CHAPTER SIX

Maggie awoke the next morning with her stomach growling. She rolled out of bed and went over to splash some water on her face. No sooner had she dried off, then the lemur bounded in the room.

“We have some exploring to get done today!” He announced in a cheerful tone.

“Right!” Was all Maggie said as she dumped her pail of wash water out the window.

She then grabbed a clean shirt to change into and sat and eat a banana.

“Look Mr. lemur, I will go exploring with you, but remember I am am not the adventure type.” Maggie stated as a warning.

“From what I know of you, that is an understatement, however there is a lot more to this besides a fun exploration. Besides there is no better guide than me.”

With that the lemur jumped up on Maggie’s shoulder, pointed at the open door and stated,

“Shall we go?”

Maggie let out a sigh and headed carefully down to the forest floor. Once down, the lemur asked,

“Now do you remember how to get to the fresh spring water and banana trees?”

“Yes I believe so.”

“Then what do you think would be a good idea to do so you do not have to tryto remember that route each time, especially if we discover other routes that take you to things you need?” The lemur asked.

“You are talking about trail markers…aren’t you?”

“Give the girl a gold star,” The lemur said with what could only be described as a smile.

“A good job, or a that’s right, will do.” Maggie said in a grumble.

“So, Mr. boy scout, what do you suggest I use to mark the trail?”

“There are three things to remember in marking your trails. One: make it weatherproof. As you have discovered this forest gets lots of wind and rain. Second: It needs to be animal proof. So, nothing that any animal might consider a free meal, and third: you will start out marking a lot of your trails, so make it simple, easy for you to remember which trail goes where.”

“Like what?”

“Oh no Maggie, you are going to have to figure some of this out on your own. I am here to guide you, not to spoon feed you, the lemur replied.

“That was rude!” Maggie complained.

“Rude or not, it is the truth. My assistance to you will not be forever so, the sooner you learn the basics the better.”

Maggie pulled the lemur off her shoulder and looked him in the eyes.

“Just what do you mean by that?” She asked.

“Exactly what I said. I am her to help you get down the basics and establish good habits. I was not sent to be a lifelong companion.”

“Who sent you?” Maggie asked.

The lemur shook his head.

“I do not have that information, and even if I did, we are wasting time.”

Maggie glared at the lemur for a moment or two, then put him back on her shoulder. She took off her outer shirt, which was blue, and tore it into ribbons. She then tied them onto bushes along the trail.

“You decide on this because?” The lemur asked.

“Blue is for water.” Maggie replied.

“Now you are thinking. Just remember, that cloth will fall apart after a while.”

Just as the lemur finished his sentence, they heard a low growl.

“What?? What was that??” Maggie said in a shaky voice.

“Sounded to me like a leopard. What do you think we should do?” He asked.

“RUN”, Maggie said as she began to try to figure out which way she could go.

“Do you believe you can out run a leopard?”

“Well, no. Maybe we should climb a tree?” She suggested next.

“Leopards climb trees.” The lemur answered.

“I am out of ides…help me!” She pleaded.

“Always remember most wild animals are after an easy meal, and they also can since fear.”

The lemur looked around and pointed out two good size broken off tree limbs.

“Which of those two over there do you think would make a better club?”

“Club? Are you suggesting I fight that leopard?” Maggie ask in amazement.

“You may not have too. You just have to show the leopard that you are not an easy meal and that you have just as much of a right to the territory as it does. This is your new home, and you have to learn how to protect yourself and feel comfortable. You can’t afford to keep resetting to start.”

Maggie want him to explain what he meant by that, but before she could ask, the tiger came into the clearing.

“Show no fear,” the lemur whispered as he jumped back on Maggie’s shoulder.

“Easy for you to say,” Maggie replied ask she gripped the “club” and pointed it at the leopard.

The leopard crouched and let out another growl.

To Maggie, the lemur, and the leopard’s surprise, Maggie also growled (sort of), raised her club and rushed towards the leopard. Caught off guard and scurried off into the bush. When she was sure he was gone, she sat on the ground and wept.

“Why the tears, you did great!” The lemur said excitedly.

“That action was part of my personality that I thought I had overcome.” Maggie said between sobs.

“I do not understand.” The lemur said confused,

“And I do not wish to get into all of it. Let me just say that when my fear gets to a certain level, it turns into aggression. At one time, uncontrollable aggression. I fought long and hard to change that.” Maggie said and broke down again.

“Maggie? Did you chase the leopard? Did you try to kill the leopard?”

“Well…no.”

“Then I would say that your aggression was not only under control, but was exercised to the proper degree,” the lemur concluded.

Maggie wiped her tears and smiled.

“How did you get to be so smart?” she asked.

“Another question I can’t answer. You know I think you need a break before we continue our exploration. We will go back to the tree house for you to clear your head, then I will guide you to a place that  should perk you up some.”

The trip back to the tree house was thankfully uneventful. After a short rest, they were ready to go again.

“Now the place I am going to take you will be another one in which you should mark the trail.” The lemur stated as he headed out the door.

