Page 56 of Tiger's Curse
“Ren?” I licked the juice from my fingers and took another piece.
“Yes?”
“Is it safe to swim by the waterfall?
“Sure. It should be safe enough. This place used to very special to me. I came here all the time to escape the pressures of palace life and to have time to be alone and think.”
He looked at me. “In fact, you’re the first person I’ve ever shown it to, other than my family and Mr. Kadam, of course.”
I looked at the beautiful waterfall and began to speak quietly, “There are dozens of waterfalls in Oregon. My family used to take picnics by them. I think we saw most of the falls in the state. I remember standing close to one watching it with my dad while the cloud of spray slowly soaked us.”
“Did any of them look like this one?”
I smiled. “Nope. This one’s unique. My favorite time to visit was in the winter, actually.”
“I’ve never seen a waterfall in the winter.”
“It’s beautiful. The water freezes as it falls down the craggy mountains. The smooth rocks around the falls become slick with ice, and, as more water pours over them, icicles start to grow. The spiky ice slowly swells and lengthens as it creeps down the hill, stretching and crackling and breaking until the icy tips touch the water below in long, thick, twisted ropes. The water that’s still moving seeps, dribbling over the icicles slowly and glazing it in shiny layers. In Oregon, the surrounding hills are lush with evergreens, and are sometimes tipped with snow.”
He didn’t respond.
“Ren?” I turned to see if he was still paying attention, and I found him studying me intently.
A slow, lazy smile lit his face. “That sounds very beautiful.”
I blushed and quickly looked away.
He deliberately cleared his throat. “It sounds amazing, but cold. The water here doesn’t freeze.” He took my hand and laced our fingers together. “Kelsey, I’m sorry your parents are gone.”
“Me too. Thanks for sharing your waterfall with me. My parents would have loved it here.” I smiled at him and then jerked my head toward the jungle. “If you don’t mind, I’d like a bit of privacy so I can change into my swimsuit.”
He stood and bowed to me dramatically. “Never let it be said that Prince Alagan Dhiren Rajaram denied the request of a beautiful lady.” He washed his sticky hands in the pool, changed to a tiger, and trotted off into the jungle.
I gave Ren some time to move off, slipped on my swimsuit, and dove into the water.
It was crystal clear, and it quickly cooled my hot, sweaty skin. It felt delicious. After swimming and exploring in the pond, I swam to the falls and found a rock to sit on just under the spray. I let the water pound over my body in icy cold blasts. Later, I scooted over to the sunny side of the rock and folded my legs up out of the water. Pulling my wet hair over my shoulder, I let the sun warm me.
I felt like a mermaid looking over her tranquil domain. It was so peaceful and pleasant here. With the blue water, the green trees, and the butterflies fluttering here and there, it was like a scene right out ofA Midsummer Night’s Dream. I could even picture the fairies flitting from flower to flower.
Just then, Ren galloped out of the jungle and took a flying leap. All five hundred pounds of his white tiger body landed with a splat right in the middle of the pool, sending rippling waves over to lap against my rock.
“Hey,” I said when he surfaced, “I thought tigers hated the water.”
He paddled over to me and swam around in circles, showing me that tigers did know how to swim. Darting his big head under the falls, he swam behind them and over to my rock. Pulling himself up behind me, he violently shook out his fur like a dog. Water sprayed in every direction, including all over me.
“Hey, I was drying off!”
I slid back into the water and swam out to the center of the pool. He jumped in again too, and paddled around me in circles while I splashed him, laughing. He dove under me and stayed underwater for a long time. Finally, he surfaced, leapt on top of a rock, and jumped into the air to belly flop into the water right next to me. We played in the water until I started to get tired. Then I swam back over to the falls again and stood in the stream with my arms raised, letting the water fall all around me.
I heard a pop and a thump from above. A few rocks fell down in the water right next to me with a plop and a splash. As I quickly moved out of the falls, a rock thumped me on the back of my head. My eyelids fluttered and closed as my body slumped into the cool water.
14
tiger, tiger
kelsey!Kelsey!Open your eyes!”
Someone was shaking me. Hard. All I wanted to do was fall back into the black peaceful sleep, but the voice was desperate, insistent.
