Loved Brondong Online

68. Lost in the Forest (17)

Berbelok river.  Just in vain Made waited for the rescue backpack to turn behind him.  That thing must've been stuck.  The raft is also invisible.  And so, after the helper raft approached the right bank of the river, Made jumped ashore.  There was no choice but to ignore the backpack and raft.

Made's feet landed in the water near the riverbank.  It was magical to feel the sand under his feet.  He could finally stand up.  He stumbled out of the water filled with disbelief.  It traces the rocky land.  Solid ground.  He's still alive!

A few minutes later, his breathing returned to normal.  Then think about the situation now.  The rescue backpack went missing somewhere, but it might show up later.  Who knows the current will set him free if it gets stuck.

And what about Rian?  He must have found Made.  Made saw him running in the direction he was heading, so he could definitely get here today, or tomorrow at the latest.  All is well, Made sure.  Rian must have found it, and then they were both on foot.  How far are they, how far are they now?  I don't know.  How long has he been in the river?  I don't know.  Maybe twenty minutes.  Thinking of the river made Made shudder.

The rain that had fallen since then has now increased.  There's no point in waiting, it's better to climb into the woods to find shelter tonight.  He climbed up the rock wall.  After reaching a height of about fifteen feet, look down.

Instantly he was enveloped in joy at seeing a raft stuck between several rocks near the sand.  The raft was nodding and bobbing slowly about three hundred yards upstream.  He could even hear the sound of it every time it hit the rock.  So lucky!  The thought of carrying a rescue backpack may also be stuck around.

Quickly down the riverbank, but the river bend blocked the view.  Unless the place is grounded, this river is completely without edges.  There was no way he could afford to go to the raft on foot, so it was decided to sail the river as close as possible to the edge, trying to defy the current and move upstream.

He managed to advance a few feet, but slipped down as if the riverbed was pulled from under his feet.  He was so scared to death that he returned to land.

Now what should it be?  Anger and despair swept through the entire body.  The backpack he needed.  It may be reached by road, but climbing a rock wall can take hours.  In the face of tears that were about to come out.

“Do not cry.  You must be strong.  Don't surrender.  You're the kind of person who acts.  Let's get up, do what needs to be done.”

Made understandably couldn't have reached the big raft today as the day grew darker while the rain continued to fall.  He began to climb again to find shelter while humming.  “Acting people, acting people.”

You can still see the raft nudging between the rocks.

“Stay there until tomorrow morning.  Please, don't go anywhere.”

*

Improvising the shelter was not an easy job.  He uprooted the small bushes, broke some tree branches, slashed the leaves, then dragged them all to a small cave on a rocky hillside.  The leaves are spread on the floor, while the branches of trees are stacked at the mouth of the cave so as to form a kind of fortress.

He was starving because he had not eaten anything since morning.  Somewhere down the hillside a certain view.  He could eat a palm heart like Kiki had taught him.  The tree is small, but the roots plunge deep into the ground.  Dig the ground around the tree with bare hands until it can finally pull out the tree.

The heart of the tree is located at the top.  With a large rock beaten the tree trunk until it found a soft white heart.  This food nutrition is a little, but collected every piece.

It must be a fantasy Made.  No, he did hear something.  A family of monkeys.  Made trembled in fear.  Kiki once told me that around the herd of monkeys there are always tigers.

“God, let Rian get to this place.”

Made wearing a blue T-shirt given by Lili.  Made crawled into a small, already camouflaged niche.  Rocks that scratch the back are not as severe as the cold that strikes.  Made soaked, no fire or anything to cover the body to warm.

Remove the cloth around the neck and wrap it around the face.  At least the warmth of the breath vapor can give the illusion of comfort.  His mind was filled with fear, beasts, snakes.  What if he doesn't find a life backpack?  What if Rian doesn't come here?  He must have been eaten by a wild animal or starved to death.  Feeling hopeless and lonely, he jumped out a niche.

“Rian! Rian! Rian!”

The sound of the cursed monkeys answered.

Made again fled into the cave while he pleased.  “Do not cry.  Can't be discouraged.  Be the one to act,” persuade Made to yourself.

It's dark.  Removing the face cover.  He could not sleep, nor could he shake the frightening thoughts in his mind.

“Kiki, why didn't I hear your words?  Lili, why am I so cruel to you?  Now I accept this punishment.”

In Made's determined heart, after morning comes he must find Rian.  They both can handle this.  Whenever feeling hopeless, whispered the mantra “The one who acts, the one who acts.”

I don't know where this phrase came from, maybe from one of the books.  In the heart it repeats itself: people act to do what must be done, not afraid, not anxious.  But, when heard the crack of branches outside the niche, the motto is no longer affirming.  He held his breath while waiting for the crackling sound to vanish towards the forest.

The next morning Made's mood felt better.  The branches then crawled out.  Chanted Rian's name several times, after which he decided to be the one to act and assess the current situation.  For starters, one hundred percent he's sure he's past the canyon.  He still clearly remembered the picture of Kiki, waterfalls, rushing streams, giant corals that block the river.

Right, he's sure that's the place.  The place he was pointing at must be not far from the flow, and it was located on the right bank of the river that is now on stand.  There is a possibility he can get there, there is a cottage and gold panning equipment.

Kiki said there's a banana garden.  From there it only takes four days to walk to get there, even there may be a shortcut through the forest.

Let her feel optimistic.  He could have done it.  No more than a day's walk, there could have been people there.

He went around looking for something for breakfast, baby found nothing.