The Trees Grew Because I Bled There by Eric LaRocca

Author:Eric LaRocca
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags:  
Publisher: Titan

WHERE

FLAMES

BURNED

EMERALD

AS

GRASS

“Perdón Señor?” he called, flagging down one of the hotel’s immaculately groomed waitstaff from across the pool with an embroidered white handkerchief.

Nearly three weeks in the heart of the Costa Rican rainforest and the integrity of Norval Dowling’s Spanish accent remained as unrefined as bulldozed bedrock. Certainly, much could be said of his methodically calculated attempts to resemble a formal tourist in such a laid-back climate—his high-waisted khaki shorts with breathable mesh lining to keep him cool during the afternoon’s usual mugginess, his anti-theft waist band secured around his hips where he stored his credit cards and passport, and his handmade puttees wrapped around his ankles to prevent venomous insects from crawling inside his footwear.

Although he had made every effort to indoctrinate his twelve-year-old daughter Cassie into his expertly designed regimen, she remained less than willing to comply. To him she was merely a loathsome free spirit as he exasperatedly watched her circle laps in the pool without the proper eyewear.

“I told her to wear her goggles,” he said as soon as the bemused server arrived at his table.

The server recoiled almost instantly, guarding himself with the empty silver platter, as if he were intruding upon a private moment between father and daughter.

“Cass,” Norval shouted at his daughter as he leaned forward in his cushioned seat, brandishing a pair of purple goggles she had abandoned beside his plate. “Your eyewear. For protection. You don’t know what’s been in that water.”

But, as was her custom, she pretended not to hear him, floating further away from the pool’s shallow end and toward the Pruitt children treading in the deeper water. Of course, Norval had no objection to his daughter fraternizing with the Pruitt twins—a pair of young ladies no older than twelve and dressed in identical yellow bathing suits. After all, they came from a fine pedigree as one of the oldest lineages still maintaining residence in Newtown, Connecticut, and over the course of their stay at The Flornegra Resort & Spa, Norval had become friendly with their parents, Eva and Richard. Regardless, it was an embarrassment to be ignored by his child even in front of a perfect stranger.

“She probably didn’t hear me,” he muttered to the waiter, eyes lowering to the papers scattered across the table in front of him as color filled his cheeks.

“Something to drink, señor? Un refresco?”

“Si,” Norval said, straightening himself, as if he were priming the invisible and dangerously shallow fountain of Spanish words at his mind’s disposal.

Eyes squinting, he immediately referred to his small travel book where he had scrawled Spanish words and phrases to use when ordering. “Me gustaría un café con hielo.”

The waiter simpered, amused by the atrociousness of Norval’s Spanish accent. Recovering quickly, the waiter bowed.

“Si, señor,” he said, clearing the small plates of half-eaten fruit empanadas from in front of Norval before whisking them away to the kitchenette adjoining the cabana on the opposite side of the pool.

Norval’s ears perked at the sounds of something scurrying above him, the gentle pitter-patter

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.