Yacumama

Prologue

The Mother of Water

“Let’s go canoeing” he said, “It’ll be fun” he said. Sweat drips down from every part of my body; the humidity is excessive and passing out would be a great relief right now. Before we got onto this stupid canoe we walked for an hour and a half through the forest and we came across scary, nasty insects; I think I even saw a snake. Even though we had no clue where we were going, Kai was extremely eager to get to a waterfall. When we finally found one, we also found this canoe… We don’t know who it belongs to or if it’s even stable enough to carry us both. I’ve been quiet this entire time because I promised Kai I wouldn’t complain, but I can’t help that I feel this way. Kai’s being dangerous and I’ve never seen this side of him before. It has me concerned; I can’t be the rational one because we’d just get into an argument about me complaining. Men… All they want to do is be right; they’re not even close to reasonable. They consider themselves logical, but knowing a lot of information doesn’t make you smart. Having common sense, and a sense of intuition is what's going to keep you alive. “Kai, do you really think this is a good idea?” Kai ignores me as he continues to row the canoe down the small waterfall. I hold on for dear life, hoping this won’t be the end of us. As we make it down the stream, water splashes on the both of us. This is a sweet relief considering how hot and humid it is out here. “How fun was that?” Kai grins, I give him a slight smirk. Worry still lives inside of me; I don’t know what’s to come… We could fall down a longer, more dangerous waterfall. We could run into a lion, tiger or cheetah… We could die and he has the nerve to ask me “how fun is this?” Not very fun if you ask me.

“It’s beautiful.” Kai utters, the gaze in his eyes brought fear to my heart. He’s hypnotized by her glare, but I'm panicked by the blue scales upon her hourglass figure. Her eyes have an unnatural glow to them; we’re four miles away from her but it seems as if she’s sitting right in front of us. My heart pounds as she gets closer. Heat begins to emanate from the water, and it seems like it’s getting hotter as she slithers towards us. While my lover is captivated by her beauty, I’m aware of the pain that’s approaching. She’s just a mile away now, she opens her mouth and she possesses claws for teeth. What is this creature? And why weren’t there any warning signs that she’d be here to murder us? “KAI! WE HAVE TO GO!” I squeal, but he doesn’t budge. “WE’RE GOING TO BE IN A POOL OF OUR OWN BLOOD IF WE DON’T GET OUT OF HERE!” I whimper, tears stream down my face. At this point the world is a blur and nothing is clear anymore. My heart breaks as I realize what I’d have to do. Kai’s just sitting here with his mouth wide open and his eyes fixated on this monster… I have to do this…

Our Daring Trip

“Aponi, are you ready?” Kai cheerfully wondered, No. “Yes, just give me another minute to take my bags into the car.” I go into the back hall of our luxury penthouse, trying to find any reason to prolong the inevitable weariness I shall feel. Taking a trip to Peru may be exciting for Kai, but when it’s tied to us hiking in some jungle, that’s when he loses me. Don’t get me wrong I like to jog, I like to go to the gym but being outside with bugs and animals that are unheard of is a no, no for me. “APONI, COME ON!” Kai shouts… But I guess I’ll do this for him since it’s his birthday and all. “COMING!”

On the way to the airport we drove past Jason Deli, “I’ll miss you, old friend.” I say in a pout. “Don’t be so dramatic.” Kai giggles, “We’re only going to be gone for a week. Jason Deli will still be here.” I roll my eyes, wishing and hoping somehow, someway our flight gets canceled. “Can you at least try to enjoy yourself?” Kai moans, “All we ever do is what YOU want to do. For my birthday, can you at least try.” He’s right… We’re always doing something I suggest and more than likely he ends up enjoying himself, so the least I can do is have high hopes. Even though I strongly dislike the outdoors. “Okay, I’ll try. I apologize for being a brat, babe.” Kai stops at a traffic light and gives me a kiss, “You’re a beautiful brat and I understand why you’re dreading this. I appreciate you coming with me.”

