18 The Ace

On top of the tree I saw a magnificent sight as the sun rose and shine it's warm ray of hope, dispelling all the darkness away. The birds too noticed this and began chirping away joyfully and this makes my little heart beats with the infectious joy to start a new day.

Slowly but surely the jungles beneath me comes to life. Coming from the first place bathed by the sunlight, the trees forms a wave as they swayed. People would think a strong gust of wind blown the trees to make a mesmerizing scene like this. The trees however weren't blown by the winds, they swayed by themselves connecting to others.

I quickly and stealthily made my way down this firm evergreen tree enjoying the morning views of this jungle. It started with a single leaf which bends all the way down, unable to withold the dew in its embrace. Following suit, all the leafs in the jungle dropped their collected dew to the ground in sequence like performing a dance. It started with a single tap then it continued.

Tap. Tap. Tap. A hundred taps. A thousand taps. They formed a rhythm, a song or perhaps a language that I've been trying to decipher for countless of days now without fruition. As if they are dancing in the morning rays of the gentle sun, every other harmless creature joined this 'tap' dance in their own way. Still halfway on the tree, I continued to observe and perhaps enjoying this beautiful performance of nature.

Minutes passed by and running out of dew, the performance was put on hold for another day. Thus I began my morning routine inside this vibrant forest full of energy. A quarter of the tree is where my descend stops, to this day we still considers the ground as lava, only death awaits should anyone ever steps foot on it.

The ground is like a massive spider web, only a slight touch would alert the trees of your presence. Innumerable vines of varying sizes would come to life grabbing you, coiling every part of your body before dragging you to the bottom to be devoured.

Luckily the nature still leave a leeway for us to survive in the lush jungles. Like monkeys, we travel by grabing, jumping or merely walking from branches to branches. We are now no longer stiffly moving from a tree to another, dozens of months made us adapt a new way of living. Swiftly traveling from a tree to another made us covers a lot more distance than we could on land.

Then i stopped in front of a yellow tree. It was different from other tree in that there are so few of them growing inside the lush forest. There is probably only one tree per square kilometers but it is not because it's rarity and unique appearance that i stopped. It is because of it's delicious and highly nutritious fruit it bears.

This tree is also a sign for a safe zone inside this treacherous forest. It is separated from the other tree, i don't know why but i got the feeling they weren't accepted by the other trees in these forest. Like an outcast, there is absolutely no plants or vegetation in the ten meter radius surrounding it.

Perhaps due to it's bizza- unique appearance in that it doesn't have any branches, only a single large trunk with vines coiling around it. The leaves grows from the bottom of it, forming bushes of green on the ground and inside, there were a pair of shining light. The two fruits were big and shining with a golden lustre, i felt the warmth of the shining sun from it.

Opening my mouth wide, I took a large bite out of it. Juices of red and white splashes and filled my mouth so much that a lot was leaked out. The sweet and sour taste was spread around in my mouth instantly flicked the switch of my appetite. Like a frenzied rabbit, i gobbled all that remains of the basketball - sized golden fruit.

Full and energized, i head towards the sound of a rampaging crash made by the water as it falls down from hundreds meter above forming a rapidly moving crystal clear river. Just in a minute, i arrived near the base of this waterfall. Just being this near to the icy cold water made my body feels refreshed, i wonder how it would feel to take a bath. It is my daily routine but somehow i am always thrilled to do it again everyday. I didn't bother to strip my clothes as being naked might causes me to fall below average when confronted with an emergency situations.

No hesitations whatsoever, I dived from the tree straight into the icy cold river. Full of vigor, the water rams into me with no sign of letting up. Again, i refuse to back down even though I was pushed back tens of meters. Unyielding, i swam faster and faster everyday to get to the walls behind the waterfall to start another training. The slippery rock climbing or as they said killing yourself by climbing up a waterfall. A single log was all that is required to smash the head into a pulp of red and white... Similar to the golden fruit.

Strange, how did my thought came here and as I lost focus, my hand slipped. I only made it a third of the way today before falling down and crushed by the heavy water.

*CRAAASHHH!*

Unsatisfied and a bit upset, i climbed a second time.

#########

"Let's stop reading this here, Baldwin. Her report alone surpassed all the others combine. I have a headache every year because of her. Every Single Thing... is written down in the report. Truly an ace. So you convinced yet?"

A frown would probably be present on my face right now as I remembered how much of a headache I suffered reading her report.

Hoh this is unexpected, A shining head with a hint of red was lowered in front of me. Is he hiding his embarrassment? Not so cute for a man of your face and stature Baldwin. More like creepy.

"...Yes. I have read her diary once. Never wanted any other diaries ever since then."