by Jen Gentry
“That was the Holy Spirit moving in response to our prayer. I say our prayer because you held my hand and agreed with me in prayer. You know Matthew 18:19 says; Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. We agreed together in prayer, and the Holy Spirit moved to answer our prayer. It really is that simple. If you felt it you know it must be true. Right?”
“I don’t trust feelings per say, but I will admit I did feel something physical. Something I’ve never felt before.”
“Tell me a little about your upbringing. Did your family take you to church? Tell me what you know about the Lord.”
“My parents are Christians. I went to church every Sunday when I was growing up.”
“And have you given your life to Jesus? Have you taken him into your heart?”
“I’ve prayed the sinner’s prayer, if that’s what you mean.”
“Ethan, the question is what did it mean to you?”
Ethan stopped to think about that for a few moments before he answered.
“You know, Emily, I’m not sure exactly what it means to me personally. I said the words, but I don’t think I really understood what they meant exactly. I’m going to think about this and get back to you on it, if that’s OK by you?”
“You take your time and get back to me.” Emily prayed silently for Ethan that the Lord would reveal himself to him. “Dear Jesus, he really is seeking you. He just doesn’t know exactly what he’s looking for. Let him find you.”
***
Simon found Dr. Lazar alone in the forest, alone as far as humans went. Spiritually, evil surrounded him. The thousands of demons who had come to his defense a week ago now clustered around him. Simon did his best to stay out of sight. It appeared as if the demons were helping Armodius reach his goal of finding Ethan. This was indeed strange behavior as Liam had pointed out. It was also bad news. With the help of the other demons, the chances of Lazar reaching the base camp, as well as Ethan and Emily, were now better than before. He needed to share this news with Liam. He carefully stepped away from the cluster of trees he used for cover and took to the air.
***
Since returning to camp, Emily’s disturbing dreams had not returned. But she continued to pray almost constantly, even if only in her mind. She’d sent emails to Marta and Aunt Gemma and received a happy reply. Marta was expecting again and wanted to know when Emily would be returning to help her plan for the new baby. Bradley, of course, was thrilled. Emily couldn’t tell Marta how soon she would be coming home, but she would be home long before the arrival of the new baby.
This morning, Emily planned to work on translating more of the Spaniard’s journals for Ethan. She found him in the common tent with Phoebe, Russ and Gary. The four of them were reading an email sent by Cliff. He was doing better at home and had been offered a teaching job at a local college. It seemed he’d reconnected with his high school sweetheart and might be considering settling down.
“Well, another good man bites the dust.” Russ said jokingly. The others chimed in with their own jokes about Cliff and marriage. They missed their buddy but were happy for him.
“OK, let’s get back to work now.” Ethan, ever the boss, waved away his crew, who feigned groans of annoyance. Each member returned to working on their own portion of the larger project: cataloging and mapping the rainforest around them, and looking for any clues to a possible burial site for the long lost giants.
Emily got to work on Ethan’s laptop. The journals had not yet yielded any more interesting information, except to tell of life on a Spanish galleon as it sailed to South America in search of gold and other treasures. Emily went through at least two months of daily journals by the man Juan Martinez de Soledad with his fascinating drawings of sailors at work and the Atlantic Ocean with its teeming marine life. His drawings of whales and dolphins were nothing short of amazing. Emily enjoyed looking through the journal and wondered why she’d never taken a closer look at the originals before when she’d had the actual ones at Perry House.
As she continued to work through each drawing on the computer screen, and to translate each accompanying written entry, she came across a drawing of several men standing on a beach. One man in the drawing towered over the other men. This giant man was dressed in native attire and didn’t seem to fit in with the others.
She translated the description written under the drawing.
We reached the beaches of the South Americas this morning. Our capitan allowed me to accompany him with some others to scout the beach for any natives or wild animals that could be a threat. After a few hours of hunting and gathering supplies of fresh fruits and nuts, we came across a fresh water river and filled our skins and barrels to take back to the ship. As we were loading the skiffs, some of the men ran screaming up the beach. They ran to the capitan yelling and pointing.
“El Capitan, it is a monster, a giant. We must leave this place before it captures us and eats us.” The capitan laughed at the men and ordered them back to the ship, then he and some of the other men went in search of the giant. I stayed with another of the skiffs. Before long one of the sailors who had left with the capitan ran back to the skiff where I was sitting. He told me the capitan had need of me and wanted me to draw the monster.
The sailor led me to a cluster of boulders where the capitan and some of the men were hiding. The capitan gave me orders to draw what I saw. I looked over the boulder to see three of the ship’s sailors trying to converse with what can only be described as a giant. He was at least ten feet tall and had six fingers and six toes on each hand and foot, with pale skin and red hair.
The writing stopped there. Emily jumped ahead a few pages, but there was no more mention of the giant. How odd. She thought as she called out for Ethan.
Ethan looked over the drawing and read the words that Emily translated. His excitement could hardly be contained, as he took the laptop and began searching forward just as Emily had done.
“Grrrr” Ethan moaned in frustration. “Look here,” he pointed to the screen. Flipping back and forth between the images of the two pages, it was easy to see the jagged edges of paper where some missing pages had been torn from the book.