The airport is overcrowded, and the noise has given me a headache, but I’m not going to allow Kai to see how frustrated I am because I promised him I’d stop being a buzzkill. Instead I grab his hand and lean onto his shoulder while we wait in line. The world is spinning; a mob of people are talking over each other. This overwhelming chaos is taking over my entire aura… I can’t stand up anymore; I release Kai’s arm and I sit in one of the waiting chairs. He turns around, “Are you okay?” He mouths. I give him a thumbs up with a slight smirk. I go into my purse and I install my earplugs into my ears. Willow is on blast and I begin to feel at home again. All of a sudden I feel a tap on my shoulder, I look behind me and it’s some strange man. “What.” I grumble and give him a sharp look. “You’re beautiful and I was wondering if I could have your number.” He gives me a wide smirk. I roll my eyes and I put my earplugs back into my ears. He saw me leaning on Kai… What makes him think he has a chance? I rarely like Kai sometimes; I definitely don’t need someone else to get on my nerves. Sometimes I wish I were nicer, but I guess being antisocial is the curse I’ll have to live with.

Kai walks with pep, as he’s coming towards me he gives me a wink and wiggles his thumb and pointer finger like they are guns. My stomach churns and twists as I cringe at the sight of him. “You’re embarrassing me.” I mouth, he smiles at me. “Oh, really?” He mouths, he spins around and begins to do the moonwalk. I put my hands over my eyes because it hurts to stare at him. I feel a hand on my shoulder, I look up from my hands and it’s Kai with a fat grin on his face. He picks me up like I’m a newborn, he sits in the seat I was sitting in and he holds me in his lap. It took me a while to appreciate this side of him because I’m clearly not romantic. Kai and I started out as work buddies; we would always joke with each other and monkey around at our desks, but somehow, we became more. We went from name calling to kissing in a span of a year. I’ve never been with anyone who is as sweet and loving as he is; I’m grateful but it’s taking some time to get used to. I love how patient and gentle he is with me; he’s strong for being able to carry on with being himself even when I’m scared of it. I look into Kai’s eyes, “I love you.” I utter, he cheeses and says, “I love you more.”

We finally make it to first class, as we’re seated, I look to my left and I see the same man from the lobby brutally staring at me. “Babe.” I poke Kai’s side, he jumps up. “Why... Why did you do that?” He grumbles. I giggle, “I’m sorry, I forgot you were ticklish there.” I point at the man who’s staring at me, “Look.” The man quickly looks away. “Why am I looking at him?” Kai anxiously asks, “He continues to flirt and stare. Aren’t you going to do something?” I nag, “You know I’m not the jealous type; you’re beautiful. What do you expect him to do?” He kisses me on the cheek and continues to look out the window. Well then, I guess I’ll just be sexually harassed by a stranger. I close my eyes in annoyance and I continue to listen to my playlist. Eternal Sunshine by Jhene Aiko begins to play and I feel my muscles relax.

After ten hours of flying, we finally made it to Peru; I thought it would look prettier than this, but I guess this will do… “Are you ready?” Kai grins, Heck no. “Yeah, babe. As long as you’re happy.” I put on a fake smile while we wait for our driver. A gray Nissan V16 pulls up, “Is this our Uber?” I look at Kai in disbelief. “Yeah, I believe so.” Kai goes to the driver's window. The man rolled down his window, “Uber for Kah.” The man utters. “Yup, that’s me. Kah!” Kai laughs, I giggle a little too. “Could we put this suitcase in your front seat?” Kai asks, The man nods his head yes. Even though I believe he has no idea what Kai’s saying to him. The man has a red, yellow striped baseball cap on; he has full pink lips and his skin is beautifully golden. Although it’s pretty ugly here, the people don’t look so bad. While Kai put my large suitcase in the front seat I sat in the back waiting for him.

We arrived at the hotel in Lima, Peru and it’s pretty nice but it’s not as nice as our penthouse. I miss our green, velvet covers. “Babe, in the morning we’re going to Vancouver Island Helicopters Peru. My buddy has a helicopter and he’s going to fly us to Amazona.” We’re flying again? “Okay… Sounds fun.” Just keep your cool, Aponi. It’s his birthday week; not yours.

The Walk in the Jungle

After three hours of flying in a helicopter we’ve made it to this hideous jungle. Kai’s friend, Alvarez, is guiding us through the trees and dirt. My stomach feels nauseating; we’ve been in motion for hours now and all I want to do is lay down and sleep. “Al, this is beautiful. I can’t believe you venture through this rainforest every few days.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty amazing but it’s also extremely dangerous. There’s a lot of poisonous snakes and bugs around here. That’s why I told you guys to put on these long leg pads.” Our arms are still out. I don’t understand what difference it’ll make. “Yeah, that’s very wise of you, Al.” I utter sarcastically, Kai gives me a stiff glance. As if he’s telling me to shut up. “You don’t have to be scared, Aponi. I come out here all of the time and I haven’t been harmed by a snake or a spider in years.” Yeah, sure that makes me feel better… “See my love, everything’s going to be just fine.” Kai gives me a smile, “Also if one of us does get bit by a snake or a spider I have antivenom. All we would have to do is inject that on the wound and help the other get back to the helicopter.” Alvarez reassures me. I still don’t want to be here.

