Chapter 18

Colombia

Something had happened deep in the jungle. One very hot summer day her uncle and some of his men returned to the Compound covered in blood and agitated by adrenaline. Adrienne could only look through the curtains. She could see their lips moving and arms flailing, but could not hear their words. These were not the regular coffee plantation workers who were yelling and waving automatic rifles in the air. These were men who accompanied her uncle from time to time. She thought they were probably the security team, the branch of men from the Compound that protected the coffee plantation from criminals, and kept everyone and anyone on the Compound in their place. These men seemed to increase in number after the incident with the Russians some years back and her uncle would not venture far from the Compound without one or two of these men in his company.

“Do you think the operation has been compromised?” asked one of these men of Alberto.

“I don’t think so. It was only one person who wandered too close to the cocoa sheds, and it was only an outlying storage shed at that. However, the idiot who followed him back to his research camp should be shot,” Alberto said angrily. “There was no need to kill all those people. It will only bring the authorities out here. We are going to have to slow down the cocaine operation for a while until this passes. Make sure everything is well hidden and that the focus is at the coffee plantation.”

Just at that moment, one of the men who had been out in the jungle reached the outskirts of the group. He looked as though he were carrying a small bundle over his shoulder, but on further inspection, the bundle turned out to be a child. The child had a bandana covering its head and eyes, and was motionless.

“What have you got there?” one of the men yelled across the Compound. “Is it dead?” said another.

When the man reached the huddle, he laid the child on the ground in front of them.

“I think she passed out. I couldn’t leave her there. Everyone else in the camp was dead, and, and I just couldn’t kill a small child,” he said, obviously revealing his weakness.

“Now what are we going to do? Everyone will be looking for her. There will be a huge search,” cried one of the men.

“Quiet!” yelled Alberto. “Everyone keep quiet. Let me rethink this. We agree that this is the only survivor of the camp. Correct? Everyone else has been killed. Well, researchers get lost in the jungle all the time. It is a brutal, unforgiving place for those who are not familiar with its dangers. Yes, they will be missed after some time if they don’t report home, but we can go back and cover up our mess. So, let the authorities look. What they will find is that the jungle swallowed them whole,” he said with confidence.

At this time the little bundle began to stir. It was a soft moaning at first and then a little cry. Her tiny hands struggled to remove the bandana tied around her eyes. Adrienne, who had been watching out the window, saw the child move and something inside her propelled her into action. It was her motherly instinct. She quickly opened the door and ran toward the group of burly men. Alarmed at this sudden movement, the men turned in her direction and raised their guns. Alberto shot his hand up into the air.

“Halt!” he yelled. “Everyone stay where you are.” By now the little bundle was crying softly, curled in a ball with her knees to her chest.

“Mommy, mommy,” she cried in soft, almost inaudible tones.

“What happened to the child’s mother?” asked Alberto.

“I killed her with the machete, when I pulled her out of the tent. I didn’t know at the time there was a baby in there. Who brings a little child to the jungle? Who does that?” he said defensively.

Adrienne heard this last exchange and trembled. She was appalled and moved gently toward the little girl.

“Come here little one,” she said quietly in Spanish opening up her arms. She wasn’t sure where this child came from or who she was, or what language she spoke.

The little girl looked into Adrienne’s kind face and said in very clear English, “I want my mommy. Where is my mommy?”

Adrienne bent down so she was eye level with the child. She looked into her jewel green eyes rimmed with tears, and stroked her dark silky hair.

“It’s okay, little one,” Adrienne said in English. “You can come with me.”

Adrienne looked hard at her uncle Alberto. “I will take care of this,” and carried the little girl off to the house.

Once inside Adrienne ran a washcloth under the cold tap and wrung out the excess water. She washed the dirt off the little girl’s face and stroked her hair.

“You’re safe now. You’re with me.” She looked at her carefully and thought she was probably the same age as Bella. Yet they looked so different. Bella had fair hair and steel gray eyes, while this child had dark hair and green eyes with a pale ivory complexion. Adrienne thought she was a very pretty little girl and was curious to know about her.

“Can you tell me your name, little one?”

The little girl was frightened and cried again for her mother.

“Tell me your name, please, it’s okay.”

“My name is Rose,” the little girl said. “I’m Rose and I’m three years old. Where is mommy, where is Maggie?”

