichever form she chose.
‘I am glad you are back Tonal’ he voiced his feelings. ‘How was it?’
‘It was unbelievable Julio.’ She lay back on the damp grass, gazing at the treetops bordering the edge of the clearing. ‘My senses are even better then. I can see, feel, smell everything. I became part of the jungle.’ Her enthusiasm was touching. He had never seen her so happy.
‘I stumbled a lot at first, I was so big, and heavy too.’ She laughed. ‘I fell through a rotten branch. Couldn’t hold my weight. I can’t begin to explain how it felt. I’m reeling.’
‘You look tired.’ Julio answered. ‘Rest now, and we will discuss our options when you wake.’
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The situation had changed drastically. The loss of the horse was a major setback and meant revising the plans. When he glanced back at Tonal, Julio saw that she was already asleep. He decided to follow her example, not having slept much during the night, too anxious about how she was doing and whether she would come back. The thought had crossed his mind that she may be so exulted by her new form that she would choose to stay in the forest—would discard her human form for the feline world. But here she was again. So now the trip would continue.
That evening they discussed the possible scenarios and decided to leave the clearing the next morning. They would continue on their way to Julio’s family and the Partisans they were staying with. They would start in the general vicinity that Julio thought his family would probably be in. The trip would take them further south through Guatemala, Honduras, and Costa Rica.
All the southern provinces were under American rule. The further away they got from the states, the bigger the influence of the Partisans became, and subsequently the smaller the American’s. The American military didn’t have the money or resources to patrol all their new territories and were losing their grip. The military that had been stationed in the middle Latin countries had been sent on the invasion of the southern American countries like Brazil, Venezuela and Chile. The Americans were hopelessly spread out, their supply lines thin and fragile. On top of that, the resistance that they encountered in the Latin countries and provinces was much greater than expected and quickly exhausted the limited facilities they had. Naively, they had counted on a quick and unexpected attack with easy subjugation.
The remainder of Julio and Tonal’s trip would probably be less dangerous than it had been so far. There were more sympathetic people, less military, which meant they would not have to hide all the time, but it was by no means safe. The Americas still had money and continued to corrupt people. The nobles were America-voiced, dreading the possibility that the revolutionaries might gain control, and they had spies in all layers of the communities. Julio expected that they were still looking for him—for them both probably. It was difficult to determine which of them was the most wanted. The sparse news that they heard was not encouraging. The military were out in full force, luckily they were still concentrating on the area from the spa down to where they had massacred Julio’ family.
Slowly they made their way further south, through Costa Rica, Panama and finally into Columbia, occasionally encountering people that Julio knew. Every time he introduced her as a Sympaitico who had helped him escape from the Americano’s. Never did they embellish on the story. The reaction was always the same. They stayed wary of her but in reverence to this small man who played such a large part in the resistance, they tolerated her presence though she was inevitably excluded from important discussions. In the beginning Tonal allowed this to happen, waiting outside wherever Julio went to have his private discussions. After one unfortunate incident where one of the people turned out to be a mole and tried to recapture Julio for the military, Julio insisted that she attend every meeting. Pretending ignorance of the language, she sat in the corner and absorbed the proceedings.
The resistance generally deferred to Julio on important issues, but sometimes they encountered eager, often young, people who were uncomfortable with the slow pace of the resistance and the meagre successes. Usually knowledge and experience prevailed.
Inevitably news of their journey reached both sides. The military streamlined their search efforts further south and the resistance gave Julio and Tonal aid where necessary.
Finally, in one of the meetings with trusted resistance people, Julio learned the general vicinity of the resistance compound where his family would be. As a precaution, the compound moved constantly, that, the secrecy and the impenetrable jungle formed the initial security of the location. Word travelled fast, and the resistance journeyed out to meet them. In a clearing almost twenty miles from the compound there was a tearful reunion.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
She had felt their presence. They were doing their best to be invisible, but the scents and the noise was like a detailed picture in her mind. There were five of them. All men, well, one was a boy. They were spread out around the clearing she and Julio were approaching.
‘Julio’ she whispered. ‘There are men here. We should be watchful.’ Instantly stopping at the sound of her voice, he stayed on the fringe of the clearing. Listening, waiting for what would happen. Julio took a few steps forward, exposing himself in the clearing while she stayed in the shadows of the trees. Nothing happened for about ten minutes, and then a heavily built man stepped out of the trees twenty metres to the right of Julio. Tonal had circled round behind the men ringing the clearing and was ready to intervene if necessary. She felt the tension in the men, especially in the boy. He could hardly be restrained. His scent was similar to that of Julio and she deduced that they were probably related.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
The big man walked over to Julio, who stood beaming.
