The most challenging thing about a dire situation is deciding what to do.
The teaser below continues Raj’s story. Enjoy! (Don’t forget to follow link at end of this teaser to read the full chapter on Vocal.) Haven’t read first chapter? Click here.
Excerpt from “Any Port In a Storm”
Raj lay curled on one side, cradling his hand. Disbelief paralyzed him as the impossibility of what had happened gradually sunk in. The wound only appeared now as a bite from something non-poisonous, like a checkered keelback snake. He knew he shouldn’t feel better; a cobra’s bite always kills its victim without medicine. His mind reeled, seemingly poised to explode. He needed answers.
Raj sat up, and the effort made his head spin. Fighting back the bile at the back of his throat, he tucked his head between his knees, gulping for air, and waited for the nausea to end.
When his strength returned, he gazed about, looking for the mongoose. Finding the animal close, prone on the ground with labored breathing, shocked Raj.
“What’s wrong!?” the boy asked.
“I, too… change. You… have… given me… a part… of yourself.“
Feeling helpless but wanting to help, Raj crawled, weeping to the mongoose, and gently stroked its grey, grizzled fur.
He pleaded with the animal not to die. He cried harder, hyperventilating until passing out from sheer exhaustion.
Awakening alone, Raj feared the worst. He almost started crying again, but an excited chattering drew his attention to a moldering log where he saw Bullseye nosing about. Wiping the tears and snot from his face, Raj called to the mongoose.
“Hey! You okay?”
“I’m better than okay, I’m great!” Bullseye said as he bounded over.
Raj’s mouth dropped, noting the sheen of the little animal’s glossy, dark brown hair as it stretched and preened before him. Raj would have thought it was another mongoose but for the distinctive ring of lighter-colored fur about one eye.
“My youth returns! You must have given me some of your longevity when I saved you. I’ve never heard of such a thing happening, but then again, I’m no scholar,” Bullseye said.
Raj pondered this. He knew mongooses lived a fraction of the time a person might.
“Am I going to die now?”
“Hmm, let me get a good look at you.“
The mongoose bounced around, sniffing Raj before clambering up his shirt and peering into the boy’s eyes.
“You smell the same. Don’t worry. Humans live forever; at least, that’s how a creature like me sees it. Your gift will likely have little effect on you. No reason you won’t still grow old and gray someday, far off. Although you may have lost a couple years overall, it’s not a bad trade if you consider you would have died today without my help.“
Raj’s insides churned, listening to Bullesye’s nonchalant talk of death, even with the understanding he had gotten the better end of the trade. And yet, something else felt different to Raj. He just couldn’t put his finger on it.
“Aha! Jackpot! Come to Papa, you delicious little morsel.“
Raj watched the mongoose tear into a giant beetle with its sharp canine teeth.
“Mmmm….yom….yom….tasty.“
“Hey! I can hear you still. How can I hear you?” Raj asked.
“Of course, you can hear me. You’re Virūpa now.“
“But… you’re speaking Hindi.”
The mongoose replied without stopping his struggle to choke down the beetle’s large hind legs.
“Uh-huh, yep. I’m Virūpa now, too. Funny, I never thought I’d do that willingly, but I suppose old age makes one generous.”
Raj’s eyes narrowed, “I don’t think your words are coming from your mouth.”
“Nope, animal Virūpa don’t speak that way. Look at me…no lips to speak of; I’d never be able to make the sounds needed to speak your language that way.”
“Am I the only one who you can talk to?” Raj asked. “What about my mom?”
“Just you.” The mongoose said, struggling to free a beetle leg wedged between its teeth.
“Like an imaginary friend?”
“Yes, except in this case, real.”
Raj wobbled to his feet.
“Careful. The venom makes us sick for some time.” Bullseye said.
“I’m feeling better. Thanks to you. Now come here you’re so cute!”
Raj scooped the mongoose into his arms and buried his face in the little animal’s fur.
“Ah! What are you doing? Boundaries!“
“Oh, Bullseye! You’re so fluffy and shiny and new!”
The mongoose growled, prompting Raj to put it down.
“I thought you were my friend,” Raj said.
“We’re Virūpa.”
“Is that like being friends?” Raj asked.
“I suppose…“
“Well, I hug my friends. They like it. Why’d you growl?”
“Instincts, Boy.“
“Did I hurt you?”
“No.“
“Don’t you like hugs?”
“I’m not sure; it’s the first one I’ve experienced.”
“Oh, don’t you have friends that hug you? Or…gosh…you don’t have any friends?”
“Look, Boy. Mongooses, don’t hug. We spar and wrestle.”
Raj pondered the information.
“If I ask first, can I pick you up?”
The mongoose blinked rapidly, seemingly nonplussed.
“Well…I….hmm….sounds reasonable. Yes, you may.”
Raj squealed, clapping his hands before snatching the little animal off the ground again.
“Ugh! That was your way of asking?”
“Come on, let’s go tell Mom the good news! She’s never going to believe this!”
“She might, and I don’t think she’ll like it.“
“What do you mean?”
“That story she told you by the fire before bed last night. You and I are those now.“
“Don’t be silly, Bullseye, you saved my life! And besides, we’re not bad men. We would never hurt anyone.” Raj said before adding, “How do you know she told me that story?”
“Oh, I hunt about your house every night. You aren’t the quietest, and your incessant questions caught my attention. Now listen, even the worst Virūpa started out young and innocent, but after years of being ostracized, they changed.“
“Mom says everyone’s good; some just forgot how. She’ll be fine. Come on, I can’t wait to see her face when she sees you.”
“Wait, you’re not listening,” Bullseye urged, but it was no good.
Please click the link to continue reading and discover just how difficult things get for Raj as he insists on telling the truth.
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