The Catala - Chapter 7: I Will Survive and Thrive

He studied this strange and tall two legged creature, with hair the color of the sun and eyes as blue as his favorite flowers, the orchids which amassed on the branches of the Nangka tree. It made vocal sounds he was not familiar with. He did not like the creature, but his instincts warned him that he had power over him.

"Where am I? One moment I was carefree and happy, then the two-legged hairless hunter with the brown skin stalked me for many nights and days … and captured me. Now, this peculiar being, who does not kill for food or survival has me as his prisoner. It seems that I have no Life other than what that smelly being decides."

The rain forest had disappeared, and with it, the sounds he had loved and mastered. Vanished too, was the rain. There was only an endless blue below and above. His prison kept moving strangely – backwards, forwards, and sometimes sideways. They were taking him farther and farther away from his island in the sun. Flight was out of the question. These beings had fiery thunder, which shot at the sky, and objects, which tore out your heart and entrails.

All his senses spoke to him "Watch the pale and yellow creature. Be very careful. He will also be watching me. In the rain forest, eagles, hawks and falcons were always on the lookout for creatures like me. Eagles swooped down silently, grabbed you in their talons as long as daggers and ripped you apart while you were still alive.”

He listened attentively to the new sounds around him. Darkness was fast descending. Light was shining from up high, was that the Moon? The big boat made slurpy noises as the water struck it. Instead of the cackling of monkeys and the grunts of the Orangutan, the two-legged beings spoke long words and laughed. Loudly. It would not be too hard, after the thousand noises of the rain forest, which he had had to distinguish, to identify the voice with the being.

"I will concentrate on no other but the pale and yellow creature. He is the male who commands."

After what seemed an eternity, he decided the ship was as dangerous as the rain forest. No!!! More deadly, because he did not know his way about … Not yet.

"I learnt skills in the rain forest which helped me to survive. I led a rich life and thrived in the midst of my enemies. I will do the same in this New World.”