‘Jesus,’ he called out to his old friend. ‘It is so good to see you.’ The men embraced. This was the sign for the others to emerge from the jungle. The boy ran to his father, throwing his arms around the man he had never thought he would see again. Tears filled Julio’s eyes as he hugged his son.
‘You have a companion?’ Jesus asked looking back behind where Julio stood. ‘A woman if I am cor
rectly informed.’
Julio nodded. ‘Tonal, please come out, these are friends.’
Emerging behind the men, she startled them. They had been unaware of her circumventing manoeuvre and were expecting her to emerge from the jungle behind Julio. Her presence behind them made them nervous and the guns were levelled at her.
‘It is ok’ Julio informed Jesus. ‘She is my saviour.’ With a chuckle he added ‘and as you can see she protects me well.’ His humour was lost on the others who felt threatened by her. Slowly she moved around the group until she stood behind Julio.
Julio’s son was staring at her, fascinated by this beautiful woman who had brought his father back to him.
‘This is Tonal.’ Julio introduced her. ‘This young man is my son Alex’ fondly indicating his son, he continued the introductions turning to the large man to his left. ‘This is Jesus, the leader of our motley group.’
The remainder of the group had moved close and one by one they greeted Julio. He named them as they shook his hand or hugged him close. She remained distant, not wanting to intrude on the familiar terrain for the others. She was an outsider and painfully aware of this in the constraints of the small clearing.
Jesus approached her ‘Tonal, a strange name, full of mythical connotations, but if you are a friend of Julio’s I welcome you.’ Not entirely convincing.
She shook his offered hand and murmured ‘Likewise.’
Appreciating the humour Jesus smiled. ‘Come, let’s go home. It’s still a long walk.’ Turning back, he led the group out of the clearing, onto a trail in the dense jungle. Julio was totally taken up by the rambling of his son Alex. Constant chatter—interspersed with secretive glances at the woman who followed them—characterised the walk for the boy.
After a three-hour trek through the hot and humid jungle, they arrived at a small ravine. This proved to be the location of the compound. The gorge was fifteen metres wide at its narrowest and widened out to several hundred metres. The overhang of one of the cliff walls provided a natural defence against any enemies and effectively hid the compound from sight. The majority of the buildings and tents were situated in the shadow of the rock and the trees that littered the ravine floor. Another major benefit of the overhang was that the direct sun was screened. She could smell water in the form of a stream nearby and some animals as well as the people.
Under camouflaged tarps, Tonal saw a small collection of vehicles and carts, most old and damaged, bullet holes testament to the battles they had endured. In a paddock to the left there were a few nervous ponies. One or two dogs shied away from their group, unobserved by all except Jesus. She met his eyes. This was a clever man. He refrained from any comment. There would be time enough later.
Several people came out of the tents and buildings to greet Julio, and naturally to gape at her. Standing taller than she had ever seen him—almost swaggering—Julio was enjoying his homecoming no end.
The door of one of the wooden buildings was flung open with a loud bang and a large woman of about thirty-five with jet-black hair came running out of the opening screaming Julio’s name. He quickened his step and caught the woman in his arms.
‘It’s true, you’re back’ she stammered between sobs. ‘I thought you were dead.’
‘Maria, how could I have died, I promised you I would come back to you, and I always keep my promises.’ Julio tenderly stroked her hair and held her close. Pulling back from him she became angry, slapping his chest.
‘I told you not to go, let the others do this, you have done enough… I nearly lost you.’ Folding back into his arms, her anger momentarily spent, she renewed her sobbing. A few minutes later, she disentangled herself and desperately trying to regain her composure looked at the others where she spotted Tonal. ‘Who is this?’
‘This, my dear Maria, is the woman responsible for bringing me back to you; Tonal.’
Maria walked the short distance to her and immediately engulfed her in a massive bear hug. ‘Thank you, you have no idea how much this stupid old man means to me.’
Laughing Tonal answered ‘Oh I think I got that message.’
Hooking her arm in Tonal’s, Maria led her into the building ‘He is such a stubborn man, always insisting that he should accompany the others on the dangerous missions, leaving me here to sit and wait.’ Her familiarity was contagious and Tonal started to feel less the outsider and more a welcomed guest.