Adrienne pulled the child into her arms and hugged her. She began to cry thinking of her own mother whom she missed every day, and her own daughter who lived with her in virtual isolation.

All this noise woke Bella who called out for her mother. Carrying Rose in her arms, Adrienne went into the bedroom to see Bella.

“Bella, look we have a new member of our family. You have a new playmate. Her name is Rose.”

Even at three Bella was uncertain how she felt about this situation. Suddenly she folded her arms, stomped one foot and made a face. Bella had been doted on, was the apple of her mother’s eye, and the singular attraction for all her mother’s attention, until Rose.

Rose on the other hand, kept crying and asking for her mother. She was tired and hungry, as well as frightened.

Adrienne brought the girls into the kitchen and sat them around the table. They could barely sit in the chairs since the girls were so small. Adrienne had a small children’s table set up in the kitchen but it only had one chair at the moment. She would have to fix that. She went to the refrigerator and took out an apple, cut it into several small pieces and fed it to the girls. She filled two small plastic cups with orange juice. Both of the girls were quiet while they ate and drank. Adrienne was not certain what the plan was. In her own mind she wanted to keep little Rose. Rose would be a regular playmate for Bella and it would be fun to have another daughter. She could say that it was a distant cousin’s child that had come to live with them. Or maybe people would think she just had another child.

She would probably have to keep her hidden for a while just in case the authorities came around asking questions. She wasn’t exactly sure what had happened in the jungle, and truly didn’t want to know. There was nothing better than plausible deniability.

About two days later, the local police came to the coffee plantation. Alberto met with them and offered to show them around the Compound. Adrienne could see them talking and walking while she looked out the window. She turned her attention to the girls and moved Rose into her bedroom with some toys to occupy her for a few moments. Then she took Bella by the hand and walked outside to greet the officer.

“Hello,” she said sweetly, “I’m Adrienne, Alberto’s niece and this is my little girl Bella. May I ask what is happening here?”

The officer looked at her and smiled. “We have a report that some researchers are missing in this area. We have a band of men out looking for them, but so far we haven’t had much luck.”

“Oh,” said Adrienne with a tone of concern in her voice. “I do hope you find them soon. The jungle is an unforgiving place with many dangers. Where did they come from?”

“They were from the United States. Some university-sponsored research project. If they are to be found, we will find them. It won’t be the first time students have been lost in the jungle.”

“Who reported them missing? Did you find anyone from their party?” Adrienne asked as Bella clung to her lower leg.

“We were contacted by the University who let us know that their group had not checked in at the designated time, and they still haven’t heard from them. I have no further information at this time. Ah,” he said looking at his watch, “I have to get going now. Thank you both for your time.”

He abruptly turned his back to her and walked away. Adrienne shot Alberto a knowing look. Maybe no one knew about the child after all. She would still keep everything quiet for several months before she let Rose have more exposure in the Compound. It was clear that the security detail knew of her, but they had every reason to keep things quiet. Adrienne didn’t know all the facts, but she knew enough, and had seen the guns and blood on the men’s shirts. She shuddered to think of this child’s poor mother, was it Maggie, having been struck on the head with a machete. Little Rose must never know the truth. It was too traumatic. Adrienne would soothe her and comfort her until Rose had no past but the one Adrienne created for her.

Adrienne kept her eye on the newspapers every day hoping to read a story about the lost research party. The first week there was a small article, just a paragraph about some missing university researchers who had gotten lost in the jungle. Then months later there was a follow-up article saying that they have never been found. There were never any specifics of the research expedition in the article other than the number in the party. No mention of names or even a child. This gave Adrienne a sense of relief. She would now work to reshape Rose’s memory and help her forget her early tragic life.

For the most part, the two girls got along. They had each other for sharing chores, keeping their mother company and trading secrets. When Adrienne looked at both of them, she couldn’t help but think of their violent beginnings. Bella was the product of a brutal rape, and when she stared into Bella’s face she could see the steely eyes of her father. As Bella got older, she looked less like her mother’s side of the family. Adrienne didn’t know much about the Russian. Her uncle never spoke of him again. Bella felt this unease in her mother when they looked at each other. She had asked many times who her father was, but Adrienne would only answer that she had a brief love interest as a young woman and the man had died in a tragic accident on the coffee plantation. Bella never accepted this explanation and often asked her great-uncle Alberto. He was less forthcoming than her mother.

