Free The Light of Oriah : Burning Jungle - Part One by Sam Vickery Page B

like. It will be nice to
have some company for a change,” she continued, offering a warm
smile as we walked through the packed airport.
    I ducked
my head feeling embarrassed at her generosity. “Thanks Aunt Ivy, I
really appreciate it.”
    I
followed her out to the car, taking in my new surroundings. It was
cold here, but the temperature didn’t bother me, only in an
emotional sense I supposed, it was too different from where I
belonged. There were so many sounds, so many voices, I couldn’t
figure out how to focus. Cars were everywhere, as were buildings.
They blocked the sky and made me feel insignificantly small and
lost in this new land. I suddenly had a strong desire to run and
run, to break free of these suffocatingly high walls.
    Aunt Ivy talked a lot as she drove, the buildings slowly
phasing out into fields and trees. This felt more familiar to me
and I watched the scenery passing by frustratingly slowly,
reminding myself to be patient – Humans don’t have the same concept of speed
Oriah, you need to relax.
    Aunt Ivy
was telling me something about her new bathroom, something to do
with a jacuzzi bath which seemed to please her, and I nodded along,
trying to be polite, thinking of the manners my father had
instilled in me. Eventually, she pulled into a gravel driveway
facing a small but pretty cottage.
    “Well
this is home,” she trilled.
    “It's
very nice,” I offered dutifully. She shook her head as if I had
insulted her horribly.
    “It's
beautiful dear,” she corrected chidingly. “Now let me show you
where you'll sleep.” She led me through a dark, stiflingly hot
hallway up a creaking set of stairs and into a bedroom, which was
covered from floor to ceiling in floral prints of varying degrees
of insipid.
    “Thank
you Aunt Ivy,” I said, not quite meeting her eyes as I clutched my
bag close to my chest, wishing she would go away. She seemed to
take the hint.
    “Dinner
in an hour then, I'll leave you to freshen up.” I attempted a smile
and nodded in agreement, watching her close the door. I paused
silently for just a few seconds, listening to her footsteps
descending on the creaky stairs. It seemed to take forever. I heard
her reach the kitchen, and sighed in relief, dropping my bag to the
floor before rushing to the window to throw it open. It felt
suffocating in here, too hot, the air was stagnant, musty. I craved
the outside, and more than that, I was beginning to feel hungry.
Tonight I would have to hunt. This realisation conjured up a
strange mixture of emotions; Excitement, tension and curiosity for
what I might discover in this new and unfamiliar environment. My
stomach gave a lurch in anticipation of the chase.
    I stepped back from the window leaving it wide open, and
feeling my excitement turn to dread I cast around the room, my
quick eyes taking in the lace bedspread, the soft white lambskin on
the floor, the huge oak wardrobe and the pink towelling gown that
hung from the door. So this was home now. I felt the tears begin to
prick my eyes, still so close to the surface, and knew that I could
hold them back no longer. Crouching down, I curled up into a ball
on the soft white rug and let myself weep for my parents, my life
and the place I would never call home again. The salty tears fell
freely as I pulled my knees in tight to my chest, rocking back and
forth trying to hold in the pain that seemed to be trying to burst
free from my insides. I had to stay in control of myself and get
a hold of my emotions. Who knew what would
happen if I gave myself up to these powerful feelings?
    What would Marie do now? I thought,
wishing she were here to tell me my next step, she always knew what
to do. I closed my eyes as I pictured her now. My mother was
the most powerful woman imaginable. She would always tell me it was
really me who was the special one, but to cast eyes on my mother
was to be awed. She was incredibly beautiful, with smooth raven
hair and midnight eyes. Her skin had been so pale it