Reordinate the Fate

Fourth Destination: Muddy Packing

Risa feels like she just closed her eyes for a moment, someone touches her shoulder. The girl immediately opens her eyes and seeing Cliff in front of her. “What's wrong?"  Risa asking while rubbing her eyes. "It's three in the morning. Max says we have to leave this area at four. Only one more hour."

Risa nodding half-awake and Cliff waits until the girl is really waking up, so he continuing to watches her. Risa looks back at Cliff, "What's with that gaze, Little Boy?" Cliff sighed, “Don't call me little boy. Let's get out of this tent quickly. The others are outside and ready to clean up when you wake up.” Cliff continued, "They even already went to put some things in the trunk of the car and came back here a while ago."

"You should have said that you're all just waiting for me."

Risa gets up and takes her backpack which was handed out by Cliff, "Not only you, of course." Cliff points at something -someone- behind Risa with his eyes. Risa turns and looks at the sleeping Stevan. Just when she almost opens her mouth and is about to shout to wake her friend up, she remembers their conversation a few hours ago. She redirected her gaze back to Cliff, “You can wake him up. I'll be waiting outside. Will and Max are there right?”

Cliff nodding. Risa walking on her knees and used the shoes on the inside near the exit of the tent.

Having just a step on the ground outside the tent, this girl exclaimed, “Oh my! How slippery!”

Risa looks at the land under her feet. Really wet and muddy.  It's dangerous to walk. "Be careful when you’re moving here." That's what Max said when he heard Risa's exclaim.

The girl approaches two people who were sitting on a dry log that had been removed from inside of the tent. The fire was already rebuilt and it seems to warm up both of them.  Before sitting down, Risa's looking around. After being washed away by the rain, the forest has a different atmosphere. Moisture smells clearly. The grass was messy because it was mixed with the ground. Water droplets are visible on the tips of the leaves. Some of it drops on Risa's head, feels as if the rain is still falling in the form of water drops.

Risa can see that the creek's water flow increased significantly. Fortunately there was a curve forming in the river bank along the creek, so that the water didn't spill out and sweep over their tent last night. Risa sits next to Max and stretch her hands beside the fire, "You could rebuilt the fire easily, didn't you?”

"Of course, the branches and twigs are dry. But this won't last long. We don't have any wood left. Everything that is dry except from the log where we sit now, I have piled it up on this campfire." replied Max. Risa can see Will sipping coffee from the lid of the pelples. “You want to eat something to warm your body? I'll finish this americano quickly. You can make instant food with the pelples.” Risa shook her head, “Just relax and drink it carefully. It looks hot."

Max drinks the coffee too, but from the pelples, not the lid.  Risa doesn't understand how resistant the two of them are to the heat that should have stung the surface of their lips and tongue. "Have you brought everything into the camping car?" Max nodded his head, "Everything exclude the water bottles of yours and Stevan, and your bacpacks and," He lifts the pelples, "This thing."

"Also the tent bag to pack up." Max points to the tent and just then Stevan comes out with his sleepy face. Worse than what Risa exclaimed, the man immediately cursing as he almost slips. Stevan is fortunate to hold himself back by clinging to the tent’s post.

"Now we can start packing," Max stands up and handed the pelples to Will, "Can you wash this down the river? Check it first whether the mud is mixed with water.”

Will also standing and reaches for the thing Stevan handed out, "Got it."

Risa gets up and cleans her back side, "Let's start packing!"

★★★

Risa sees Will is washing with what little water they have. The river water is too muddy to wash the cooking utensil. "Risa, lower your head!"

Risa turns to where Max's voice coming from and reflexively followz the man's order. Stevan and Max removed the wet tarpaulin from the top of the tent and moved it sideways to fold it up after shaking off the water droplets above. Meanwhile, Cliff looks out and hands Risa the neatly rolled up cable of little lights. "This is it. Please take this while I check the inside of the tent.” Risa obeyed that.

