Just to recap, Clete was in jail, a jail without doors, and yet he stayed put. But a group of Second Princesses freed him, abducting him to a hidden cave called The Cove, and leaving him bound in the dark while they prepared to make demands against their elders. He called out for help and was rescued by the Tortoise Guardian Princess, Ting Ting. Refusing to return via the underwater swimming route that was used to get him there (because of his fear of deep water) Ting Ting is now taking him through the maze of caves and tunnels that worm through the mountain.
Let us see how much further they get themselves in today's passage.
Thanks for reading.
Love,
Pops
And so the story continues ...
She flipped on her flashlight and shone it on the passageway
we were about to go through. It was not tall enough to stand in so we worked
our way in a stooped position. She handed the light to me.
“Don’t you need this?” I asked.
“No. You do if you get separated and lost.
If you want to preserve the battery, just hold my hand and leave it off. Here’s
the first break,” she announced. “The left-most.”
“So if you’re coming down to the Cove, you
will take the most right at that juncture?”
“Correct. Two meters in we will seem to
come to a dead end. But we will stand up, face the wall and we will ascend what
we call a ‘chimney.’”
“An upward climbing chamber.”
“Correct. The pirates built these in so
that all chimneys are climbed or descended in a count of eight, always starting
with your right foot. They were done this way so that several men could all
move through fluidly and quickly as needs demanded. The count of eight ends
with your left foot at the target level. The route I am taking has four
chimneys up and two down.”
“How did you know to come looking for me?”
“The Cove and the lower chambers are
considered my domain. The upper chambers are considered The Outside.
Communicating chambers bring sound up to a place where I frequent in my domain
that borders The Margin. It was constructed this way so that the masters could
monitor conversations in the chambers.”
“So then the Sea Witch probably knows
we’re on the way?”
“I think she knows I am in the passages. I
can’t be sure that she heard you yelling. I know she will hear our
conversations in her domain for sure when we hit the fourth level. So after two
more ascents we need to be silent.”
“Why? Are we not supposed to be here?”
“For someone who needs help, you ask too
many questions.”
“But if I get lost or separated I might
have to make some judgments …”
“Then you will have to impress me with
your supposed algorithm skills.”
“Everybody’s
a comedian here.”
“It’s your own fault. It’s contagious.”
We ascended to the third level and came to another break. I pulled back
on Ting Ting’s hand, which I had been holding except when we were climbing.
“Something the matter?” she asked.
“Can we take the right passage here just
for a second?”
“Why? I don’t recall there being anything
down that way. I think it dead ends into a room-size cavern.”
“I just have a feeling. I get feelings.
It’s not like we have an appointment to get to, is it?”
“No, but I never like to linger longer in
the caves than I have to.”
“You’re
right about that. I seen my share of collapses or running into bad air.”
I made my way down the right-hand passage, feet-first, as it went
downhill fairly steeply. As told, we did come into a cave about the size of an
American guest bedroom I noted as I flipped on the light.
“There’s something here,” I said. “I feel
it in my gut.”
“Is this like your fear of the abyss?”
“Whenever there is a void, a great
emptiness I feel it. I fear it. That it will overtake me. It’s like a memory. But
when there is a vast presence, an abundance, I feel . . . excited. Are you
familiar with the English expression ‘a hard-on’?”
“No. What is it?”
“Umm… I will just say it’s rather like
the opposite of the emptiness. Full. It’s the same feeling but a mirror image,”
I said as I was compelled forward in my investigation. “Ah, yes. This is the
place.”
"Is there something
here?"
“Yes. But what? It’s not oil or gas. This
is not the kind of terrain for them and there are no lateral indicators. What
do you know about this mountain?”
“Just that it’s filled with caves both
naturally and with those dug by pirates. Flash the light around. Hey. There’s
something in that crack there.”
I handed her the light and I got down on a knee and luckily I had enough fingernails to dislodge something that did not belong.
