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Jeremiah Canto ♦
The names used in this story are pseudonyms to protect the identities of the persons involved, as this is a real-life event.
Photo by Utz Tzib
There have been days when I’ve been sad, some days mad, and other days happy. But there was a day when I was happy, yet sad, yet mad. I woke up that Monday morning, the chirping of birds filling our home, the sun already high. I knelt down and prayed before joining the others for breakfast. I heard my mother telling my father that she had been wanting to eat chibb for a very long time. The green palm fruit, which is delicious when cooked, can be found only in some parts, such as Pine Ridge. My father said he was unable to make a trip to Pine Ridge to pick some for mom at the time. But I remembered that the day before, Chemo, a tall, courageous family friend, had mentioned that his mother wanted some chibb as well and that he was going to make a trip to Pine Ridge on Tuesday to go pick some. He had asked me if I wanted to come along. Now, excited, I ran out of the house and over to where he lived and told him I would be coming along. I did not know what lay ahead. But after what happened that Tuesday, I swore I’d never again trust any “friends.”
I woke up ready for the trip on Tuesday, motivated and happy. The smell of fried eggs filled my nostrils as I headed to the kitchen. About an hour later, the sound of an old engine, which I was sure could be heard by all of San Antonio, rumbled through the neighborhood. “E’ hel’o Chemo ma’h!” I yelled as I raced through the door and hopped into the cargo bed of Chemo’s old Toyota pickup. Taibo had come along as well.
Fresh breeze crashed against my face and made a mess of my hair as the pickup sped over the bumpy reddish-orange Pine Ridge roads. We passed a place known as Douglas Da Silva Forest Reserve, then about one mile after, the truck came to a stop. Chemo told us this was where he would pick the chibb for his mom and we could too.
Everyone went in separate directions. I ventured into the green bushes closest to the pickup, in search of the plants with green, pointy fruits. After a while I began to feel hopeless. It had been a long time since I set out and I had no success finding at least a small bunch of chibb. Finally, after searching through countless shrubbery, I saw a bunch of the fruit and rushed over to pick it. It was small, so I had to find at least a bunch more. I went deeper and deeper into the forest. I considered ending my search but did not want to disappoint my mom.
About an hour later, I came across a much larger bunch. I now had enough, so I rushed back to the pickup where we were supposed to rendezvous at 3:00 p.m. But when I got there at 2:30 p.m., the truck was gone! They had left me behind, I realized. Now, I was certain Taibo had convinced Chemo to leave me behind as revenge for me punching him in the face a while back during a petty argument. By now I was covered in cold sweat, worried because I was still far away from Douglas, the closest place where I could contact my parents.
Photo by Jeremiah Canto
The sun was setting fast. I sat there trying to think of what to do, but my mind was blank. I could not travel since it was getting dark. So I decided I would stay the night. Rain fell, and I ventured deeper into the forest in search of shelter. Before I knew it, night had struck, and I was in the middle of nowhere. I closed my eyes and opened them back, only to be greeted by a deeper darkness. That and the smell of moist ground, the hooting of owls, and the roaring of howler monkeys. I decided to try blocking out my fear by humming a familiar traditional tune my mother always sang. It worked! However, I was about to fall asleep when I heard something crushing the dry leaves under its feet as it approached me. My heart was a drum, and the most skilled drummer was beating it. I had heard that area was populated by wild boars, and I was convinced I was invading their territory. Knowing how dangerous these animals could be, I got up as fast as I could and peeled off into the darkness, running without any idea of where I was going. Just as my legs were about to give in, I realized the sound had stopped. I sat down and took deep breaths. I closed my eyes. But I could not fall asleep because of the fear of another attack.
Photo by Jeremiah Canto
I didn’t have a lighter to start a fire, a machete to defend myself, nor proper attire for survival. All I had was my brain and myself. I had read in a book that if you follow the direction where the sun rises, you will eventually come across a river. I did not know if it was true, but I figured I had no other option, so I would test this theory after resting a bit. I plopped down under a large tree and did not realize when I dozed off.
A ray of light pierced through my lids and woke me up. I saw where the sun rose and walked in that direction for an hour. I then came to a road and I followed it for about 4 more hours. I got to a BDF (Belize Defence Force) Camp and approached the soldiers. My parents had already informed them that I was missing, so they knew who I was. At around 9:00 a.m., my mother would tell me later, she received a call saying I had been found. I spent the rest of the day in the BDF Camp, and the soldiers all treated me well. At 4:00 p.m. when the soldiers made a trip in their truck to San Antonio to purchase supplies, they took me home.
My parents were overcome with a mixture of emotions, as I was. Mad because my “friends” had left me behind, sad because I had made them worry, and happy because I had made it home safe.
The next day, Thursday, a member of the BDF came back to speak to my parents and me. He asked me how I had managed to survive alone and find the camp without proper equipment. I told him about what I had read, and he said I had a great internal compass that could be of great use to the Force. Would I want to be a soldier? I asked myself. But after my experience that Tuesday night, I knew that job would not suit me.
I had learned so much in only a few hours, including the fact that revenge can be as cold as the nighttime jungle air. If I had walked away from the fight with Taibo, I could have avoided everything that happened that Tuesday.
That’s what I tell the younger ones now, when I sit around the table and tell them my story, hoping they would never have to experience such a thing. ♦
Jeremiah Canto is a biology and chemistry major at the University of Belize. He lives in San Antonio Village, Cayo and enjoys sci-fi novels and science-related YouTube videos.