The Light in Aquala

Everything was silent now except for the waterfall.

No animals or birds could be heard. The absence of sound was almost more frightening than the strange noise and exploding light had been.

The jungle, normally alive with movement and calls, had become unnaturally still. Even the insects seemed to have disappeared, their constant chirping and buzzing replaced by an eerie quiet.

Shaken by the experience and beyond scared, the sisters removed their hands from in front of their eyes and looked about before settling their gazes on each other.

Mara's hands were trembling, and she could feel her heart pounding against her ribs. Lena's face was pale under her Neon, her usual confidence replaced by something much more cautious.

They both realized:

Whatever had just happened, they were going to have to face it in the dark of night.

"I don’t even know what to say. What just happened?" Mara asked, while watching the Neon swirls on her sister's face start to slow down.

"That was beyond weird, and scary." Lena replied, starting to wonder if they had missed their chance at discovering what this new phenomenon was all about.

The indescribably beautiful light was gone.

Now the last vestiges of the sun had disappeared into the horizon, painting the sky in shades of deep purple and dark blue and black. Shadows stretched across the ground and between the trees of the jungle, as the Neon colors kept winding through them.

Aquala looked darker and more imposing as night fell and the few remaining Neon colors reflected off of it were glowing with a deep intensity.

"I think that the best thing to do is to get somewhere safe for the night and make camp," declared Lena, kneeling down and hurriedly gathering and stuffing things into her backpack.

Her movements were quick but not as confident as usual, a sign that the strange events had shaken her more than she wanted to admit.

"I suggest we get to higher ground to avoid whatever makes those sounds. We need to go back to that massive Neon tree and sleep there in the branches tonight."

Mara was busy looking around cautiously and securing her backpack even more, tightening straps and checking that nothing had fallen out during the chaos. But at this she paused.

"You know I’ve never been good at climbing trees, just falling out of them. I think it’s better to leave this area completely and travel as far away from here as we can."

"And go where?" Lena asked, pausing in her packing. "The sun is gone and it is completely dark except for a few threads of Neon. And that tree."

Lena was right, and Mara knew it.

The jungle at night was treacherous even for the most experienced travelers. Navigating the challenging terrain would be nearly impossible.

Summoning her courage and looking around one last time, Mara stood nervously, waiting for Lena to collect the last of her strewn items, and watching as Lena then heaved her backpack onto her shoulders.

They set off together in the direction of the giant, glowing tree, which they could easily see in the distance, but they both noticed that it was not glowing as strongly as earlier.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Mara said, her eyes scanning the darkness around them as she tried to keep up with Lena, who was marching quickly towards the tree.

"Until we know why the tree is no longer glowing as brightly, we shouldn’t be climbing it. I should be setting up my equipment and trying to figure out what the best direction to go in is.” She breathed in loudly and deeply before exhaling. “There are just way too many unknowns here."

"No, absolutely not!" Lena's voice was firm. "This is not the time to get all scientific. It’s time to get to that tree and make sure we are safe."

Seeing the fallen look on Mara's face, she continued more gently, "Once we are there, we will not be exposed on all sides, and we can regroup and figure out what to do."

She looked at her sister kindly. "I really think this is the best plan. When we get there, you can set up all the scientific equipment that you want."

Mara considered the plan once again and nodded in agreement. There was a certain logic to what Lena was saying, even if it went against her own instincts to stop and understand the situation before running ahead into more of the unknown.

There were too many unknowns.