“It’s an old coin. Doesn’t appear to be
gold. Probably copper. Here, property of Dog Island National Trust . . .”
“Treasures and booty were stored in these
caves. I’m sure there are other things. Clete, you are a human metal detector. I
am impressed. Is that what you were feeling?”
“No. What I’m feeling is bigger. We should
move on.”
“You found this. You should keep it.”
“No. It’s not my place. There is even a
stipulation in my research contract with you that I cannot take possession of
national artifacts.”
“That may be so, but the Ley of Dog Island,
both for The Outside and The Island is that if anyone finds something in the
Pirate Treasure Caves, they are allowed to keep it. As the Guardian of this
Domain I grant it to you.”
“All right, but if I get this home and an
appraiser tells me it’s more than $100, I’m selling it and sending you the
proceeds. A man in my business does not need to have a reputation as a
plunderer.”
“I understand. So is that what your bloodhound
nose is good for? Lost treasure?”
“Not coins. Oil, gas, and mineral
deposits. Damn! I wish I had my cargo shirt on. I could take some scrapings
back to the lab for analysis. Hey, there seems to be a flow of water trickling
though the wall, starting here.”
“A storm is probably passing by. We had
better move. These lower chambers can flood quickly and our path requires us to
descend a couple of times before we get out. I think you would prefer not
passing a chamber in black water.”
We did descend and one chamber had
indeed pooled to waist high. I was so glad we did not have to submerge another
level. I don’t know if I could hold my breath long enough to pass. Ting Ting
said it’s always a risk that you’ll encounter a blockage and you might not have
enough breath left to backtrack.
We eventually emerged into daylight. As I stuck my head out, it took some
time for my eyes to adjust, even to the shaded environment within the
rainforest canopy of The Outside. There was gigantic bo or banyan tree. I had
heard these were commonly planted in village squares in rural China. This tree
was the largest presence in a forest of large, old-growth trees.
“The Empress Tree, I presume?”
“Correct. A ancient marvel, isn’t she?”
“It’s massive. So many air roots, and they
are each tree trunks in themselves. If I were a kid, I think I’d be thinking
they would be cool to climb up.”
“I
am glad to hear you say that, because that is exactly where we are going an
what we will be doing.”
“You’re joking.”
“Sh.”
“You’re serious.”
“Quiet.
Stay back for a minute while I make sure the Sea Witch is not about.”
She moved soundlessly out from the cave staying close to the wall, scanning
left and right, up and down. She moved into the shadow of the nearest tree,
glanced about and then motioned me over. “How limber are you?”
“Oh, I don’t know.”
“Can you climb a tree?”
“Yeah, sure. I can climb a tree.”
“Can you do it without grunting? We need
to be REALLY quiet here.”
“Please! I’m in great shape.”
“Except for your recent hit on the head
and your various bruises? And your weak right leg?”
“How do you know all that? You know, in my
country, it’s a an actionable offense to breach someone’s medical history.”
“There are no secrets here. Follow. Let me
know if I have to slow down.”
We moved under that green giant of a tree. There was a part
of the main trunk that she took me to where she began her ascent. Copying her
moves, it was as easy as climbing a ladder until the last foothold. As I bore
down to push myself up, wouldn’t you know it? I made a very loud grunt. She
cast me a dirty look. I must have looked like a wounded child because she then
seemed to laugh at me with her eyes.
I pulled myself up into the middle of the Empress’s canopy
and found it was almost like being in a large tented patio. The “pocket” of the
trunk at its top where it spread out into many huge branches was like a room
with an almost level “floor”—it was incredible. Ting Ting spoke to me in a
whisper.
“We are going to take what we call, ‘The
Path of the Monkey.’ There is a way to traverse The Grove to one of its borders
without ever setting foot on the ground. Shielded by the canopy we can go without
detection. Are you sure-footed?”
“I’ll be okay.”
“Are you afraid of heights?”
“How high?”
