Page 54 of Tiger's Curse
I climbed a rock that looked out over the falls and studied a butterfly perched on my finger. When it flew off, I stood quietly watching the water tumble down. Then I heard a voice behind me.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it? It’s my favorite place in the entire world.”
“It is. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Ren came up to me and nudged a butterfly from my arm to his finger. “These are called crow butterflies, and the others are blue tigers. The blue tigers are brighter and easier to spot, so they live with the crows for camouflage.”
“Camouflage? Why do they need it?”
“The crows are inedible. In fact, they’re poisonous, so other butterflies try to mimic them to fool predators.”
He took my hand and guided me a little way along a path by the falls. “We’ll make camp here. Go ahead and sit down. I have something I need to tell you.”
I found a flat place and set down the backpack. I pulled out a bottle of water and settled myself against a rock. “Okay, go ahead.”
Ren began pacing back and forth and started speaking. “The reason we’re here is because I need to find my brother.”
I choked on my mouthful of water. “Your brother? I assumed he was dead. You haven’t mentioned him at all, except that he was cursed with you. You mean he’s still alive and lives here?”
“To be honest with you, I don’t know if he’s still alive or not. I assume he is because I am. Mr. Kadam believes that he still lives here in this jungle.”
He turned and looked at the waterfall, and then sat down next to me, stretched out his long legs, and picked up my hand. He toyed with my fingers as he spoke, “I believe he’s still alive. It’s just a feeling I have. My plan is to search the area in ever-widening circles. Eventually, one of us will cross the other’s scent. If he doesn’t show up or if I can’t catch his scent in a few days, we’ll go back, find Mr. Kadam, and continue our journey.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“Wait here. I’m hoping that if he won’t listen to me, meeting you might convince him. Also, I hope that—”
“Hope what?”
He shook his head. “It’s not important now.” He squeezed my hand distractedly and jumped up. “Let me help you set up camp quickly before I begin my search.”
Ren went off to look for firewood while I unrolled a small easy-to-set-up two-person tent strapped to the outside of the backpack.Thank you, Mr. Kadam!I zipped open the tent bag and spread it out on a patch of even ground. After a few minutes, Ren came over to help me. He already had a fire going and had a nice stack of wood to keep it ablaze.
“That was fast,” I muttered jealously as I stretched the tent fabric over a hook.
He popped his head over the other side and grinned. “I was trained extensively on how to live outdoors.”
“I guess.”
He laughed. “Kells, there are many things that you know how to do that I don’t. Like setting up this tent apparently.”
I smiled. “Pull the fabric down over the hook on the stake.”
We finished up quickly, and he dusted off his hands.
“We didn’t have tents like these three hundred years ago. They look similar, but these are much more complicated. We just used wooden poles.”
He walked up to me, tugged on my braid, and impulsively kissed my forehead. “Keep the fire going. It scares wild animals away. I’m going to circle the area a few times, but I’ll be back before it gets dark.”
Ren bounded off into the jungle as a tiger again. I tugged on my braid, thought about him for a minute, and smiled.
While I waited for him to come back, I looked through my backpack to see what Mr. Kadam had provided for dinner.Ah, he outdid himself again—freeze-dried chicken and rice with chocolate pudding for dessert.I poured some water from my bottle into a little pot and set it on a flat rock that I had pushed into the coals. When the water bubbled, I used a T-shirt as a pot holder and transferred the hot water to my dinner pouch. I waited several minutes for it to reconstitute, and then enjoyed my meal, which wasn’t half bad actually. It sure was tastier than Sarah’s tofu turkey at Thanksgiving.
The sky started to darken, and I decided I’d feel safer in my tent, so I climbed in and folded my quilt up to use as a pillow.
Ren returned shortly after that, and I heard him place more wood on the fire. He said, “No sign of him yet.” Then he changed back to a tiger and settled himself at the tent opening.
I unzipped the tent and asked him if he would mind me using his back as a pillow again. He moved and stretched out as an answer. I scooted closer, laid my head on his soft fur, and wrapped my quilt around me. His chest rumbled rhythmically in a deep purr, which helped me to fall asleep.
