You and I, Wolf

Chapter 5

Present Time

“Veena, wake up now!” Carmen was waking her up already, tapping her in her left arm.

“What time is it?’’

“It's 3:45, Hassan said that Seph is already on his way.”

Veena immediately got up, and then she went to the toilet to wash her face. When she returned, Carmen handed him a cup of hot coffee. “

“Thank you,” she told her. “Good morning, Tala! Did you sleep well?”

“Good morning,” the girl softly replied to her.

“How about you, Veena? I know that you didn't sleep early last night. Is there something that bothers you?”

“There is a lot that is currently bothering me,” she uttered briefly, taking a sip from her coffee.

“Just deal with it, Veena! You are already here, and the forest is very unforgiving. You have to focus, okay?”

“Yeah, I completely understand. I have nothing to lose, anyway,” she cooed, stretching her arms as she prepared to begin the expedition.

Seph arrived there, and he was someone that no one expected him to be. He was a handsome Panamanian man, and everyone could notice his American accent.

“I have crossed the gap more than a hundred times already, and I can assure you that if you stay with me, you will get on the other side,” he narrated.

Veena and Carmen were listening to his instructions, “He's good looking, isn't he?”

“Shut up, Carmen! He's still part of the mafia here, we should not fully trust him,” she whispered, controlling the volume of her voice.

“I was just trying to say that he's handsome,” Carmen answered.

“Like what I said, this journey may take longer than you can imagine. There are natural dangers out there, that's why we have to work as a team. There were people who lost their lives because of natural calamities, there are also wild animals roaming around the area. This is not going to be a walk in the park, and I need everyone to be helping each other.”

“I'm scared of wild animals,” Tala said, pushing herself closer to her mother.

“Don't worry, sweety, Mommy and Aunt Veena won't let any animal attack you,” Veena told her, trying to win the kid's trust.

Tala just smiled at her, and then Veena softly touched her cheeks. “Thank you, Aunt Veena.”

“You are very much welcome, sweety.”

“My men will be leading the expedition. Hassan, take the men from Pakistan with you. Women and the children will be in the middle. Is there anyone who can't walk?”

A Hispanic man raised his arm, “I have a certain leg condition.”

“Then don't go,” Seph immediately replied to him. “Did you bring anyone who can carry you?”

“I didn't,” the man sadly replied. “I have extra money to pay if someone wants to carry me.”

“How much?” Seph questioned him.

“I am willing to pay 300 hundred dollars.”

“Hassan, take care of him! A hundred and fifty for you, and a hundred and fifty for me. Do we have a deal?”

Hassan just nodded at Seph, he immediately went to the man, and assisted him.

“See? He's just after the money, he doesn't really care at all,” Veena told Carmen, irritated at Seph's behaviour towards the Hispanic man.

At around 4:39, everyone was already on their feet. It was summer at that time, and Seph had warned everyone how scorching the heat could be. He also reminded everyone to make sure they have enough food supplies because they had nowhere to buy food from once they were inside the jungle.

There was no proper trail, but Veena noticed the footsteps that seemed to have been imprinted on the ground. After three hours of continuous walking, Seph told everyone to rest for an hour.

The sun was already up, but they were under a dense forest, and the trees that canopied the forest were still making it easier for the migrants. Seph's men were carrying water, a lot of water, and a glass of it was very expensive.

“One dollar for a glass of water, are you kidding me?” Carmen irritably asked Hassan.

“Well, no one is forcing you to buy from us, lady!”

“I got it, Carmen.” Veena butted in, handing over two dollars to Hassan.

“Hey, Veena, next time don't make them think that you have a lot of money. They would definitely keep an eye on you,” Carmen reminded her.

“Right, I should have known better,” she mouthed.

After an hour, they started moving again, and the trees were becoming lesser already, exposing them to much hotter weather.

“Mom, my feet hurt,” Tala complained. “Are we near yet?”

“Do you want mommy to carry you, baby?’

“No, because I am too heavy, I don't want your back to hurt.”

Veena's heart melted, “I can help you, Tala!”

“No, I don't want your back to hurt too, aunt Veena.”

“What do you want to do?” Carmen asked her daughter.

“Can we just take a rest for a bit?”

“But you heard Seph, we have to keep walking. Do you want us to get left behind?”

“I'm just really tired walking, mom.”

When Seph noticed them, he hurriedly went to them. “Is there something wrong?”

“She's complaining about her feet,” Veena answered.

“Do you want me to carry you?” Seph lowered his body and asked Tala. “I have a strong shoulder, and it will give you a nice view of the road.”

“Sorry, Seph, we don't have money to pay for it,” Carmen narrated.

“I am not asking for payment!” he sneered, throwing a stern look at Carmen. “Come on, little girl!”

Veena lifted Tala and then placed her on Seph's shoulder. Seph stared at her, but Veena could not pick up what exactly his stare meant. Then Seph started to move again, reminding Tala to hold onto his head.

“Keep an eye on them,” Veena whispered in Carmen's ear.

“That's what I'm doing,” she replied.

“He might have other intentions, who knows if he really wants to kidnap Tala,” Veena stated.

Carmen furrowed her brows, “Over my dead body!”

“Youn two,” Seph whirled to face them. “Will you just be thankful to me that I carried your daughter, instead of talking behind my back.”

“We're not talking behind your back, Seph,” Carmen growled at him.

“Yes you are! Literally and figuratively,” he growled back at them.

“I'm sorry,” Carmen told him.

The group took another break by the riverbanks, and most of them took the chance to swim and clean up. They started making fire as they planned to cook, and Carmen and Veena also did the same thing.

“This is for Tala,” Seph brought some sweet bread and gave it to Carmen.

Tala was asleep during that time, and Carmen appreciated the care that Seph had for her daughter.

“Looks can be deceiving,” Veena told her after Seph had left.

“We have to survive here, Veena. If I am not gonna make it, at least I want my daughter safe.”

“What are you saying? You are crazy,” she told her.

“Did you see the skeleton that we passed by earlier? This is a real-life hell, Veena! I am scared.”

“Hey, aren't you the one who told me to be strong?”

“I don't know, I am getting really scared for our lives, especially for my daughter.”

“Look, we are going to make it! Trust me, I am scared too, but we have to deal it with now!’’

It was already 8 in the evening when Seph decided to camp in the area that was just a few meters away from the river.

Veena realized that their situation would not allow her to have a deep and better sleep, so she decided not to fight her mind back. She allowed it to entertain some memories again, thinking that she was close to finding Luke's brother, and hopefully finding Luke there too.