The forest was dark. The rain, though mostly blocked by the trees, still dripped off the leaves. The water had left a wet, sticky floor of mud which stuck to my feet as I ran. Even in the blackness it was still easy to see my way, as the pathway had been well warn by the many trips to trade.

At first, I could hear the sound of guards shouting, but as I ran they faded away. The guards had given up pursuit. The sound of my feet hitting the ground and splashing in the occasional puddle became the only sounds, save for my labored breathing. The fear of being captured had kept me from noticing the burning in my lungs from the running. As I began to feel more safe, I started to notice how tired I was.

Eventually I could run no more. I stopped by a tree, leaning on it as I breathed heavily. I tried to listen for any sounds my but my breath was too loud. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. As I caught my breath I looked around and realized hard dark it was. I had been told it was dangerous. It had never occurred to me when I first ran into the forest that there could possibly be all kids of animals around. I had not seen many since arriving. I now wondered what they were like, and if any of them could harm me.

After catching my breath a bit, I started walking, my feet treading as lightly as they could on the damp forest floor. There was an eerie quiet in the woods, though occasionally I would hear a chirping sound in the trees above me. There were occasional buzzing and clicking sounds which I did not recognize. More than once I was startled by something darting away from me in the bushes. I began to yearn for the safety of the village, but even if I wanted to, I knew I could not return.

The trail was fairly flat and straight, and while there were few landmarks to ensure I was going the right way, it was hard to lose the path. I wondered if the canoe would still be there, and if it was in working order. I knew if it was unusable I would still have to leave the forest path, for eventually an entire group would be coming this way to make trade.

As I continued southwards the trees started to thin a bit, opening up to a clear night sky. I could spot the sea in the distance. The stars lit overhead and moonlight reflected off of the ripples. There was a calmness about it. The storm had finally passed.

Once I reached the shore I begin to work my way eastward, following the waterline. After only a short time I came upon the dock. The waves lightly rippled against the dock. Softly lit by the light of the moon, they created a peaceful scene. I searched the shoreline and found the canoe was exactly as it had been. It was clearly abandoned. I had to pull it out of the bushes that mostly concealed it. As I did so I saw a number of snake-like animals dart out from underneath it in all directions, startling me. Some went into the forest, one went up into a tree, and two more slithered across the shore and glided into the water. A moment later I cried out as I felt an agonizing stab in my foot. Shaking my foot I saw one of the snakelike creatures slither away.

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I stopped and inspected the wound. There was blood dripping from my foot, but other than that, there appeared to be no harm done. My foot burned in agony, but I knew I needed to go on. I hoped my scream had not drawn any unwanted attention.

Limping, I pulled the canoe to the water and apprehensively inspected it for animals by what little light I had. It was thankfully empty, and what’s more, it seemed to be in good working order. I didn’t know much about boats, but I at least there weren’t any holes. The wood seemed warn, but sturdy. However, there was no oar or anything to row it with. “Great”, I thought to myself, “A boat with no way to move it”.

In the end I settled on using a long, sturdy stick I found lying on the ground. I reasoned it could be pushed on the bottom of the sea floor to propel the canoe. Taking a deep breath, I climbed in and pushed off. It was difficult to control at first and I moved slowly. Soon I improved at navigating, and directed the canoe eastward along the shore.

A couple of times I started to stray too far from the shore, and the water became deeper. This made it harder to touch the bottom with my stick. Each time I was able to push back to more shallow waters before I had drifted too far. The movement began to become more natural to me as I continued eastward. I had no idea the time, but it was still night. The stars and moon lit my path and were the only lights with which I could see. I looked around to take in the beauty of my surroundings. It was then that I noticed it. A boat coming in from the west.

The boat, definitely larger than my canoe, was gaining on me. I moved faster, pushing my pole against the sea bed. Even with all of my effort I found I could not outrun the oncoming ship. As it grew closer I could see that it had a light glowing on it. I was just able to make out two figures standing, looking out at me when I heard one of them shout.

“Hey imata! Don’t worry! We won’t hurt you!” It was a male voice speaking in a mocking tone, followed by laughter.

“Don’t hurt your pretty little self trying to run away!”, cried the other. They sounded drunk. My clothing seemed from a distance seemed to have fooled them, but what else would they have expected to find in these seas wearing all white?

I panicked, trying to increase my speed. Unfortunately, in my frenzy to get away, my canoe had moved too far out to sea. I was now unable to touch the bottom with my stick. I tried using my stick as an oar, but it didn’t work. I looked back. I could make out the men much clearer now. They appeared to have large heads and long fingers.

“That’s no imata!” shouted one of the men to the other. “That’s a man!”. The two of them roared with laughter.

“He’s probably escaped!” responded the other man. “Hey!”, he called out. “Just wait there! We are coming to get you!” Despite their amused laughter, their tone sounded more friendly, though I couldn’t be sure. I saw one of the men reach out. His fingers started to grow, stretching towards me. I considered diving into the water, but I felt dizzy. The world was hazy and I couldn’t quite think straight.

A few minutes later the ship was beside my canoe. One of the men stood by the edge, looking in at me. He had a long nose, almost like an elephant’s trunk. His skin was purple and pulsating.

“He’s soaked!”, the other figure, who now appeared beside him. His mouth was large and his head had the shape of a fish. His eyes were bright green and glowing. He started to say something, but it was all gibberish and muffled. I felt the two figures grab me and I tried to fight them off. The world started to spin around me, and I felt smothered by the smell of fish and alcohol. Then everything went black.