“I never would have dreamed the Spaniards came in contact with a living giant. That leads me to question the validity of the journals. Tell me, Emily, do you know if the journals were ever authenticated?”
“Oh yes. Several historians examined them, and samples have been sent off for dating. Everything has matched up, and everyone agreed the journals were the real deal.” Emily remembered the original journals were no more, and she couldn’t help having a catch in her throat at the mention of them. Mr. Perry would’ve been saddened at their loss. She felt responsible for them, as they’d been left in her care. Ethan’s voice brought her out of her shame and guilt.
“Well, then we have to assume this is a true historical accounting.” He read back over the translation and examined the drawing closer.
“Six fingers and six toes with red hair…” Ethan mused aloud.
Something he said triggered a thought in Emily’s mind. She remembered what Mari told her about the legends of the red-haired kings. She also remembered that Mari had told her she would explain the legends when the time was right. She wondered if the time was right yet and left Ethan to go in search of Mari.
***
Mari was in the mess tent, as usual, when Emily found her. Emily asked for a cup of coffee and then asked Mari to join her at one of the tables. She realized she really knew very little about Mari, who was happy to take a break and enjoy a cup of coffee with Emily. She seemed to genuinely like having Emily around.
“Mari, I’d like to get to know you a little. I only know that you were brought up in an orphanage in Peru and that you’re married to Anke. Do you have any children?”
“Si, Senora. I have children, but they are all gone to heaven now. My ninos never lived for more than a few days after bi
rth. Anke has been my blessing. He has cared for me and stayed with me in the times of shadow walking.”
“Do you mean during times of grieving when you say shadow walking, Mari?” Emily was moved to compassion for Mari and Anke. They must have suffered terribly at the loss of their children.
“Si, Senora. It is walking through the valley of the shadow of death when you are grieving.”
“Yes, Mari, I know what it is to grieve. When I was a young girl I lost my father and had to go live with my aunt. And then I lost the only other father I knew, Mr. Perry. I’m so sorry for your loss.” Emily was almost crying for herself and Mari.
Mari reached across the table and held Emily’s hand. “And I yours, Senora.”
The two of them sat like that for a while, holding hands and comforting each other. When Emily asked about Anke and how the two of them came to be working on the expedition, Mari explained Anke and his brother Jorge grew up in the Amazon. They could trace their ancestors back to the native tribes who lived in the rainforest. Because the brothers were very familiar with the area, they’d been given a grant from the Brazilian government to be employed as professional guides to expeditions in the Amazon. As part of that grant, they’d both been trained as helicopter pilots. They were also given money to purchase and maintain the aircraft as long as they served the government by helping to ensure the safety of all people in the Amazon. About two years ago, the brothers were assigned to Ethan’s team. It became a family business as Jorge and Anke, along with Mari, worked to ensure the well-being and safety of everyone on the team.
Emily thought since the two of them were sharing it may be a good time to ask about the red haired kings.
“Mari, I must admit my curiosity is peaked. I was wondering when it would be a good time to ask about the legends of the red haired kings?”
“Si, Senora. I knew you would be asking again. Tomorrow you must come into the forest with Anke and me. We are going to gather the Sapucaia. You come and help me, and I will tell you of the legends. Bein?”
“Bein, Mari. Good, we will go in the morning then. Oh, what is the Sapucaia, anyway?” Emily was curious.
“You will see,” Mari said as she went back to work on preparing the evening meal. Emily knew it would be pointless to press her further. Mari had shared all she was going to share for one afternoon.
Chapter Ten
The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown
Genesis 6:4
Emily couldn’t swallow a bite at breakfast the next morning. Excitement over what Mari could share about the giants made her giddy with anticipation. She wanted to get their trip into the forest started. Looking around camp, she spotted Ethan standing alone reviewing a map. She’d been putting off telling him about her plans for the day in fear he would veto the idea, but he had to know or he’d worry over her absence from camp. With a determined set to her jaw, Emily approached the doctor, prepared to argue if need be.
“Ethan, I wanted to let you know that I’m going into the forest with Mari and Anke today.
A frown formed on Ethan’s handsome face, and his head started shaking before Emily finished her sentence. “I don’t have time for that today.”
“Who asked you to come? It’s not like I’ll be taking off on my own. Mari and Anke are excellent guides, after all that is why you hired them.”
Ethan tapped his chin with the pencil in his and stared into the distance for a moment. Something about Emily incited a need to protect her, even when she didn’t need it. Thoughts of her crept into his mind at the most inconvenient of times. They were beginning to interfere with his concentration on the project. Perhaps working so closely together on the translations, and the worry over Lazar affected his ability to maintain a business relationship with the charming redhead. Maybe sending her off for the day with Mari would give him an opportunity to put some space between them. Having reached a decision, he expelled a heavy sigh. “Okay you’re right. If you have to do this you couldn’t be in better company. Those two have more experience in this rainforest than the rest of us put together. Just make sure you do everything they tell you to.”