Rose, on the other hand was viewed with more compassion by Adrienne. Since she had no idea who her parents were other than they were American, Adrienne made up an entire fantasy in her mind of where Rose came from and who she came from. In her mind she felt more protective of Rose knowing that she was an orphan.

The girls sensed these differences, although subtle, in their mother’s reaction to them, and as they got older they began to pull apart. Bella spent more time studying her languages and Rose showed a surprising interest in the healing arts. Initially she demonstrated an aptitude for taking care of sick animals, spending much of her time with the plantation horses, riding them and grooming them. Later, she expressed an interest in medicine and science. Adrienne wondered if Rose would be interested in becoming a veterinarian, but knew that this would be impossible as long as they were trapped on the coffee plantation.

Adrienne always celebrated both girls’ birthday on Bella’s birthday since she didn’t know when Rose’s birthday was. For their 13th birthday, Adrienne asked her uncle if she could take them to the town.

“Uncle Alberto. I’d like to take the girls into town for their birthday this year. They are growing into young ladies and need more than what the plantation can give them. It’s time. Things have been going smoothly here and I see no reason we can’t go.”

Alberto thought for a moment and finally said, “Adrienne, you have spent most of your adult life on the plantation. I think you could go to town as long as there are some of my men to go with you.”

“Agreed!” said Adrienne excitedly. “Thank you, Uncle,” and with that she wrapped her arms around his stout body and gave him a hug.

A few days later Adrienne, Rose and Bella got into the covered Jeep and one of the plantation security men drove the forty-two miles into town. The girls sat in the back seat while Adrienne sat in front with the driver.

“I can’t believe we are actually going into the town,” said Rose excitedly.

“I know. I can’t believe it either. I’m so happy to get off the Compound, even if it’s only for a day. Magazines and newspapers are not enough and we have such limited television. There’s almost no reception where we are. My God, you think we were living in the Dark Ages of Europe!” exclaimed Bella. “I don’t understand why we can’t have more freedom.”

This comment did not come lightly from Bella. Even though she was a budding teenager, she looked older and felt older in her mind. She always wondered why they were trapped in the Compound, and why they never had the freedom that other young people had. She had seriously considered running away, but it was only now she realized that the Compound was a very long way from the rest of civilization. The drive was long. It wasn’t that she didn’t love her mother, or even love her “sister” Rose for that matter. It was just, well it was just that she wanted to fly. She was that type of girl. What good was it reading about the world when you couldn’t explore it? There was restlessness in her. Bella looked at Rose who was staring out the window of the Jeep and wondered who she really was. Didn’t she just show up one day? Bella had heard the men talking on the plantation some time ago when they thought no one was around. It seems Rose was plucked right out of the jungle from some American research party. She and Rose had talked about it. Even so, Rose seemed so much more content with the Compound. She liked reading science books and spending time in the garden with their “shared” mother.

The little town was a wake-up call for the girls. Even Adrienne was overly excited.

“Girls, look, over there,” she said pointing to a beautiful white stucco building with a red Spanish tile roof. The door was one story tall and shaped in an arch with bricks forming a frame around the perimeter. Windows were cut into the stone either as rectangles, squares or arches. The cobblestone walk seemed to flow in either direction and told of the history of the many who had tread its surface the last few hundred years. There were modern shops interspersed with small restaurants. Some had roasting meat on spits in the open air and the smell drew the girls to the windows.

“Oh wow, look at that church tower,” said Adrienne, pointing to a creamy tall building capped with an ornate red dome and a cross on top. The windows were outlined in white paint and very reminiscent of Spanish design from centuries past.

It was interesting, but the girls wanted to see the more modern shops, those with the latest clothes, those that had make-up and perfumes, hair products and other things that teenage girls were interested in. The town didn’t have much in the way of modern shops, but there were some that clearly had a Western or more European influence. The girls walked past a tattoo parlor on the edge of the town and peered in the window. They saw designs with ornate flowers, animals, characters, and letters. They were curious having read about celebrities who had tattoos and they understood it was more of a Western cultural influence than anything else. They moved along and settled at having a coffee and pastry at a small outdoor café.

“I like it here,” said Rose waving her hand out toward the town. “I wonder what the big cities are like. Mother, why can’t we take a trip to Bogotá or even Cartagena?”

