The Light in Aquala

The Neon colors that were still whirling at Aquala had settled into a very faint glimmering mist across everything, only moving when a gentle wind blew against it.

The glowing mist clung gently to the vegetation and stones, giving ordinary leaves and roots an almost dreamlike appearance. Whenever the breeze passed through, the colors seemed to ripple across the landscape in delicate waves before settling again.

Mara found herself fascinated by these effects despite her fear. Her head gazed from side to side as they jogged to the safety of the Neon tree.

When they finally reached the colossal tree and were busy stepping over all of its enormous roots, they heard a familiar sound.

They looked up into the branches and there, amongst the thick foliage, they saw hundreds of little eyes looking back at them. They had completely forgotten about the jungle birds that were usually so noisy, chirping away to each other.

The birds were unusually quiet, contentedly watching them. Dozens of tiny pairs of eyes reflected the faint Neon mists as they watched the sisters from the safety of the branches. Some shifted nervously, their feathers rustling softly against one another. Others leaned forward, tilting their heads as if trying to understand what these strange creatures were doing in their domain.

"At least you know we have the right idea," Lena stated, half-smiling at her Mara, who smiled back. She was grateful that her sister was trying to lighten the mood.

The presence of the birds was oddly reassuring. She supposed that if the birds felt safe enough to stay here, hidden up in the giant branches and almost invisible behind all of the leaves, then perhaps the tree was a good hiding place after all.

After taking a canister of water each and two pouches of dried food and placing them securely in their pockets, they quickly covered their backpacks with leaves.

They had come to the conclusion that they would just take what they needed for now.

The leaves on the ground were cool and damp beneath their hands, and the earthy smell of crushed vegetation rose around them as they gathered enough to conceal the packs.

They worked quickly, both aware of every passing minute slipping by.

Mara quickly rescued the three pieces of equipment that would register movements and changes in temperature by different colors.

She started placing them in a triangular shape to complete a circuit in the area underneath the part of the tree they would be hidden in, forming a perimeter.

The equipment gave off tiny electronic sounds as Mara activated each unit, soft beeps and whirs that seemed unnaturally loud in the quiet night. She checked each one carefully before moving to the next, her scientific instincts to be thorough taking over, in spite of the circumstances. Three points of detection were now under the massive tree, creating a small, protected area around their hiding place. Any changes in the Neon would also be detected.

She hastily joined Lena, who was busy stuffing her pockets with a bit more food and water. They both started to try to climb the tree, the birds now quietly chirping to each other, obviously wondering what these strange bulky creatures were doing.

The tree trunk was slippery, the bark not rough like the other trees.

Neon glows of colors flowed through the grains of the bark, still glowing as they struggled to somehow get a foothold.

The colors seemed to flow faster and brighter around their hands and boots every time they attempted to climb.

It was as if the tree was responding to their presence.

The bark felt cool as the Neon raced along the grains before fading each time they lost their footing. It was beautiful and unsettling at the same time.

Lena's arms burned with the effort of holding on. The tree was unlike anything she had ever climbed, its bark seemed to shift beneath her fingers.

Beside her, Mara grunted with effort, her boots scraping against the smooth surface. "I cannot find a foothold," she called out in frustration, her voice strained. "This tree is worse than the cliffs we climbed last year."

"Don't remind me," Lena muttered, her fingers scrambling for purchase. "I still have scars from that fall."

"But we made it," Mara said, while imagining the familiar smile forming on her sister’s face when she heard Lena reply, "We always do."

Determined to succeed, they tried to climb it again and again without success. Lena grabbed for another section of bark, her fingers scrambling for purchase.

Mara followed, trying desperately to find a secure foothold while the enormous trunk seemed determined to make their escape upward as difficult as possible. They were losing valuable time.

Out of breath and completely frustrated, Lena suddenly remembered her rope.

After fetching it from her backpack, Lena tried to fling it up and over one of the lower branches. She finally managing to lasso a thick, knobbly outcropping on one of the lower branches. She tugged the rope so it was tight and started climbing, calling back to Mara to follow her quickly.

Much to the amusement of the birds, they managed to heave and huff their way to the safety of a massive branch, which was over a foot thick. Straddling it, they pulled the rope up and then inched their way to the protection of the trunk.

They were not that high up, but it was better than being on the ground.

They now felt as small as the birds that were still staring at them, watching their progress with great interest while occasionally shifting from one foot to another, chirping softly to each other in what could have been laughter.

Too tired to eat after the recent events, Lena and Mara each had a sip of water and tried to get as comfortable as possible, leaning up on nearby outcroppings for balance. Up here the bark was rougher, the awkward limbs poking into their sides and pressing against their backs.

It was hardly comfortable, but exhaustion was quickly overcoming discomfort.

Almost.