Emily smiled. “See you when we get back.” Wanting to make a quick exit before Ethan changed his mind she jogged off to meet Mari, raising a hand in the air as a gesture of farewell to Ethan.
Slowing to a brisk walk, Emily reached the front of the mess tent where Mari and Anke waited. She barely greeted the couple before Anke handed her one of three light canvas bags filled with supplies necessary for the day. Emily slipped the bag’s strap over her shoulder and hurried to fall in step behind Anke who turned and started walking without saying a word. Mari came up beside Emily and chuckled. “Do not take my husband’s silence personally. His English is not so good. Fortunately, I talk enough for the both of us, and that makes him happy.”
The humor in Mari’s voice brought a smile to Emily’s face. She’d discovered over several conversations with the woman that Mari had a gift for putting everyone around her at ease. Emily wished she could do that for Anke, but wondered if his discomfort was still because of her red hair. She tucked her long braid up under her khaki hat and pulled down the attached bug-net over her head, as Mari did the same. In her pocket, Emily carried some of the ever-present bug spray.
Anke led the way into the forest with Emily behind him and Mari behind her. He kept them on a fairly clear path blazed recently by other camp members. Occasionally, Anke would pull out his long machete to hack the lush, green overgrowth out of the way. Emily carried the machete Ethan bought her in Rio, but Anke was so efficient she hardly needed to use it. Instead, she kept her eye out for spiders and snakes, as she sent a silent plea up to the Lord that she wouldn’t cross paths with either.
After an hour of walking, Anke came to an abrupt halt in a dense part of the forest. He pointed up to the thick canopy of gloriously tall trees with dappled, but sparse, sunlight shining through. “Sapucaia.” He said.
Emily looked to Mari to confirm that the Sapucaia were indeed the massive trees surrounding them.
“Yes, Senora`, the trees are the reason we are here. We gather Sapucaia nuts from these trees. You would call them Brazil nuts.” Mari took Emily’s pack from her and began to pull out the contents.
They all drank long pulls from canteens of water, then Mari and Anke spread a large blue plastic tarp out on the ground. Mari explained that they would gather the pods from the ground and place them on the tarp before cutting the pods open to get to the nuts.
Anke brought two pods to Emily he picked up off the ground. The pods were woody brown and shaped like coconuts. He set a pod on the tarp and cut it open with his machete in one graceful, yet powerful, blow. Several large brown-shelled nuts scattered across the tarp, and Mari gathered them up after showing them to Emily. She put the nuts into another canvas bag she’d pulled from her own pack.
Over the next few hours, Emily worked with Mari to gather the pods scattered along the ground under the trees. Mari was careful not to let Emily get very far away and warned her to watch for wondering spiders and snakes. Emily carefully examined each pod she came across before picking it up and taking it to the tarp for Anke to crack open.
One seemingly innocent looking pod started shaking just as Emily reached for it, and a small, furry creature jumped out of the pod, hissed at her, and ran into the underbrush. Emily jumped and screamed, as Anke came running with his machete raised, ready to defend the two women. Mari burst into laughter.
“Senora` Emily, it is only an agouti. The agouti rats eat the nuts inside the pods. They will run from you mostly and cause you no harm.” Emily was shaken and turned a little pale, so Anke decided they had gathered enough nuts for one day. He suggested they rest and eat before heading back to the camp.
Mari and Emily sat on a large root under one of the trees, while they ate
their lunch of dried beef and fruit, washing it down with water from their canteens. Emily wondered if now would be the time Mari would tell her the legend of the red-haired kings. To her surprise, Mari began to talk about the Sapucaia nuts.
“We come to gather nuts here in the forest several times a year. Sometimes whole families come to gather. The nuts will only grow in the wild forest, you see, Senora`.” Emily nodded her head to let Mari know she was paying attention before the woman continued on.
“The people who live in and around the Amazon understand very well the balance of the forest. If you take away or disturb any one thing here, you risk the destruction of the entire forest. See this big tree here that we sit on? This tree could not grow and make the nuts without these.” Mari reached behind Emily and plucked a delicate flower. Emily recognized the wild orchid by its heavy perfume.
“Without this flower, the tree would not exist. The flower draws the male bees that mate with the females who pollenate the trees. Without the orchid the males would not come. The females would not have offspring and would die out. The trees won’t produce without pollination. Even the agouti rats play an important role. They bury the nuts that grow into trees. If even one of these things is disturbed in any way, the trees will cease to exist, and eventually the whole forest could die. Do you understand what I am trying to tell you?” Emily nodded.
“I understand, Mari, the forest is sacred and must be protected. But, I must ask, what this has to do with the legends of the red-haired kings?”
“This has everything to do with the legends. My people believe the forest exists to protect certain things, as it has for thousands of years. The rainforest exists to keep men out. Hidden in this forest are the secrets of the lost people. We believe that God, in his great wisdom, put the forest here, along with all the dangerous creatures in it, and the tropical weather to keep men out so that the secrets hidden here remain hidden. Men come, though; they burn and tear down the forest. These men have no respect for the balance and importance of the forest.” Mari paused and looked Emily in the eyes.