Bella waited for the reply. She wanted nothing else but to leave the plantation. Why they couldn’t send me to school somewhere in a big city, she thought. Maybe she could work one day as a translator, or international banker, or something exciting. Life was boring on the plantation. It was all coffee beans and coffee bean workers. How would she ever meet a boy who wasn’t a coffee been picker?

“Yes mother, I agree with Rose. Why can’t we go to a big city next time? We’re young, we need to fly free,” said Bella with some force.

Adrienne was now questioning her decision to bring them into the town. She understood their plight and had echoed those same sentiments many times long before the girls came into her heart. Her life would have been so different if she had stayed in Reims, been allowed to travel Europe and meet a proper husband. She didn’t want to seem bitter, so she made the most of what she had. She had done her family duty by helping her uncle with his household. She had made a big sacrifice giving up her own dreams of having her own husband and family. Although Bella’s start in life had been traumatic and violent, Adrienne loved her daughter and was grateful for her company. Bella had a slight edge to her personality, but she was clever and forthright. When Rose came into her life, it was like finding strawberries in cheesecake. Rose was a luscious, rewarding, bright child who was inner-directed and kind. She was very different from Bella, so Adrienne could enjoy each of them in their own way.

“Girls, I know how you feel,” said Adrienne choking up unexpectedly. “I came to the plantation at a young age myself. I had dreams of my own that were never fulfilled. I’ve missed my own mother terribly all these years and wanted her to share in your lives, but it never happened and, and…” Adrienne couldn’t finish her sentence.

And for the first time in many years she thought of taking the girls and running—running from her uncle, from the plantation, from the confinement, from her brutal rape. Why not, she thought, why shouldn’t I try? Why would I let my daughters live the same life that I have?

Adrienne wiped the tears from her eyes. Both girls stared at their mother with surprise. Adrienne had always shown the most upbeat spirit of anyone and was a positive force in their lives. She helped mold them into the young women they were by instilling in them a sense of independence, intellectual curiosity and personal strength. She knew Bella shared half her gene pool and that was strong French and Italian stock. Her family were pioneers who had tamed the land and worked hard their entire lives. Rose, well, her family history was unknown to Adrienne, but she assumed she was the child of a researcher who had been on the field expedition. Her parents would have been adventurous, brilliant, and world travelers. That was perhaps the seed of Rose’s interest in science and the natural world.

“Bella, Rose,” said Adrienne, blotting her eyes, “let’s make a pact; let this outing serve as an opportunity for more to come. We’ll enjoy our day here, go back to your great-uncle’s plantation and show him we can be trusted to have many outings. Then after a while, these adventures will be commonplace, and we can plan something in one of the big cities. Okay?”

The girls sat quiet for a moment. They had never seen their mother so emotional. They rallied around her, and enfolded her in their arms. Neither Bella nor Rose said a word.

They toured a few more shops and then Adrienne said, “Girls, is there something here you would like for your birthday? Something special?”

The girls thought for a moment and then Bella said, “Actually, I’d like a tattoo.” She heard gasps. “No wait, let me explain. Just a tiny one and some place where no one will see it. It’s fashionable these days, lots of people have them. I’ve seen it in magazines. Please, please mother. You can get one too.”

Rose said, “It could be fun, like our little secret, Mother. Why not?”

“If my uncle ever found out, I don’t know what he would do. No, I don’t want one, not now anyway. But I recognize it’s a sense of independence of youth. Just a tiny one, and in a place that no one can see. Do you understand?” she said sternly.

The girls ran back to the tattoo parlor. Adrienne trailed behind already regretting her decision to let them have a tattoo at thirteen. But she felt a rebellious streak in her own consciousness on this day, a sense that SHE wanted to break away and do something just a bit dangerous. It was that kind of a day.

She recognized that she could get into a great deal of trouble, but decided to let it all unfold as fate would have it.

Once in the shop, the tattoo artist wanted to confirm with Adrienne that she was truly giving her permission to let these two young girls have a tattoo. She assured him it was all right, if he could demonstrate that his equipment was clean and disinfected properly. He promised that it was.

“I have many tourists who come to little towns like ours in Colombia and love the plants, birds, animal life, and the jungle. They want to commemorate their experience with a tattoo. Here’s a book with our most popular designs,” he said showing the girls and Adrienne a collection of colorful drawings.

