I scrambled down the hill as fast as I could, but there was no sign of anyone. I looked behind the rocks and boulders and peered inside the crevices and between the spiky shrubs. Could he have been caught on one of the ledges? I glanced up but saw no one clinging to the sides. Perhaps his parasol had enabled him to ride an air current and he had landed some distance away. Even though I knew this was highly unlikely, I hurried to a field with rows of spindly, bird-shaped plants. I called out and hearing no response, I ventured within. The protruding stalks were stiff and I had to constantly brush these away from my face but soon they grew softer and more oval and I realized I was in another type of field. Here, there were leaning palms with twisted fronds and hanging epiphytes bearing wispy
