Chapter 4
1003 Words
As morning approached, the air grew colder. Valerie woke up with an aching body. She looked over to see Enrico exercising.
"Good morning," he said, stretching his arms right and left.
Valerie smiled and joined in.
"It looks like you didn't sleep well, did you? You were delirious all night, saying Alfred's name over and over again," Enrico chuckled.
"That was my father's name." She gazed out at the ocean; it was clear that her mind was flying in the sky.
"You must be very close." Enrico could feel the warmth between father and daughter, even if only from the look in her eyes.
"I miss him so much," Valerie said, remembering the man who had cared for her since childhood. "Do you think I can still see him?"
Enrico sighed and said, "Of course. You still have to make him spaghetti."
Valerie laughed softly. "I'm terrible at cooking, but if I get out of this place, I'll fix it and make food for him every day," she said, wiping tears.
The sun was rising. Enrico went back to fishing. However, he forgot that he had run out of branches. He asked Valerie to wait while he went back into the jungle.
Enrico slowed down as he passed the wooden pole with the arrow board he had seen yesterday. Something was different. The direction of the arrow had changed to the south, whereas before, it was pointing north, he was sure.
Who moved the direction of this board? Could the pair of eyes he saw last night do it?
He followed the board's direction. The road was steep, the ground sloping and slippery, and the trees around him grew denser.
In the distance, he could see a small hut on top of a large tree. He climbed up and found a sweater full of bird droppings lying there. Turning his head to the left, he saw another wooden pole. However, this time, it was not a board with an arrow stuck on it but a skull.
"It seems to signify something," Enrico muttered, suddenly remembering the book he had found. Could the skull he saw now have something to do with the symbol of the skull in the book?
He climbed down from the tree, carrying the sweater he had found, and walked towards where the skull pole had been seen. Just a few steps away, a wild boar foraging for food passed by.
Enrico smiled. That animal could be his and Valerie's food stock for a few days. He readied his penknife, walking up to it with a sneak. Unfortunately, he accidentally stepped on a branch.
The pig realized his presence and ran away. Enrico gave chase, not wanting to lose his quarry just like that. He continued to chase until he crossed the skull pole he had seen earlier.
Enrico approached, forgetting his quarry. A pungent, foul odor immediately wafted up, and even some flies seemed to be swarming around the skull. He touched it, looking at it carefully. It was a human skull!
Enrico shuddered in horror. Who would make a human skull into a decoration like this? It is such a crazy sight! Does this have anything to do with the myth of the cannibal tribe?
A loud bang suddenly sounded. Enrico turned and saw that the pig he had been chasing was now incomplete. His eyes were unblinking, and he watched as three spears pierced the animal's body.
Who exactly set the trap? Could it be the same person who changed the arrow on the wooden pole earlier?
Realizing something was wrong. Enrico turned around, not wanting to die silly from another trap that might still be scattered at other points.
Along the way, he stepped more cautiously, observing everything as he picked up a few twigs and tied them with a sweater he found.
A monkey that was busy jumping over one tree after another passed by. Enrico followed it, confident it would lead him to a food source. Sure enough, a sturdy tree with many mangoes stood nearby.
Enrico climbed the tree and picked a few fruits before returning to the shore.
Valerie greeted his arrival with great joy. Never before had she been so happy to meet a man; he was the only person with her in this place.
"Look what I brought." He took out some mangoes from inside his sweater.
"Where did you get them?" Valerie looked happy.
"The tree is in the jungle. You don't have to worry about vitamin C deficiency anymore," Enrico chuckled, laughing slightly, as he peeled the skin off the mangoes.
A sweet and slightly sour taste filled their mouths as the mangoes hit their tongues, passed down their throats, and into their stomachs. Valerie, who loved the fruit, ate it with gusto.
However, not Enrico. Even though he had only eaten a bit of it, he felt a strange sensation. The sensation of heat slowly began to be felt. At first, it was only felt on the lips, but then it spread to the rest of his skin. It was getting hotter and hotter like a fire.
"What's going on?" asked Valerie, finding his skin looking red like a blister.
"Oh my god. I think I'm allergic to mangoes," Enrico replied. No wonder his mother had never and always forbidden him to eat the fruit, no matter how much he whined.
"You i***t, how could you not realize that?" scolded the panicked twenty-five-year-old woman.
Enrico immediately ran to the sea and threw himself in. The heat spreading through his body was no longer felt, masked by the coolness of the water. However, he knew that the effects of his allergy hadn't completely disappeared.
He continued swimming until his eyes caught something bobbing in the sea. "What is it?" he muttered, approaching the object.
It was a suitcase with a gun logo and numbers on the front. Enrico shook it, and there was a crunching sound from inside. He smiled, sure that it must be something very valuable.
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