"I don't know, Te'," I said. "It sounds risky. What if we get caught? Your father doesn't seem like the kind of man to let that sort of challenge to his authority go unpunished. There's no rule of law on this island. It wouldn't take much for him to have me put down. I have a feeling he's already at the end of his patience."
Teuila paused for a long moment as her eyes studied my face. As much as I was concerned for my own safety, I was far more worried about the consequences to her if we got caught. The worst thing would be for her to see me tortured or killed for disrespecting the chief's power.
"Do you think you could find your way back to the waterfall we visited yesterday?" she asked.
"I don't know, maybe. I suppose if I followed the same path—"
"If you can find your way there, I'll meet you in a couple of hours. Worst-case scenario, you can hide out in the jungle and live off pineapples and taro root until your ship arrives. My father won't harm you with other Westerners around. He knows it would just bring more visitors to the island and threaten his position as chief."
I shook my head and sighed heavily.
"But on what pretense would he let me out of the hut? And what if he sends an armed guard with me? How would I escape?"
Te' paused as her eyes darted from side to side.
"We'll need to relieve ourselves eventually. My father isn't such a brute that he'd insist on our doing our business right here on the floor of the hut. You can ask to be escorted to the women's bathing lagoon, then ask the guard to let you take care of business behind a clump of palm trees. When his back is turned, do you think you could climb to the top of one of those trees like I showed you? He'll never expect you to do that, searching the trails and beach for your footprints, not looking up."
I closed my eyes, reflecting back on Te's technique climbing the pineapple tree. She'd made it look remarkably easy, and I was still in decent shape from my regular trips to the gym.
"I think so. But how long will I have to stay up there before it's safe to come down?"
"My guess is that if the guard can't find you within a few minutes, my father will tell everyone to forget about you. He'll be far more concerned about letting me out of his sight."
"And how will you manage that?"
"Let me worry about that," Te' smiled. "I'm very resourceful. Just make sure you find your way back to the waterfall. It's a big island, and it will be very difficult to find each other again if you get lost."
"I can't believe I'm considering this," I said, feeling my heart beginning to pound in my chest.
For the first time in many years, I'd never felt so alive. The idea of running away from an angry tribe on an isolated island with the girl of my dreams was beyond any fantasy I'd ever imagined. I could feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins and the hairs on the sides of my arms standing on end.
"I'm in," I said.
Teuila turned to speak with her father for a few moments, then he paused as he appraised my demeanor. I tried to remain as calm as possible, but I could feel the veins in my neck pulsing like crazy as he glared at me. Eventually, he gave a single nod of his head, then rose to give instructions to one of the guards standing outside the front door.
"Alu," he said to me, jerking his head towards the open door. "Le maua manatu."
"What did he say?" I asked Teuila.
"Pretty much what we expected. He's going to send a guard with you who won't give you a lot of space to maneuver, so you'll have to choose your position carefully. Find one with enough cover to protect your modesty, but also close enough to a tree so that you can climb it without him noticing you. I'll come for you as soon as I can."
"Be careful," I said, standing to exit the cabin.
"You too."
I paused at the door of her hut and looked back at Teuila one last time. I didn't know if or when I'd see her again.
When I got to the base of the front steps, one of the guards looked sternly at me then motioned with his spear in the direction of the women's lagoon. As I walked down the same sandy path where all the tribespeople had welcomed me so warmly two nights ago, I noticed the women and children tracing my movement with vacant expressions.
It looks like I’m on my own again, I thought.
When we reached the edge of the lagoon, the guard motioned to a shallow depression at the edge of the brush.
"Oe alu ai," he ordered, pointing to the basin with his spear.
I glanced around the area, noticing there was little surrounding vegetation to provide privacy for someone taking care of such intimate business.
I shook my head as I pulled on my shorts, indicating that I needed more privacy. He looked around the edge of the lagoon and pointed to a more secluded spot about a hundred feet up the beach, next to a small clump of coconut trees. When we reached the spot, I climbed behind a small bush and began to squat, noticing the guard still watching me.
I motioned with my hand for him to look away, and he turned his back briefly. Knowing I'd only have a few seconds to act, I removed my hiking shoes and hid them in the brush. Then I crawled behind the sandy embankment toward the nearby palm trees. When I reached the furthest one, I stood and peered around the side of the trunk. The guard had turned around and was glancing curiously in the direction of the pit, tilting his head high in the air as he lifted his heels off the ground. He shouted something in his native language, and when I didn't respond, he rushed forward with a look of alarm, finding the pit empty.
He swiveled his head quickly from side to side, then peered at the stand of trees. As he began walking in my direction, I placed the soles of my feet against the side of the trunk as Teuila had shown me, then I grasped the crusty bark and pulled myself upward. As I heard the guard's footsteps nearing the stand, I began slowly shimming myself up the tree. With most of my weight borne by the inward pressure of my feet pressed against the trunk, it was easier than I expected to scale the thick stem. But as I pulled my knees inward, worrying he'd see them sticking out from the side of the tree, I ended up using more arm strength than I intended to move upward.
