Page 23 - The Muse 2021

a queen. She did not want her childhood to fade so quickly. She wasn’t saying that she wasn't lucky and grateful, just that everything should not go so fast.
After a while, Mira mentioned something. “It must have rained, because the dirt is muddy.”
“AY MIRA I FORGOT THE UMBRELLAS!” replied Ara, looking like her death certificate was getting signed right in front of her.
“We will be fine. It's not like it is going to rain right now,” said Mira.
It was just their luck that after a while rain started pouring. They started to run so that they could at least get to the campsite in time. Ara’s feet started to become one with the earth with all that mud in between her toes. She was pretty sure that she crushed a couple worms and that now their guts were all over her feet. That thought almost made her throw up, which would not help the situation. She looked over to see how Mira was doing when she saw her suddenly splat on the floor. Ara let out a small laugh, but quickly turned on her doctor mode when she saw Mira’s ankle. It was all the colors of the rainbow. She had a little bit of brown, purple, and even some orange here and there. The rain made each of their movements slower, and it seemed to have caught up to Mira. According to her, there was a branch sticking in the path which tripped her. Ara tried bandaging up with the supplies from the med kit, but it was not enough.
“Can you walk?” asked Ara.
“What do you think, meathead?” replied Mira with a “tinge” of sarcasm. “Do you think that we should turn
back?”
“WHAT? NO! I’ve worked too hard for this and I am not going back to become queen,” said Ara.
“Are you stupid Ara? I cannot walk, much less make it to the campsite. Let's just give up,” said Mira.
“No. Unlike you, I don’t give up on things that matter to me. If you go back, nothing happens to you. If I go
back, my life could possibly end,” said Ara.
“If what you're saying is that you do not care about me, then fine, go on your little walk. You’re gonna come back
in a couple days either way, because you do not have the strength or brains to keep on going by yourself. I am gonna be left alone and waiting for a big animal to come and eat me. They are probably gonna eat me and think I am delicious. When they want to eat another meal again, they're just gonna track your scent and then, BAM! You die. So, you might as well take me back now, or do you want to die?” said Mira.
Ara reluctantly let Mira hold onto her shoulders making sure that she walked through every spider web she passed. They both walked in silence, trying to forget each other's presence, when Mira finally said, “You would be a good queen by the way. People would be lucky to live in your kingdom.”
“Thanks,” said Ara quietly, not looking her in the eye.
“I think you should do it,” said Mira. “You don’t know how lucky you are to have your spot. Many people would kill to have your spot.”
“You just don’t know what my father expects from me,” replied Ara.
“Well, if you do it, don’t forget about me,” said Mira with a smile.
“You know I won’t. You’re my best friend, and maybe I will be queen, but on my conditions,” said Ara excited. Ara thought about what she would do when she became queen, and what she would change. To begin with, she
would allow women on the council because it was a little bit outrageous that they allow old men about to die, but not women. She would also create more learning centers and start a program where people learned about the jungle, because people her age were clueless about it. She would even think about contacting people from outside her village, maybe even open a hotel. In all that thinking and talking, she did not realize that they arrived right at the beginning of the trail. Immediately, she took Mira to the medical facility where she would stay for a few days.
“You stay here, ok. I need to tell my tayta1 something,” said Ara to Mira.
Ara went up to the large oak doors and pushed them hard. With a loud thud, she had the dramatic entrance she always wanted. Rey Hapo was working on some testimonials for the kingdom when she went up to him with a commanding face. Ara could not believe the words she was about to say.
“Tayta,1 I am ready to be the next Queen of Maca Paca,” said Ara with pride.
Definition of superscripts from Quechua to English 1Tayta = Father
2Churi = Daughter
3Amaru = Snake
4Mama = Mother 5Pisqu = Bird
6 Dolar Shiku = Dollars
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