VENUS

For all of you authors out there...

One day I sat myself down before this computer screen, and typed a small story. However, i was not able to complete it. So I present this unfinished story to all of you, to add on and conclude. Please continue this story in the Comments section. And while you are at it, keep in mind that i am as eager as any one of you to see the completion of this story. And let the first of a series of bits of stories string together! I will withold the brainchildren of many minds no longer from their final destination among the logical pieces of this story. Enjoy!

Fifteen minutes from Dógrez’s cry of “Land, ahoy!” we struck land.

We knew two things about this new world that was unfolding before us. One, it was largely uninhabited; those areas which were not, were inhabited by a tribal civilization, and were closely guarded by their wary and armed watchdogs of the rainforest.

Two, five English ships were reportedly seen moving towards these shores a week ago. Implication: Many English foot-archers, rifles and cavalry were already up and about on these shores. We the French had ample reason to be cautious.

Cautious we were in the safe docking in a shaded cove; and in the subsequent hiding of the ship in foliage. Even so, in spite of our caution, a large trunk of ammunition slipped from the deck, and Crashed open upon the gravelly beach. The sound echoed through the rainforest. No harm came out of it, but we clutched our guns. Then for a fleeting instant, I fancy I saw the figure of a man slink away in the undergrowth. But it was only for an instant.

When all our stuff was unloaded from the ship, our Captain Bernard sent three cavalrymen into the area to scout. They came back, and led the company into a clearance in the jungle to pitch camp. That was how we came to camp in a dark, dismal and damp clearing in the rainforest. I was apprehensive of the choice of site for camp at first, as any natives would know of this place, and that man in the undergrowth I saw could bring an Ethnic army to our place. But the Captain said:

“Which is why, my dear fellow, we have a Watch, about fifteen strong. The Watch shall be among the shrubbery surrounding the Camp, and will alert us in case anything chances upon our territory.”
I had to give in to a determined commander, who incidentally blinded by his (over) confidence.

Soon, six hours after we first struck land, we had all of us lounging in our territory. We hadn’t brought with us any drink; some of us felt bored with just idling about, so I talked to the Captain.
“Right”, said he, “but I shall allow only three men set forth from Camp at a time. If others want to follow, they shall have to await the three-man party that has gone, and leave in groups of three, and so on.”
All the men listening agreed heartily; since I was the one who spoke to the Captain first, I was allowed the first chance, and the men drew lots. Finally the lots decided that Tinderbox and Felanor should accompany me.

We promised to return in a short while.

The Captain said, “And I want a full report of the land when you are back.” “Yessir”, we chorused. And then we went west.

We were finally out of camp!
Tinderbox ran ahead of us, and we kept close to the shore. We would have not gone a couple of miles from Camp, when I heard the sound of rippling water and a voice that seemed to be in song. Tinder and Fell heard it too, and they whispered, “What?” but I motioned them aside, and went towards the sound, sword in hand.

I stamped over the shrubby undergrowth, and from the cover of a girthy tree, I looked; and beheld a sparkling lagoon. Coconut trees grew upon the sandbar, and the water was transparently clear. The noon sun broke into an infinity of distortions upon the blue waters. The waters were rippling from an epicenter just about the bend. So I sheathed my sword, and drew out my crossbow, and loaded it as I walked to the epicenter in the cover of the trees.

A girl was bathing in the azure waters, and she seemed ethnic in origin. She was singing softly to herself, even as she splashed her hands and legs about and above herself. She seemed quite ecstatic, and I watched in awe.

I observed the sun adorn her black tresses as a celestial jewel, even as she reached a peak in her song and behaved like a dolphin. (I sighed heavily).

I had heard many of my learned fellowmen back home speak at length of Beauty, and how Beauty is not walled in by any barriers of race, or colour. Now I did not need any philosopher to tell me that.
And so I named my bathing lady Venus.

Venus, the Greek god of Love (or something);
Venus, the star at sunrise and sunset;
Venus, the native girl to whom I willingly seceded all my heart;

Venus, the girl who caused me to topple over the green hillock in my adrenalin-enhanced eagerness. I gave a short cry as I fell, and Venus saw me. She screamed too, and quickly gathering her clothes in her arms, disappeared into the density of the forest. Darn!

At first I did not realize the consequences of my rash deed. I just lay there, revelling in short daydreams about my new obsession. It was when my comrades came running up beside me that I realized what my Venus could cause in the circles of her tribe. Instantly I was on my legs, and met my comrades’ angry gazes. This time I pleaded: “Whaat?”

Captain Bernard was very very angry. I hardly see the need of repeating all that he said to me, so I say again: He was Furious.
The men were very tense. Would the hunters become the hunted this day? It rent my heart to see them suffer on my account. Seeing them, I began cursing myself with many abuses that Captain usually showered from his lips.

Like, here were all of us, in the middle of a tropical rainforest, with Englishmen and tribal foes prowling around. It needed only my inadvertent lust to worsen the already doomed expedition. Why did I ever lean my ears to that ethnic Siren, indeed? Possibly, all of us would soon be hunted down by a posse of rainforest tribal organisms. At this point, I think I shed a tear, as I thought of my mother and sister, who clung to my legs pleading me not to go, at the mention of my will to accompany this accursed expedition.

Then I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was the Captain, and he smiled at me, a fatherly, assuring smile. Pointing towards the centre of the camp, he said: “Look here.”

I looked, and saw a couple of tribals prostrating before our men, and one of them held out a Red Arrow with his face towards the ground. The other pushed before us a shield with a bunch of eagle feathers upon it, and thus paid us obeisance. Our men had their weapons handy, and though the two messengers were unarmed, I espied hundreds of befeathered and armed tribals assume positions in the foliage all around us. One wrong move, and many French would fall to tribal arrows.
Captain Bernard sensed this too, and acted swiftly and diplomatically.

He stepped forward towards the prostate tribals, and sheathed his sword, unclasped it, and placed it beside himself as he went down upon his knees, and performed an exaggerated bow before the tribals. Next, he bade the men sheath their swords too, and then he grinned warmly at the hidden tribals.

By this time, the men had got wind of his plan, and a few of them put out a few plates of food, and invited the tribals in sign language. Encouraged, the tribals came out of their hiding places, and put down their bows on the ground in sign of friendship, even as they beamed warmly at us too. Their leader was befeathered (as was every one else) and he had a few conspicuously white streaks across his cheeks. This man led a dog to our food, and made the dog eat it. When he was satisfied the dog showed no signs of dying, he laughed aloud and embraced the nearest Frenchman in his vicinity, which happened to be me. A great wave of joyful laughter went across all the men gathered in our territory, as more embraces followed. CheekStreak (as I will hence refer to the tribal leader) seemed to make the most number of embraces, and I saw even the stout Captain Bernard writhe in his bear hug.

P.S>> Dont forget to write.