As soon as Cliff exit the tent, Will come back from his activitiy, Max and Stevan finish folding the tarp. "Now let's remove the water barrier and the pegs stuck in the mud."  Max continued, "There must be two people standing beside by the river and washing everything." The man pointing to the fast flowing river.

"I will do it." Stevan volunteered this time, for the first time. "You will do the same, right, Little Boy?" Cliff chuckled and immediately turned towards the river. It's useless to complain. Everyone calling himself a little boy, especially the annoying guy who always force him to fall in every activity Stevan wants to do.

"Oaky. Risa you can pull out the peg. Watch out yourself. If it's stuck deep an firm, ask for other help. You know you can slipping and falling easily on this wet muddy ground." Max starts to pull the pegs and grab them. Unscrewed the knots on the pegs and ignored the full-of-mud palms. Afterward, they handed over 12 pegs and 8 iron rods -that used to support the sides of the tent- to the two people who have to wash.

The other three rinse their hands then returns to untie some other ropes, rolled it up and tied it neatly before putting the rope back into the tent bag. “Risa, pull the tent!  I'll fold it.” Max said that after Will removed the crutches on each side. The tent they have is the basic and conventional one, not the kind of tents that have been equipped with flexible iron and just need to be assembled.

A few minutes later, the tent is folded and neatly packed in its bag. Now the three of them take apart the thick plastic water-barrier and carry it together, being careful not to get the mud on their clothes.

Stevan -with his backpack- following them toward the river when he back from putting down the pegs, iron rods, and sticks that had been rinses clearly. Stevan sees Risa who suddenly sways, and he immediately holds her back.

“Are you okay?"

Risa straightened herself and looking down, "This mud is so slippery." She is cleaning her throat awkwardly, “Thanks, Freak.”

The five of them clearing the camp area and doused the embers with river water, and made sure it was completely extinguish before walking away from the camping area while the dark still around. The sun has not yet risen to accompany their steps away from the fourth location, the mountain forest.

★★★

Click!

Max is the last person to gets in the car and fasten his seat belt. After finishing arranging the luggage, Max walked over to the forest keeper house to say goodbye. "All these forest keeper are men, so they gave us this."

Max takes out something from his pocket, lifts the cigarette and lighter. “Any of you smoking?” The other four answering by shook their heads. "Alright then." Max puts his cigarette and lighter in the front slot of the camping car. "We don't need it."

Max squeezes the clutch and gas pedals, lowered the handbrake and they leave the forest. For a moment they stay quietly in the dark and let Max focus on the difficult twisting terrain down the mountain. "Why do we have to go this early?” Risa who sits in the middle of the passenger seat finally said something when the route isn't really sloppy anymore. Down there, it seems like there's no rain.

"There are several reasons," Max replied,

"First, our next destination is pretty far from this mountain. We're going to descend this mountain and ascend to another higher mountain. The next location takes all day to reach by driving a car, and if we want to arrive today before dark, then we have to leave before the sun rises.”

"Second, we have to prepare loads and tents that are different from what we have now. Later we will have lunch in the rest area where one of the branches of this camping car rental is built. We'll swap out the jungle camping equipment to the perfect camping equipment that we need for our new destination.”

“Third, not only changing equipment, we also have to fit some additional clothes that I already rented. Our clothes will not be warm enough. I'm one hundred percent sure of that.”

Max points to the windshield, "The last one, look at that."

All staring ahead, Max lowered all the windows and let the cool air of the morning green mountain fill every corner of the camping car. There is another sight that make them open their mouths wide.

"It's really beautiful," Cliff looking sideways and ahead.

The sun starts to rise behind the mountain they were descending at the time. The morning light is purple! Another color from the sky that shows the beauty of the nature. The gray clouds that covered the sky yesterday afternoon until the early morning is gone. All that left is the stratus clouds, which is shaped like feathers strung in harmony with the color of the sky.

“I am and I will be enjoy this escape. Until everything is over.”

Yeah, that's what Risa said. The fate smiles seeing the girl seems happy, just waiting until the moment when she will have to take a big turning point later. The destiny is wondering, will Risa still be able to finish th escape?

★★★