Bringing the Boy Home by N. A. Nelson

Author:N. A. Nelson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2008-09-03T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

TIRIO

12 Years, 363 Days

The Amazon

While I lay in my bed, waiting for Sara to fall asleep, I made a deal with the Good Gods: if they wanted me to leave tonight, they would send me a sign. Now, as I cut open the screen with my nail clippers and climb out of our room, a full moon shines down on me—one of the most powerful spirits of all.

The Takunami believe it’s impossible to separate the physical and spiritual worlds so, when I was younger, I used signs to make decisions a lot. After a couple of years living in Florida, I stopped looking for them. Now that I’ve returned, it doesn’t feel strange to search for these signs again.

The night animals serenade me, and their Takunami names pop into my head. An invisible hand pulls me toward the river and, after replacing the screen as best as I can, I head down the path.

Throwing my backpack into the outboard canoe, I untie the boat and push it from the shore. It’s heavier than I thought, and I’m thankful the water is high. The current yanks at it eagerly and I barely manage to haul myself into the boat before the river whisks it downstream.

A flock of nesting birds squawks and fills the sky around me. Worried that someone will hear, I hold my breath as I drift away from the research camp and count the seconds until I can start the motor. Joey’s dad had a boat we used to take out at night to gig flounder, so I know I won’t have any problem cranking this one over, but it seems an eternity until I feel safe enough to even try.

The moon provides plenty of light for me to dodge floating logs, but when the propeller hits something, I realize I have to watch for submerged objects too. The last thing I want is to get tangled in a vine.

After cruising for an hour or so, I slow down and look for a marker that might signal which direction to go. There are over a thousand tributaries; my tribe’s village might be down any one of them.

The Amazon is so wide that even with a full moon, I can’t see both shores unless I make S turns between the banks. I head to the left and peer behind me as the black outline of a smaller river disappears from view. Was that my tributary? I reach to turn the boat around, but instead of gunning the throttle, I accidentally shut it off. Slamming my fist against the motor casing in frustration, I jump up to pull the starter cord.

I flinch as I see something large disappear under the boat. Sinking back onto the wooden seat, I inch away from the side and slide toward the center. Caimans have been known to jump out of the water, snatch people from canoes, and then disappear before the person has time to scream. I scan the surrounding water for any sign of the animal.

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.