“In certain places we will ascend quite
high. Just don’t look down.”
“Is this safe?”
“I used to take this path all the time as
a girl. I haven’t done it in a while, but if anything, the branches will be
larger and able to carry more weight. Just pretend we are a couple of monkeys
traveling in the trees. It is great fun. In fact, you just reminded me of
something.”
She removed the two pieces of clothing that were her only hold on the
concept of modesty. Turns out they were basically strips of cloth. She wrapped
them around her calves, tying them off.
She loosed her great head of long hair.
“What are you doing?”
“Reliving my childhood. I used to love to
run around in the canopy entirely naked. Just like a wild animal. The more I do
not look like a human silhouette, the better it is to avoid detection below. It
also puts me more in touch with my surroundings. You should do it too.”
“Nuthin’ doin’. The ‘codpiece’ is staying
on. I need to protect the family jewels.”
I noticed that like Qi, she kept a knife strapped on. In her case, it was
on her upper left arm. I thought to myself that if young women back home would likewise
display a show of force along with bared cleavage, midriffs, and legs, they’d
probably get a lot less shit from boorish guys. I had to admit to myself that she looked pretty damn good for a woman the same age as me. Not curvy and soft like Qi. Ting was like a version of Qi with the physique of a tennis player, or ballet maestra, no, make that a circus acrobat.
As I followed her, I realized it is
amazing what you find yourself agreeing to when you are in a strange land with
even stranger people, cut off from all your usual cultural norms and
inhibitions. I had no better plan so I complied with her directions. As I put
my weight against a handhold on the Empress Tree, a piece of the tree broke off
in my hand. I was about to drop it to the floor when I noticed a part of it
felt cool to the touch, like metal. It was hard to tell what it was in the dark
of the canopy, but I did see that it had a naturally formed hole. So I undid the
strap of my fundoshi, threaded it through the hole and then refastened the top
of my garment. I would look at it more closely later.
“Something the matter?” asked Ting Ting,
noticing that I was lagging.
“Just retying my fundoshi. It’s been
sagging ever since we went in to that water.”
As I looked up, dappled sunlight
was falling on her body. She did look like a wild animal. And I decided she
looked good too. And I wanted to follow her, just to cop a closer look at her. I
expected this was going to be a strenuous ordeal, but for some reason I committed
to the project.
She came over and took my hand and
started me down a branch as wide as a trail and as sturdy as any bridge I’d
ever stepped on. We proceeded easily enough through this part of the forest,
the Bo trees entwined one another and stepping from the boughs of one to the
next was easy enough. When we came to a stand of Teak, we had to ascend one or
two stories and move along stepping from one notch to another. The trees of The
Grove were in something of a regular pattern, a rectangular grid like that of a
plantation. As near as I could tell, the next stand of trees appeared to be
massive ebonies that were probably at least a couple centuries old.
“Ting, these appear to be ancient ebonies!
They’re indigenous to Madagascar and Africa. Why are they here? In fact,
everything seems to be planted in a grid with separate species cultivated in
groups.”
“The Grove was planted according to the
Great Prince’s design. The Grove was to be sacred to all gods everywhere. We
will descend a bit after the three more branch crossings.”
This was a wood carver's wet dream. Just one tree would make a truckload of stringed-instrument pegs and bridges and black piano keys. I am observing abundant wildlife,
parasitic plant forms, and other biological phenomena that I will input into
the lab record. Personal observations in this canopy space: breezes are cool; there
is an uplift of warm air in certain natural chimneys; I feel the intensity of
the sunlight that hits my skin through the gaps in leaves; all these things I
would not feel if I had on “proper” clothing. There is a lot of unusual fauna,
especially insects and snakes. As with any rainforest biosphere, the true
abundance is always in the canopies. And yet, it’s hard to call this a
rainforest as it seems so artificial. It’s more like a plantation run wild.
© Copyright 2012 by Vincent Way, all rights reserved.
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