Johann thrashed through the next brush, attempting to keep the ferns and vines from slapping him across the face for the hundredth time in a row. The heat surrounded him with every step. Air so humid he felt he might drown if he continued to breathe. Fortunately, the tall trees kept him shaded for most of the journey.

Birds followed the group’s every move from above. They sang to each other and flocked out of the trees whenever he got too close.

The women were some thirty paces ahead of him, with the gap growing. They didn’t seem bothered by the heat and from what he could tell, they didn’t sweat either. Which may have resulted from the light clothing they were wearing.

Königsberg never had temperatures rise to such levels and his summer uniform still kept him encased in his own body heat. He pulled his shirt out from his pants and undid the buttons at the wrist. Sweat and green stains had already tarnished the fabric. There was no way he would give up his clothing and run around as lightly as they did. Luckily he still had his boots which made up for the other downfalls.

Johann halted and wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand. They didn’t notice or care, he couldn’t tell which was the case with them. They hardly spoke and when they did he didn’t understand a word they said. At least with Zafira he had someone to speak with. A pang of guilt crossed his heart at the thought of her.

“Can we take a break? Just give me a minute,” he said between pants.

They both stopped and looked to each other, exchanging words in their language. The taller one with the embroidery in her hair, glanced over her shoulder at him.

The smaller one with a silver tattoo around her wrist seemed annoyed by what was spoken. She dashed off into the forest and out of sight.

Did he annoy her that much that she just fled the scene and left him with her friend?

The tall woman approached him. She carried herself proudly but as he looked closer, he noticed that she didn’t walk in a straight line. Her steps varied. She landed on the front of her feet and avoided stepping on grass or moss.

That seemed most unusual to him as those were the softest part of the earth and they were going around barefoot.

She indicated with her hand that he should sit, which he did. She crouched down and looked him straight in the eyes. Deeply unsettling but then he saw it there, for just a moment. A sparkle or shimmer briefly flared up behind her iris. An odd reflection from above, he assumed.

“Lefaljac,” she said, holding a hand to her chest.

“Lefaljack,” he repeated. “That’s your name? I’m Johann Schmitt.”

“Yohanshmitt.” She smiled and held her hand out to the side where the smaller woman appeared from a fern bush. “Kirilamei.”

She stopped at hearing her name and looked to Lefaljac. After a brief intercourse, she frowned and came up and offered him a shell. It was filled to the brim with pellucid water.

“Thank you,” Johann said. He took the shell and gulped down the water, only slowing down after coughing. The cold water offered a brief respite from the heat barrage. “Lefaljak and Kiri Lamay. I need to go home. Can you lead me out of here or at least show me the way?”

“Lefaljac a Kiril amei des de vooh.” Kirilamei said, shooting her hands into the air.

A bitter aftertaste lingered on his tongue after taking the water. Johann gazed at his reflection in the shell. His head began to throb and he dropped the shell. They must have poisoned him, he thought as he stood and raced away. The ringing in his ears grew until it blocked out all else he could hear. He closed his eyes, pressed his hands against his ears and walked deeper into the rain forest.

“Stop running like an idiot,” Kirilamei said. She held him in place and pressed her lips into a thin line.

The ringing had stopped. “You can speak German.”

“No,” Lefaljac said, shaking her head. She slowly approached the two of them. “Kirilamei shared with you the water’s voice.”

That made little sense. Water didn’t have a voice. He relaxed, easing the tension out of his shoulders. Communication was a start. As long as they could speak he had a chance of finding his way out. “How much further until we reach a city?”

“We walk.” Lefaljac urged him on with the flick of her wrist.

Johann wasn’t sure if they understood him correctly but it was his only choice. He wouldn’t be able to find his way out of there on his own. Neither could he turn back. His heart still yearned to be with Zafira but he couldn’t trust those emotions. Couldn’t believe what she had said and done to him. There was no going back.

Johann ducked under a low branch and had to continue in a brisk walk to keep up with them. “Have we met before? You seem awfully familiar.”

Kiri groaned and quickened her pace. With their long slender legs, they both already had a speed advantage over him. Johann was 180 centimeters tall and never considered himself short until he met these two. Kiri was a dash taller but Lefaljac towered over him at about two meters.

After a few minutes of walking, he heard more than just the soft rustle of feet. The voices of children playing. For a moment he became over enthusiastic and was willing to run headlong over. Wherever there were children there had to be a family and, with any luck, a telegraphing station.

Officials would need a story on how he came to be lost in the jungle. He put the scrambled pieces together, and made up a few excuses to tell his superiors at HQ when he returned. Chances are they would label him a deserter and put him before a military trial. It didn’t matter as long as he got a chance to deliver Hans’ letter first.

Each step he took in the jungle felt like a chore. Keeping the memories at bay and not letting them mix with reality. There weren’t any Russians for him to worry about and no gun to protect him from whatever lurked behind the foliage.

The village emerged before him, but he’d have walked by it had Lefaljac and Kirilamei not stopped to take it in. Only upon a second glance did he recognize the people in the trees. No buildings, fire pits or signs of civilization.

Johann found the children he heard moments before. They walked along branches and crossed over vines spanned between the trees with ease. He became the focus of their attention and soon enough more children poured out and pointed at him.

Women followed and ushered the children back out of sight. From what he could tell, none of them were boys. It was early morning with the sun still rising. He knew little of tribal matters but he assumed that the men were out hunting or scavenging.

“I don’t suppose you have telegraph or postal service, would you?”

A child half his size came up and tugged at the end of his shirt.

Lefaljac gave her some harsh words, leading the child to run back off and hide behind a tree. “I know not what these things are but you will be well treated here.”

Johann thanked her. While Lefaljac and Kirilamei joined their people, he used his spare time to walk around the clearing. He stared up at the small break in coverage and the crimson sky.

“Yohannshmitt,” Lefaljac said. He nodded to let her know she had his attention. “This is Ajalla, she will show you our village for now. Kirilamei and I must speak in private.”

“Of course.” Johann noted the girl with unblemished onyx skin standing on a branch overhead.

Ajalla gave him a wide smile and jumped. His jaw fell open watching. She snatched a vine hanging and slid all the way down but managed to land softly.

“I’ll just follow her then.” He felt squeamish being around women with such courage and dexterity.

“A man. How strange,” she said, taking long strides around him. “Welcome to Pilamo. I heard your kind like to eat. Am I right?”

“Yes…you could say that. I wouldn’t exactly call myself a big eater, but yes.”

“Then it is settled.” Lefaljac laid her hand on Kiri’s shoulder and led her away.