I looked up. Either the lights had gone off or I had entered afterlife. I could still smell the foul stench of dead something. Rats, dog, another Maya. I felt relief. If the good guys had gotten here and if they were winning, I was happy that I got to know that before I died. The room was dark so I didn’t see much but I did hear enough to know that someone had blasted…something…someone. I didn’t care. I wanted to die. I was tired. I wanted to sleep. I wanted to see Mikel one last time. I wanted to tell my mother it wasn’t her fault. I felt light, like I was being lifted. Maybe this was goodbye.
***
‘Maya?’
I woke up with a start. My breathing was heavy and tired. The more air I gulped, the weaker I felt. I had to blink my eyes several times before my eyes could see properly. I saw someone. A boy.
‘Mikel?’
I tried to pick myself up and look at him. For the briefest moment I thought my eyes were being tricked; Sebas.
I smiled and touched his hand. Sebas came back to get me. He should’ve left but he didn’t. Who could tell? The scrawny one showed the brawny ones who was stronger and smarter. I looked around to see wet walls.
‘It’s a cave.’
‘Where…’ Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t speak. I was sleepy.
‘It’s close to the quarters but protected. You should rest, we have a long way to go.’
**
I heard clicking. The kind that you hear when someone types a typewriter only softer. I didn’t open my eyes, I just kept still. I wanted to breathe in the peace before I didn’t have it anymore. Before I realized that I was in a cave with Sebas and no knowledge of where Mikel was. Before Sebas told me something bad happened and I started to asphyxiate and Sebas tried to save me again. I wanted to feel this peace for tad bit longer. I tried to block the clicking but I couldn’t. I tried to think of the rain, the rain when I met Mikel. I always loved rain. The smell of wet soil. The smell of blood. I got up abruptly. I looked around. Sebas wasn’t there but the clicking continued. I was coming from inside but where? It was a closed off cave, but the clicking continued. I looked around to see the world’s tiniest frog. It was so pretty, so yellow. It couldn’t have been bigger than a paper clip.
Sebas entered with his hands full of fruits.
‘Sebas look! It’s a yellow frog!’
Sebas looked at me and pulled me.
‘Get up Maya, we have to leave.’
‘What? Why?’
‘That’s a dart frog. It’ll kill you.’
I looked at the little frog making his way to me. Such a beautiful thing and yet it could kill me by a touch? I backed up as fast as I could. Even when getting out I kept looking at the frog. I felt like I knew that frog, somewhere back home I was that frog.
‘Thank God, you’re safe.’
I turned and hugged Sebas. ‘God had nothing to do with it, you had. Thank you, again.’
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