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Complete The Story Challenge: The Gem Of The Jungle
by Ranjana Mazumdar
๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ผ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐๐ ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐. ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ ๐บ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ฏ๐ท๐ฒ๐ฐ๐. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑโฆ
Jane rushed into the net-covered house, which was built on a raised platform. She shouted, “Gerald ! See this “. Gerald, a scientist like Jane, hurried into the room, curious.
In Jane’s hand, a small object was shining like a diamond. Only it wasn’t white but yellow-greenish.
“What is it ?” he asked. Jane shrugged her shoulders and answered that she had found the object under a bush showing some scuffle.
Gerald observed,” It means it was dropped by some fighting parties who were involved in this skirmish .”
Jane nodded her head in agreement and looked at the glittering object in wonder. It was like an uncut gem. Looking closely, Gerald found a torn bit of yellow feather at the back. He drew a long breath.
“Jane! It belongs to the Huacchi tribe .” “Huacchi? ” Jane was startled. They had been living in this area of the Amazon rainforest for four months now, and she knew about the Huacchi tribe of this area.
Gerald was muttering, “If they come to know we have it, they shall certainly attack us.”
“Yes! but how will they know? Look, how beautiful it is! It can be displayed in a museum.”
“Don’t you ever think of it! If those people get wind of it, we won’t be able to breathe for another minute. We must get it back to its owner,” said Gerald jumping up.
“Right! but how will we do it ?” Jane put the shining stone in a water-filled bowl. Immediately the water turned yellow and shining like liquid gold.
Jane and Gerald were taken aback by this miracle. Jane whooped, grabbed the stone, and dropped it in another ball of water. The water’s instant change baffled them. It was bizarre.
Both the scientists were attracted by the strange properties of the shining stone. They could understand how valuable was the glittering gem for the tribe.
Jane’s eyes were glued to the stone, and she was thinking how famous they could become if they could somehow take it to the city museum. They had come to this God-forsaken place searching for some rare plant species.
The sun had set and it had started getting dark outside. They could hear the pattering of rain. Gerald checked the doors and the bathroom.
They considered themselves lucky to get a comparatively safe house and had the basic amenities through a broker. There was no electricity, but they had stalked enough candles and hurricane lamps to last them for months.
Provisions, big cans of fuel oils, mosquito repellents, medicines, and many other necessary things were procured before setting on this expedition.
Twice a week, they got their fresh water supply from the nearby city (which was not nearby.) Jane and Gerald were mesmerized by the shiny object and were very frightened.
They knew that somehow The Tribe would find them out. It was only a matter of time. The stone was invaluable for anybody.
Moreover, the tiny torn piece of yellow feather indicated that it was embedded in somebody’s ornament or headgear which had broken off from it during the skirmish.
Like Jane Gerrard also liked the idea of handing over the mysterious stone to the Government museum curator who could arrange its world wild exhibition.
He turned towards Jane and said, “Jane ! If we are to save this gem, we will have to leave this place tomorrow “.
“What! Tomorrow? “Jane’s mouth was agape.
” Yes ” Gerald sounded firm, “We can’t give time to the tribe to find out about us. We must leave as soon as possible .”
Jane fully comprehended the gravity of the situation, but she looked around the room packed to the capacity with the numerous cardboard boxes.
“But how will we travel ? Mark will come next week with our water and groceries.”
“Yes , that is the problem .”
The night passed in and off in sleeping mode. The early chirping of birds awakened Jane. She opened the window’s glass and looked out through the fine mesh.
She could see the exotic birds with colorful plumes, the green foliage – of which many samples they had collected.
The rain had stopped, but the water was still dripping from the leaves and branches.
Suddenly she heard a twig break as if someone had stepped upon it. With concentration and knotted brows, she tried to peer into the bushes.
She thought of waking up Gerald, but some movement got her attention. A beautiful cat strutted out of the dense grass.
Jane heaved a sigh of relief. Some moments of bated breath helped her to make the decision. They would leave tomorrow without Mark’s help.
She knew temperature and the humidity were difficult to adjust with, but there was no option. When she told Gerald about her decision, he was happy and relieved also.
The whole day they packed the most necessary things for their journey. The stone was packed in numerous layers of Jane’s only long voluminous skirt and stitched inside it so that it would not show even after a fall.
The day passed without any untoward incident. The afternoon again brought rain, but it was not much.
The next day early morning, they smeared mosquito repellent on their whole body, especially the exposed parts, tucked the cuffs of the jeans in the knee-high boots, full sleeves shirts, and wide-rimmed hats.
In the rainforest, these things were a necessary part of life. As they came out of the house, Gerald and Jane looked in all directions, cautiously searching for any obstructions.
Fear and apprehension kept on driving them. They were walking on a narrow track. Gerald was leading.
Suddenly Jane screamed. Gerald spun around in time to move away from a falling net. Jane was tied up in another net. In seconds some tribals skidded down from the trees and surrounded them.
One man looking very authoritative said something to Gerald, who could not decipher any word spoken by the man. He just gestured his inability to understand him.
The man looked back, and a young boy came forward and asked if they had seen a man of their tribe running away. Gerald showed his ignorance by nodding his head from one side to the other.
The chief barked an order, and every tribesman was upon them frisking them. They ransacked their backpacks, removed their boots, and opened Jane’s hair knotted on her head.
She was shivering with fright and could not speak anything. She looked at the bundled skirt, lying around; some portions lost and unfolded.
Gerald caught her eyes indicated not to look at the skirt. Jane’s eyes were now downcast.
After a few minutes, they disappeared as quietly as they had appeared. Gerald and Jane collected their scattered belongings and, without speaking, resumed their journey, but after walking a few meters, Jane felt uncomfortable and could not walk any further.
