Sun Kissed

3.i Amancio (EDITED)

3.i Amancio 

As soon as Sofi had shut the door behind her, she made her way to the window. She found herself standing there in a daze, trying to think through what she was about to do. It did not take her long to realize that there was nothing left to think about. All she could do now was act.

Despite the rat pellets and mold that glued the window shut, she thrust it open and managed to squeeze through the narrow opening. Sofi dropped about five feet into a pile of rotted palm leaves. She rolled back onto her feet and took off.

As Sofi moved through the sleepy town, she passed by the locals. Like always, they muddled along doing the same simple work, wearing and eating the same things day in and day out.

Sofi hated it. She hated everything from the food they cooked to the language they spoke. She hated how their Portuguese babble and their Brazilian dialects choked the air around her, smothering her, hanging in space like a fog – more suffocating than the water-logged oxygen drifting in from the surrounding rainforest. It was so similar to her own, yet so indecipherable – as if somebody had sewn their tongue in backwards.

Sofi could take it no longer. It was maddening, this place. She had to get away. She had to run!

Sofi kept to the tree line beside the dirt road to avoid the eyes of the passing people. There was a moment when she emerged out into the open, about to cross the bridge over the canal. On the other side she spotted a trail leading to the private arms of the rainforest.

First, she had to leave the safety of the bushes.

Sofi made a lunge for the bridge when her path was suddenly blocked.

"Olha por onde anda!"

Sofi backpedaled. Immediately, her hands went up to dry her face. How long had she been crying? Once she had that under control, she looked up at the person she'd bumped into.

A guy.

A very attractive guy. His eyes were a medium, welcoming shade a brown, partly concealed by thick, dark curls. The harsh environment gave his face a rugged look, but he kept it cleanly shaven. His mouth was very inviting, with lips that were hard to miss.

"Oh." His voice and eyes softened in a way that made Sofi want to punch herself.

You know better than to run through here crying like an idiot.

"Sorry, I'll be more careful next time." She tried to elbow her way around his good looks and muscles, but the man caught her by the arm.

"Hey, are you all right?"

Sofi jerked her arm back. "I'm fine."

Dark-and-Handsome didn't seem offended. He tilted his head and turned up the corner of his mouth.

"Are you sure? Because you're headed right for the woods."

Sofi paused in her escape. Right. Forbidden jungle.

"Uh, I didn't mean to wander this far. I haven't been here that long – hold on." She glanced at the thick layer of trees in the distance and back at the man.

"What were you doing in there?"

He held up a dirty soccer ball. "I had to rescue this for some kids. Their parents would freak if they went anywhere near that place."

"You speak English," Sofi pointed out. Partly because it came as a total surprise to her and partly because she needed to change the subject. His accent wasn't colored by the States like hers, but it suggested the influence of a university.

"You too," he said, mocking her accusatory tone.

Once again, Sofi wished she could clock herself. She took a deep breath, let go of the suspicion and rudeness, and said, "I'm sorry. Let me start over. My name is –"

"I know who you are," he said. "Your last name's Aguilar, right? Arturo's sister? He told me you were coming to live with him. So you're Sofia?"

"Sofi," she corrected, wondering why her brother's new friend made it so hard to look him in the eye . . . and harder still to look away.

"Sofi," he repeated gently, like he was weighing her name on his tongue. Sofi thought about asking his name because – she looked him over again – damn.

"Yeah, well sorry about earlier, but you scared me . . . er –"

"Toni! Um, Antonio, but yeah, you can call me Toni." His skin wasn't dark enough to hide the coral shades rising past his cheekbones.

The rest of the tension leaked from Sofi's shoulders as she giggled, not unkindly, at his own awkwardness. He recognized it in himself and joined her. Sofi laughed harder and had to bend over to catch her breath.

"Sorry," she panted, "that's the first time I've laughed since . . . God, I don't know when."

Toni straightened his back and dragged his hand through his hair a few times. He looked off to the side, his jaw working as he processed his next words. It was then that Sofi realized that if Art had told him that she was coming to live with him, he must have certainly told him why.

The laughter in Sofi died. The lightness and comfort that she felt only seconds ago had been smothered by something heavy and dark – the same internal force that drove her to go where she had no business going.

She glanced towards the jungle. Felt its pull. There was something behind that wall of green that wanted her to be there.

"So, I was wondering," Toni said.

His voice suddenly sounded so far away. Like a child's dream that she had outgrown a long time ago.

"I could show you around. Maybe we could grab lunch or something?"

There was eagerness in his eyes.

Sofi was torn. In that moment, a part of her really did want to go with Toni. She could get to know him. Have a normal conversation for once. But she would inevitably have to talk about pai and then of course, mãe. Her chest clenched at the thought. It would be easier to disappear into the woods.

Stay! and Run! both sounded like screams in her head. But there was one scream that was louder, more insistent. It pulled and pulled.

Sofi lied. "I was actually on my way home. Maybe another time."

Toni's expression deflated. "Right. Okay, well I guess I'll see you around then."

"Bye Toni," she chirped. And when the man with friendly brown eyes had gone back to his little village, Sofi whipped around and exploded into the Amazon bush.

This time she didn't let herself stop until she reached that damned river.