We finally stop at a lake to rest; I sit on a huge rock, hoping I don’t come across something poisonous. I drink warm water from my purple water bottle that I brought from home. Home, how I miss your sweet smell and your AC system. Kai kneels beside me and whispers in my ear, “Hey, do you want to ditch Al to find a waterfall with me?” Is Kai being sensual? He caresses my face like he always does when he’s ready for action. He kisses me gently and I can’t help but feel aroused. “Okay.” I accept winningly, “Al, Aponi has to pee we’ll be right back. Could you pass us one of the walkie talkies so we could reach you just in case you move?” Al passes us one of the walkie talkies and we head further down the jungle.

After twenty minutes of walking further and further into this dangerous forest, I realized Kai wasn’t coming on to me at all. He is actually trying to discover a waterfall. Why couldn’t we just wait for Al? Why did we have to go on our own? He has no clue where he's going and he’s probably leading us to our deaths…

Yacumama

She, it.. Whatever it is… It’s gigantic and I’m not sticking around for that thing to eat me. I push Kai over to the side and I grab the paddles; I begin to row as fast as I possibly can towards land. All of a sudden, I hear a shout from afar, “HEY! DON’T BE AFRAID! SHE CAN SMELL FEAR!” I turn my head to the direction of the voice and it’s Al. Oh thank God. “HELP ME!” I shout, “KAI’S JUST SITTI…” Before I finish my sentence I realize Kai isn’t in the canoe anymore. I look back and he’s right in front of that monster. “KAI STOP BEING AN IDIOT AND COME BACK ON THE STUPID CANOE!” He doesn’t say a word, instead he sits there in awe of her as she passes him by. “SHE’S NOT AFTER HIM! SHE’S AFTER YOU!” Al yells. Why in the hell is she coming for me? I didn’t do anything to her… I didn’t even want to come on this stupid trip. “WHY?” I scream, “HOW DO I GET HER TO STOP?” Al begins to run towards me, while Kai sits and stares. “YACUMAMA! OVER HERE!” Al shouts, she turns her head for a while as he throws a bunch of stones at her. I’m almost on land when all of a sudden I feel the canoe shake. My life flashes before my eyes as I fall into the water; I crash my head onto a rock and everything becomes dark.

Things are still blurry, but I see a shining bright light come into my vision. Am I dead? Is this what death feels like? If so it’s beautiful, peaceful even. “Aponi? Are you up?”

“Kai?” I mumble, my vision still isn’t clear… What’s wrong with me? “Thank God, you’re alive.” I can feel Kai holding me, but I can barely see him. “Why can’t I see you?” I panic, “You hit your head extremely hard. They said your vision would be better in a few days… If at all.” Oh my God… I could lose my vision because of this stupid trip. “This is all your fault.” I groan, “If you weren’t just sitting there like some idiot while that monster was coming after me, I would be okay right now.”

“It wasn’t his fault.” Al interjects. “HOW IS IT NOT?” I bark, “HE’S THE ONE WHO LED US TO THAT WATERFALL! IT WAS HIS IDEA TO DITCH YOU!”

“Okay, maybe it’s his fault a little bit, but you could’ve prevented this if you had just stayed calm.” He insists, “Yacumama can smell fear, and when you’re in her jungle she’d like you to respect it, not hate on it all day.”

“How’d she know I was having a terrible time? It’s not like I was saying it aloud.” I agonize. “Her intuition is potent. She could tell by your demeanor and your tone of voice. Kai didn’t get hurt; you hear he’s perfectly fine. That’s because he was actually enjoying himself.” Al explains.

“Well, Kai knows I hate the outdoors.” I snarl. “Well, maybe that’s the problem. Nature is our home. Your body comes from nature. How can you hate something that’s a part of you?” Al antagonizes me. I won't say another word… Maybe Al is right, maybe there are some things I have to understand about myself. Maybe I’ve never felt safe in my own skin… Maybe it’s me.