As I walk around, it’s getting a little darker, and I look up at the sky. The clouds have reached us rather fast. So far, I’ve been able to find two banana palms, and I got a few bunches off one of them, remembering the place where I found them. It’s not far—nothing here is far—so we can easily walk here when we run out of this supply.
“Hey, big dude!”
My head whips around, looking for the source of the voice.
“Big dude!”
Is she talking to me?Big dude? I think I can get on board with that.
“Giant man!”
A small body rushes toward me through the trees. Her cheeks are red, her pink, tangled hair flying behind her. She smashes into me full force, her hands landing on my chest in a weak attempt to stop herself. I drop my bananas and catch her instead.
“What happened?” I push her away and quickly rake my eyes over her body, looking for injuries. “Who’s chasing you?” Acting on instinct, I push her behind me and narrow my eyes at the jungle, looking for a wild animal chasing her.
“I found papayas!” She sounds excited like she’s found a boat to take us out of here.
“What?” I spin toward her.
“I found papayas! We’re saved!” Her voice is so happy, I can’t even find energy to be mad.
My eyes narrow at her. “And that’s why you ran here like crazy?”
“Well, yes. It’s going to be raining soon, and you need to climb the palm to get them,” she announces, looking sheepish.
“Ineed to climb it?”
“Yeah.” She winces. “I tried and couldn’t. I just keep sliding down.” She glances down at herself, spreading her legs like a little frog. “I even scratched my thighs. Look.”
My eyes dip to her thighs, and they’re really red and raw. From friction.
Fuck.
I quickly avert my eyes and point at the bananas on the ground. “I found bananas. It should be enough to keep us going until we can get to the papayas.”
“Oh,” she exhales, looking at the bananas with furrowed brows. “I wanted to return you the favor by finding food for the coconuts you offered before.”
“We’re not in a competition,” I say softly, and she looks at me with sad eyes.
“I just wanted to bring something to the table too, you know?” Then she adds with a sniffle, “After everything I’ve taken.”
“I know,” I sigh. Because this is something I really do. I’ve been trying to prove to our father how useful I am all my life. But it’s never been enough. “You’re bringing?—”
She looks at me with expectation.
“Bringing—” I’m struggling to find something, and her eyes narrow.
“Bringing what?” she asks.
“Entertainment,” I reply, rolling my lips inward, trying not to laugh at her angry expression.
She leans down and grabs one banana bunch and heads back the way she came. “Let’s go. I’ve got plenty more of that,” she’s clearly referring to the entertainment, “where it came from.”
“I sure hope you don’t,” I mumble under my breath, earning a snarky glare.
Taking a deep breath and trying not to laugh is a very difficult task when a tiny cloud of fury is walking in front of me with her head held high, her small free hand curled into a fist, and her steps jumpy. Every time there’s an obstacle in the way, she jumps over a root like a little bunny, her hair flying behind her. She’s hilarious. I’m sure, in her eyes, she looks vicious with that little fist and the bananas wielded in the air like a weapon. In reality, she looks like a pink Easter bunny.
And I find myself smiling watching her. Odd.
