The Light in Aquala

Mara was just on the edge of sleep when she noticed something.

The sounds of the jungle had changed.

They hadn’t exactly stopped, but it seemed like the night had become much quieter. The insects that had been chirping rhythmically were now quiet. The occasional rustle of leaves from unseen creatures had ceased. Even the distant waterfall seemed to have muted slightly.

She opened her eyes and listened. The silence stretched around them like a blanket, heavy and worrisome.

"Lena," she whispered. "Lena, wake up."

Her sister stirred, grumbling. "What now?"

"Something is wrong. Listen.” Lena fell silent, and Mara watched her sister's expression shift from irritation to alertness. The silence was now so complete that Mara could hear her own heartbeat in her ears.

Then an eruption of hundreds of flapping wings disrupted the night calm as the birds in the leaves above them flew off in every direction.

The sudden explosion of movement was startling.

Wings beat against branches with a frantic, panicked sound, leaves shook violently, and feathers seemed to fill the air around them. Birds were darting in every direction as they disappeared into the darkness.

Confused and dazed, not knowing why the birds were suddenly flying away, the sisters hung on to the branches tightly until the commotion settled down.

Soon the birds were gone, and the remaining silence that followed their departure was almost as startling as their flight had been.

"I wonder if they heard something coming?" Mara whispered, her voice barely audible. She knew full well that something had caused them to leave in a hurry.

Squinting into the dark, Lena whispered back that if something did startle them, they were sure to find out what it was soon enough.

Just as she finished that sentence, the perimeter lights that Mara had quickly set up underneath them started to slowly glow a very soft yellow, warning them of a change in the atmosphere.

Gradually the lights grew brighter, turning a deep orange. This meant they were facing impending danger. The orange color painted the surrounding roots and lower branches in shadows, and the sisters started feeling a growing wariness.

Shadows moved across the ground as the lights intensified, making the jungle seem even more dangerous here.

The rustling of leaves in the breeze and the chirping songs of the jungle insects had by now started up again, sounding louder than before.

The sisters strained to hear any unusual sounds to explain the changing colors of the perimeter lights. Mara could feel her heart pounding in her chest, each beat seeming unnaturally loud in the tense silence.

Then they heard a soft disturbance among the vegetation nearby.

Little did they know their lives would be forever changed.