By the time I reached the crown of the tree and glanced down, I was sweating profusely. My feet were bleeding from the sharp crust pressing into my tender skin, but I was able to leverage my weight with tight handholds against the layered bark. As the guard peered frantically from side to side looking for me, I noticed the pod of coconuts under the palm fronds shaking precariously. Just as one of them snapped from its stem, I reached out and caught the husk as it fell into my open palm.
The guard cocked his head hearing the sound and started to look up. I threw the nut as far as I could in the direction of the bush, and when he heard it land in the dense thicket, he took chase into the forest. I sat in my cramped position breathing heavily as sweat poured down the front of my T-shirt, listening carefully for the sound of the guard's footsteps in the jungle. When the footfalls diminished into the distance, I quickly descended the tree, falling sharply to the ground. I looked around to make sure the way was clear, then I hobbled toward the far end of the beach and disappeared into the thick brush.
* * *
Half a mile away, Teuila sat patiently on the floor of her hut as her sisters finished decorating her hair with scented frangipani blossoms. She glanced toward her grandmother preparing the wedding ceremony dishes on the front veranda and asked her father if she could help. The chief nodded and followed Te' out onto the porch, taking a position in the rocking chair as he nodded toward the remaining guard.
Teuila sat next to her grandmother and Nona smiled, handing her a knife and a taro root to peel. Suddenly, the other guard came running up to the front of the hut, and when he told the chief that the white woman had escaped, her father summoned a group of young tribesmen and they ran off in the direction of the lagoon. Nona glanced at Teuila, pinching her eyebrows in suspicion, wondering what kind of trouble the girls were getting into now.
Te' picked up the taro root and smiled, remembering how Jade had teased her w
hen she first bit into it. Suddenly, the vegetable slipped in her hand and the knife cut a deep diagonal gash along the side of her index finger. As her hand began spurting blood all over the white gourd, Nona dropped what she was doing and motioned for the guard to summon the village's medicine man. When the guard hesitated remembering the chief's orders to keep a close watch on his daughter, Nona screamed at him, warning that if Teuila was not attended to soon, she could suffer the same fate as her mother.
"Do you want to be responsible for the death of the chief's daughter on the eve of her wedding?" she shouted in their native language.
The guard mumbled something and took off scurrying down the path. Nona looked at Te's cut shaking her head, then she wrapped a banana leaf around the wound and peered into her granddaughter's eyes.
"This wasn't an accident, was it?" she said.
"Forgive me, Nona," Te' said. "I love her. This is the only way I can be with her. Can you help me?"
Nona glanced down the sandy courtyard, then escorted Teuila toward the rear of their cabin, where she lifted a flap of leaves and pointed into the forest.
"Lau manamea," she said. "Be with your lover. I’ll pray that you both find happiness. Go quickly now, before your father returns."
As Teuila scampered into the forest holding the green bandage tightly against her swollen finger, she yelped in glee, knowing she'd soon be in the arms of the only person she ever truly loved.
10
When I got far enough away from the cluster of palm trees, I ducked into the bush and paused to get my bearings. From my new location, it would be difficult to find my way back to the waterfall. All I could remember was that it was about an hour's hike uphill in a roughly forty-five-degree angle from the village. But from my vantage point in the women's lagoon, it would be almost impossible to pick up the trail through the thick jungle. My only chance would be to double-back towards the village and hope that nobody saw me.
To make matters worse, my feet were sore and bleeding from climbing the rough palm tree. I thought taking my shoes off would help me to climb the trunk more quietly, but I hadn't counted on puncturing my skin in multiple places. And it would be too risky to try to return to the pit to retrieve them. Like it or not, I'd have to make my way back up to the waterfall in bare feet.
I shook my head at the irony of my predicament.
The only way to truly appreciate another culture is to immerse yourself in it, I reminded myself. Well now I'm really going native. Let’s see how quickly I can develop tough Anutian soles.
I peered over the top of my sand dune to see if the coast was clear. I hadn't heard from the guard since he ran off into the jungle, but I knew it would be too risky to use the cover of the thick brush to find my way back to the village. The carpet of broken twigs and sharp rocks on the forest floor would just make my feet worse, and the rustling of leaves could draw attention to my position. My only chance would be to backtrack along the beach before he returned.
But just as I prepared to sprint down the beach, I noticed my guard running toward me from the direction of the village, along with the chief and a group of other young tribesmen. They paused at the location where I'd squatted, and it didn't take long for the chief to find my hiking shoes.
"O a nei?" he shouted, holding my shoes up in the air.
The guard shook his head in bewilderment, then pointed into the jungle in the direction where I'd thrown the coconut.
"Ona mamao," the chief said, throwing my shoes far into the lagoon. "Salalau solo!" he said, gesturing into the jungle in multiple directions.
As the group fanned out into the thick brush, I waited for a few moments then dashed back along the beach in the direction of the village. Feeling my blistered feet burning in the hot sand, I hobbled my way across the lagoon, glancing into the bush for any sign of the tribesmen.
Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea taking my shoes off after all, I thought, watching the impressions my feet left in the sand. I'm the only one on this island with Western shoes. It would be a whole lot easier to track me from the unique tread they'd leave on the ground than with my bare feet.
I just hoped the blood from my soles wouldn't leave another type of trail.
When I got to the edge of the village, I crouched low behind the back of the huts lining the central promenade, trying to stay out of sight. Small children giggled as they ran across the courtyard, playing a game of tag. One of the boys ducked under the crawlspace of the cabin I was hiding behind, and I pulled myself up on the side of the hut, trying to conceal my legs. He glanced in both directions to see if the coast was clear, then scampered back across the courtyard behind another hut.
Great, I thought. Just what I need right now. A bunch of kids playing hide and seek. At least they're showing me some good hiding spots.
As I slowly made my way toward the far end of the courtyard, I paused when I saw the chief's hut. There was no armed guard outside the front door, and I peered inside the darkened interior for any sign of Teuila. Her grandmother was peeling vegetables on the front porch, and she glanced in my direction, noticing movement across the lane. We locked eyes and for a moment and I was afraid she'd call out. But instead, she placed her finger to her lips, then motioned with an open hand toward the trailhead at the end of the square.
She made it! I breathed a sigh of relief. God bless that woman. Maybe I had a friend in the village after all.
I crept past the remaining huts lining the square then dashed onto the trail and scampered up the familiar path leading to the waterfall. Once I was on the path, I recognized the familiar landmarks and made good time picking my way up the slope. Even though the brush was thick, I was far more worried about bumping into one of the chief's chase team than I was about encountering another tree snake. When I reached the pineapple tree clearing, I knew I was on the right track and I smiled remembering the sight of Te's pretty ass climbing the tree.
Soon, I thought, I'll have her all to myself.
Thirty minutes later, I heard the sound of the waterfall nearby, and I breathed in the fresh scent of the misty air wafting over the trees. I didn't know if it was because all my senses were on high alert being on the run, or if it was because my heart was pounding knowing I'd soon be back with Teuila, but everything around me suddenly seemed so much more alive. The flowers at the side of the trail looked prettier, the air smelled sweeter, and the birds chirping in the distance sounded happier.
For the first time in many years, I was madly, deliriously in love.
When I reached the waterfall, I looked around frantically for my island girl, but there was no sign of her. I furrowed my brow, puzzled why she’d have taken longer to reach our destination than I had. She appeared to have had a head start on me, and she should have been able to scale the uneven path much quicker than me, especially with my chafed feet. But seconds later, she broke through the heavy brush on the opposite side of the waterfall and rushed toward me.
"Thank God you made it!" she said, throwing her arms around me. "I was so worried about you."
"Our little trick worked," I nodded, tilting the underside of one foot up toward her. "Although it looks like it's going to take a little longer than we hoped for the soles of my feet to get properly toughened up."
Teuila looked at my scarred soles and shook her head.
"What happened to your shoes?"
"I thought it would be safer to climb the tree without them. But it didn't take long for your father to find where I'd hidden them. I guess I'll be walking around barefoot like a real Anutian sooner than we thought."
Teuila chuckled as she squeezed my hand.
"It's probably better this way anyhow," she smiled. "Those treads would be visible a mile away."
"Why did you come up the other way?" I said, pointing to the direction of the jungle where she'd emerged.
"I wanted to throw my father off the trail," she said, pointing to the imprint of my boots on the muddy embankment. "But it won't take long for them to find us. We h
ave to get out of here as soon as possible."
I noticed that the leaf wrapped around Te's index finger was dripping blood down her hand.
"What happened?" I said. "You're hurt!"
"It's just a flesh wound," she said. "It looks worse than it is. We'll be able to patch up our wounds when we get to safety."
Suddenly we heard the shouting of men's voices approaching our position. I looked at Teuila with terrified eyes.
"What should we do?" I said. "In which direction should we head?"
"There's no time for that," Te' said. "We have to hide. There's too many of them. They'll catch us too quickly."
"Where?" I said, looking around the clearing. "In the brush?"
Te' glanced around the glade, then peered into a still section of the pool furthest from the waterfall.
"How long can you hold your breath?" she said.
I looked at the surface of the pond for a moment, then back towards her.
"Not long in my present state," I said, feeling my chest heaving up and down. "Between my elevated state of adrenaline and my fear of being caught, I can hardly catch my breath as it is."
"What if we fashioned some kind of breathing tube?" she said, peering at some bulrushes at the far end of the pond. "Do you think you could remain still under the water while our tribesmen search the area?"
"I suppose so. What did you have in mind?"
"Those reeds on the other side of the pond are hollow. Follow me, but try to step as much as possible on the rocks instead of the dirt. We don't want them to be able to trace where we're hiding."
Teuila took my hand and led me to a flattened section of the embankment where we tiptoed over the scattered rocks on the edge of the shore. Then she slipped into the water and pushed herself away from the shore.
Polynesian Pleasure Page 5