She requested Gerald to wait for some time. They sat down, and Gerald spotted some red spots on the jeans of Jane. On enquiring, Jane looked bewildered.
Gerald pulled the cuff of her jeans upward, and there it wasโฆ a big leech sucking blood!
Glancing at that, Jane shrieked. Gerald pulled at it but was unable to remove it. He took out the packet of salt from his back sack and sprinkled some on the blood-filled creature.
It loosened its grip and fell to the ground. Gerald cleaned the bite site and applied some antiseptic lotion.
It was becoming hot now, and they had to cover a lot of distance. They could not afford to rest and resumed their journey. After two hours, they stopped at a clearing to get some food and rest.
Suddenly a swarm of bees started buzzing around them. Both the scientists kept themselves fully covered and tried to stay calm. A few minutes seemed hours when eventually, the swarm moved in another direction.
Now the sun was over-the-head. Both were treading carefully and in the shades of the trees. Gerald was hopeful of reaching a village by the evening.
Jane was feeling tired and drained of energy but kept on walking doggedly. The thought of depositing the shiny object with the Museum authorities gave her courage.
They had brought their plant samples and notes also. They had not been able to hoard a lot of information in four short months, but they had got an invaluable object upon which she hoped to do their research.
As the sun was going down, they reached a village where they saw a lodge. They went inside to take shelter for the night, and to their immense joy, they came across Mark, who would provide their provisions and fresh water supply.
He was astonished to find them at the Inn, but Gerald managed the situation, not telling anything about the gem. The next day they returned to the city with Mark. From there, they wanted to take a flight back home.
Both the scientists were happy and excited as they had got a theme project for their future research.
After Jane went to sleep on the plane, Gerald had some time for peaceful introspection.
He was satisfied with the trip, but all of a sudden, a thought struck. Had he done right? Hadn’t he run away with another person’s assets? Wasn’t it a felony?
We, at RNTalks, are introducing short story prompts on our Facebook page every week. You are invited to write a short story of up to min 800 words and a maximum of 1500 words using the prompt given. Submit your story in the comment section of the pinned post.
The interesting stories will be published on our website. Please share your stories by, Friday evening (8 PM) using all the hashtags in the comments section only. Stories shared separately shall not be considered for judgment, as it is not easy for us to keep track of entries.
Use all the hashtags #rntalks, #Weeklystorychallenge, #RNTstorywriting #เคฒเคเฅ_เคเคฅเคพ, #RNT_เคเคนเคพเคจเฅ.
เคนเคฎ เคเคฐเคเคจเคเคพเคฒเฅเคเฅเคธ เคฎเฅเค เคฒเคเฅ เคเคนเคพเคจเฅ เคเฅ เคชเฅเคฐเฅเคฎเฅเคชเฅเค เคชเฅเคถ เคเคฐ เคฐเคนเฅ เคนเฅเคเฅค เคเคชเคเฅ เคฆเคฟเค เคเค เคชเฅเคฐเฅเคฎเฅเคชเฅเค เคเคพ เคเคชเคฏเฅเค เคเคฐเคเฅ เคจเฅเคฏเฅเคจเคคเคฎ 800 เคถเคฌเฅเคฆเฅเค เคเคฐ เค เคงเคฟเคเคคเคฎ 1500 เคถเคฌเฅเคฆเฅเค เคเฅ เคเค เคฒเคเฅ เคเคนเคพเคจเฅ เคฒเคฟเคเคจเฅ เคเฅ เคฒเคฟเค เคเคฎเคเคคเฅเคฐเคฟเคค เคเคฟเคฏเคพ เคเคพเคคเคพ เคนเฅเฅคเค เคชเคจเฅ เคเคนเคพเคจเฅ เคเคฎเฅเคเค เคธเฅเคเฅเคถเคจ เคฎเฅเค เคธเคฌเคฎเคฟเค เคเคฐเฅเคเฅค
เคฆเคฟเคฒเคเคธเฅเคช เคเคนเคพเคจเคฟเคฏเคพเค เคนเคฎเคพเคฐเฅ เคตเฅเคฌเคธเคพเคเค เคชเคฐ เคชเฅเคฐเคเคพเคถเคฟเคค เคเฅ เคเคพเคเคเคเฅเฅค เคเฅเคชเคฏเคพ เค เคชเคจเฅ เคเคนเคพเคจเคฟเคฏเฅเค เคเฅ เคถเฅเคเฅเคฐเคตเคพเคฐ เคถเคพเคฎ (เคฐเคพเคค 8 เคฌเคเฅ) เคคเค เคธเคญเฅ เคนเฅเคถเคเฅเค เคเคพ เคเคชเคฏเฅเค เคเคฐเคเฅ เคเฅเคตเคฒ เคเคฟเคชเฅเคชเคฃเฅ เค เคจเฅเคญเคพเค เคฎเฅเค เคธเคพเคเคพ เคเคฐเฅเคเฅค
เค เคฒเค เคธเฅ เคธเคพเคเคพ เคเฅ เคเค เคเคนเคพเคจเคฟเคฏเฅเค เคชเคฐ เคจเคฟเคฐเฅเคฃเคฏ เคเฅ เคฒเคฟเค เคตเคฟเคเคพเคฐ เคจเคนเฅเค เคเคฟเคฏเคพ เคเคพเคเคเคพ, เคเฅเคฏเฅเคเคเคฟ เคชเฅเคฐเคตเคฟเคทเฅเคเคฟเคฏเฅเค เคเคพ เคเฅเคฐเฅเค เคฐเคเคจเคพ เคนเคฎเคพเคฐเฅ เคฒเคฟเค เคเคธเคพเคจ เคจเคนเฅเค เคนเฅเฅค
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