‘You must be hungry, sit yourself down here at the table and I will get you BOTH something to eat.’ Directing her comment as much at her as at her husband who had followed the two women into the building. Julio was enjoying the banter and loving abuse.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
The room was small but cosy. The wooden walls were decorated with colourful Indian blankets. Six sturdy chairs bordered the wooden-top table in the centre of the room, a child’s high chair stood up against the wall. To the right was a makeshift stove and sink. This was the hub of the house. Tonal smelled freshly baked bread, a meat stew, fruit and coffee. Her stomach rumbled, the last meal they had eaten was just a faint memory.
Alex managed to seat himself directly opposite Tonal, when she noticed and smiled at him, he went bright red and turned his face away.
‘I will leave you alone with your family, but tomorrow we need to talk Julio, Tonal.’ Jesus walked to Maria, gave her a peck on the cheek and left the building. A small girl of about two years old shyly moved into the room and hid behind her mother’s legs, thumb in her mouth and clutching the ever-present worn teddy bear. Julio’s eyes watered as he walked to her and bent down, his arms open.
‘Dulce… My beautiful Dulce.’ Keeping one eye on the stranger sitting at their table, she let go of her mother’s leg and moved into Julio’s arms. He picked her up, sat down on a chair and held her close, blinking back the tears. Hanging on to her father, the curiosity of the toddler got the better of her and she glanced at the stranger. ‘This is my friend Tonal, she is a new member if this family.’ Glancing up at her father’s face and continuing to fiercely suck her thumb, she once again turned her attention to the stranger.
The meal was brought to the table, the smells so intoxicating and warm. They all feasted on the home baked bread, cheese and venison from the Jungle. Fruit, vegetables and fresh clear water rounded off the feast. The love and warmth of the family soon calmed Tonal’s nerves and before the end of the meal, the small girl Dulce had seated herself on her lap and was babbling away in her toddler language. Totally incomprehensible, but very amusing. The little girl had decided that Tonal was her new best friend and before too long, lay curled up on her lap, thumb in her mouth, sleeping. Maria carefully picked up the tiny form and put her to bed. Alex stayed, caught somewhere between child- and adulthood he felt he should remain. On her return Maria addressed Tonal. ‘You must be tired, both of you. A good night’s sleep and then you can tell us all about your adventures.’
‘Mom…’ Alex—with the curiosity and absence of patience of so many of his peers—wanted to hear everything now.
‘Tomorrow.’ End of discussion, his mother was infinitely more convincing.
‘I will show you your room.’ Tonal followed Maria to a door off the hallway. It opened to a tiny room. A bed with clean sheets and a pillow was up against the wall, next to the window. The candle on the small table next to the bed glowed in the twilight. It had been so long since she had slept in a real bed, the idea alone was enough to put a smile to her lips.
‘Thank you.’
‘You have no idea how welcome you are.’ With a smile, Maria left her alone in the room, not quite closing the door. Tonal welcomed the sounds of the family. Outside the light was beginning to wane and the compound was coming to rest. The familiar sounds of the jungle crept in and filled her sensitive ears.
Next morning, she woke early and listened to the noise of the compound waking up. She had slept well, the bed comfortable and the compound secure and safe. Maria was the first up and was already busy in the kitchen
making breakfast. Tonal dressed and walked to the warm room.
‘Did you sleep well’ Maria inquired, not at all surprised by her soft approach.
‘Yes, thank you, very well, can I help you with anything.’
‘No, no, you sit and rest, I have it all under control’ busying herself with several pots and pans on the wood burning stove, Tonal believed her, she was so accomplished and had the routine down to an art. A soft tug on her trouser leg made her turn her head to Dulce who, once again accompanied by her teddy bear and with her thumb in her mouth, wanted to be picked up. Complying with the little girls wishes, she picked her up, upon which Dulce leaned in to her chest and cuddled up.
‘You have a new best-friend Tonal.’ Julio stood in the doorway, looking more rested and at peace than she had ever seen him. ‘Usually Dulce is quite restrained with strangers. But with you she knows. She already is a good judge of character.’
Half way through the breakfast Dulce woke up and Julio placed her in her own high chair, freeing Tonal to eat with two hands. Alex had joined the family and was still obviously infatuated by her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
After the meal they were shooed out of the house by Maria who “needed her space to clean up”. Walking through the compound they neared the building that turned out to be the command post. The sentry let them in and they moved to the table where Jesus was seated. He raised his head and greeted them.
‘Please sit’ pointing to the empty chairs next to and opposite him. Motioning to the sentry at the door, he called for the others of the council to join them. Slowly they trickled into the room from different sides and took their places at the table. Water, mugs and coffee was placed on the surface and passed around.
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