Maggie shook her head and followed behind the lemur. As it turned out the trail, was not much of a trail, and Maggie had to work furiously to cut back the under growth.

“I hope where we are going is worth all this effort!” She grumbled as both her arms and hands were getting sore.

Not much further along, it began to rain. This was a welcome relief to both cool her down and relieve some of the soreness in her arms. The rain only lasted a short period of time and was just enough to encourage Maggie to press on. With as few final whacks of some extra thickly entwined vines, they broke through to a clearing. Here Maggie saw wonderous sights. Large lushes tress full of beautiful exotic birds of all sizes and colors. Wild colorful flowers, that had an array of spectacularly colored and shaped butterflies.

Maggie could only manage to mumble,

“Wow!”

“We mustn’t linger. We have plenty of other trail to map out that are more important to your survival. I brought you here to let you know of a place you can come when your stress levels get to high,” the lemur explained.

Maggie gently took the lemur off her shoulder and kissed his forehead.

“Thank you, I really needed this,” she said and place him back on her shoulder.

Maggie took one more look around and then headed back down the trail. On the way back, she decided to start naming the trails. This one she would call Peace Trail. The one that lead to the spring and bananas, word be named First Trail, The lemur directed her to a place that had other native foods that she could eat raw or cook. Thus named Second Trail. He also led her to a place that had an assortment of plants that could be used as medicines and also ones that could be used to enhance the flavor of, he food. She named this one Health Trail.

By the end of this day of exploring and marking trails, Maggie was exhausted. She sponged off and sat in her hammock. Before she knew it, she was out. She rose early the next morning and made use of her newly named streets to gather food and water for the day. She was in the middle of cleaning some clothes when the lemur hopped in.

“Ah good, I see you are starting some good morning routines,” the lemur said in a cheerful tone.

Maggie gave him a dirty look.

“What are the chances of getting some more clothes?” she asked in a gruff tone.

“Why would you need more?”

Maggie stopped washing and looked the lemur with a dark stare.

“You must be male.”

“What would that have to do…” The lemur began.

“Never mind!” Maggie stated and went back to washing.

The lemur hopped up on the nearby table. He looked at the paper that was laying there.

“I am impressed! You mad a map, well sort of.”

He turned the paper a couple of different ways. Maggie snatched away from him.

“Don’t get cute. I work, or at least did work, with computers all day long. I do, however, remember how to make a map. I figured if something happened to the markers, I made for my trails disappeared, I will need a backup.”

“Good idea.” The lemur said.

“I am glad you approve.”

For the next three days, the lemur helped Maggie discover several other trails that would be helpful for her. He would show up each morning to make sure she was carrying out her daily routines and to give her a few hints on how they could be carried out a little more efficiently. Then he would ride on her shoulders as she went either gathering supplies or exploring new trails. One morning the lemur arrived before Maggie woke up. He placed himself on the table and patiently waited for her to rouse.

“You are here early today,” she said in a groggy tone.

“You have been doing very well lately, so I have decided to reward you with a little treat.”

“Oh really? What kind of treat? She asked as she sat up in bed.

“Come and get dressed, I will show you.”

Maggie obeyed and the lemur took up his normal spot, wrapped around her neck. He directed her down one of her normal trails, but this time he encouraged her to go deeper in the woods. Not to far away he showed her an entrance to a cave.

“What’s in there,” she asked a bit nervously.

“You won’t know by standing out here.”

“It seems awful dark in there.” Maggie said with a hesitancy in her voice.

“I told you it was a treat. You will have to trust me.” Replied the lemur.

Slowly Maggie made her way into the cave. She had not gone far, before she realized that the cave was no longer being lit by the light from the cave entrance. All of the rocks seemed to glow from some unknown light source. She would have normally been more afraid, but she was so captivated by their beauty, she kept going in deeper. At that moment she could begin to here the sound of a water fall. Going on a little further and rounding a corner, she saw an ever more wonderous sight. There in front of her was a thirty-foot water fall. The water pooled in a large area that was surrounded by multiple layers of glowing rocks.

“So, what do you think?” The lemur asked.

“I think if you were human, I would give you a kiss.”

She took the lemur off her shoulders and hurried to stand under the waterfall. It had seemed like forever since she felt anything that came close to a shower. After a while, she jumped in the pool below and just soaked in it’s refreshing water. When she finally climbed out, she sat on the rocks that surrounded the pool.

“So, was this a nice treat?” The lemur asked.

“Very nice, except…”

“Except what?”

“Never mind, I want to go back and get some dry clothes. I will definitely put this trail on my map and make it a point to come here daily.” Maggie told him.

The trip back to the tree house was a quiet one. When they got back, Maggie asked if they could explore the trails that the lemur had mentioned tomorrow.

“Are you ill? You know the herbs you have can…”

“No, It is just that I miss human company. And before you make any sounds of being hurt, or offended, remember it was you that said you did not know how much time you had to stay with me.”

The lemur cocked his head a little.

“I think I understand, I will leave you for a bit, but I will come back and check on you later.”

The lemur scampered off.

“You do that,” she mumbled as she stretched out in the hammock.