“I’m not sure,” said Rose. “Bella, why don’t you pick first.”

Clearly Bella had given this some thought. She looked through the book and pointed to a picture of a jaguar.

“You want a jaguar?” said Adrienne. “That doesn’t seem very feminine. What about a nice flower?” She turned to Rose, “Rose, you should get your namesake flower, a beautiful red rose.”

Bella interrupted, “I don’t want something pretty. I want something fierce.” She pointed to a picture in the book of an outline of a small black and white image of a panther with claws extended and mouth slightly agape. It looked like it was stalking its prey.

“I’m not so sure about this,” said her mother. It’s not a good choice. How about something less fierce, maybe a bird or star? You told me it would be small. Even this black cat looks big.”

Bella made a face. She wanted what she wanted, but it was clear her mother was not about to give in. “Let me think then,” she said in a petulant voice. She folded her arms and stomped one foot while squeezing out her lips. “Let Rose get her, her, rose.”

Rose seemed fine with that choice. She really didn’t want the tattoo after all, but didn’t want to seem as if she were above it all. So, she settled for a small red rose. It was like her mother said, her namesake flower.

“Lovely,” said the artist as he showed her an open flower with bright red petals and two small green leaves. “We’ll use this one. You know the rose is an ancient symbol for promise and hope. It symbolizes a new beginning.”

Rose had the tattoo etched on her skin, just below her right hip. It would always be covered by her panties and no one would ever see it. Unless of course she wanted them to. Rose was surprised at how painful the procedure was, but she never said a word. Her mother wrung her hands in anxiety, regretting having made this decision.

Brooding Bella finally settled on a drawing she liked. It was a spider. It had two distinct body regions and eight long legs emerging from the abdomen. It certainly wasn’t something her mother was going to like. But Bella liked it and she thought it was a compromise between a flower and a jaguar.

“You want this one?” said the tattoo artist with a questioning voice. “This one? Not the little dove on this page?”

Bella was not a dove, and she was not a symbol for promise and hope either.

“Yes, I want the spider. They are helpful creatures, right, Rose? You see them in the garden all the time. They trap all the unwanted flies and other bugs in their webs,” Bella said.

“Yes,” said the artist “you could think of them as a symbol for trickery or treachery.”

Bella also had the tattoo planted just below her right hip. Now the girls, and their mother, shared a secret and created a bond from this outing.

The driver/security guard that had been sent with them to the town didn’t consider this place much of a threat. It was a small, sleepy, touristy town with many old Spanish-style buildings, a church and some shops. He had let the girls roam with freedom while he sat in a café and had aguapenela, a sort of sugar cane and lemon drink, followed by several cups of espresso after his meal. He had indulged in a bowl of ajiaco, a nice thick chicken soup with potatoes, corn, avocado and sour cream and flavored with guasca. He was fairly bored by this time and after looking at his watch, went to find the girls to get them back to the plantation before the sun set.

The Jeep had been gassed up and everyone was on board and ready for the drive back. The girls were tired, and their heads leaned on one another while they dozed off in the back seat of the Jeep. About eleven miles from the center of town, the road was blocked with a cart filled with straw and other plants from the countryside. In front of the cart was a small green pickup truck. The driver exited the Jeep and walked up ahead to see why they had been stopped in the middle of the road. He was prepared to offer help to the farmer if needed. As he approached the truck in front of the cart, he was not able to see the driver sitting in the vehicle so he inched up to the front bumper. When he did, a man in dark coveralls approached him and shot him right through the forehead. As he fell, his head bumped the front of the truck, and he cascaded on to the ground. The girls were startled awake by the noise, and Adrienne who was not asleep was petrified at the sound of the gunshot. The man in the coveralls moved quickly to the jeep and opened the door.

“Get out. Get out,” he yelled, his voice slightly muffled from his bandana. The girls huddled together and Adrienne stepped in front of them as a lioness protecting her cubs.

“What is going on? What is happening here?” Adrienne said shakily, biting her lip as a way to fight the tears. She wanted to appear strong and in control. She couldn’t quite see the man’s face because the bandana covered his nose and mouth, but she could see his eyes.

The man in the coveralls knocked her to the ground. By this time both girls were crying and screaming. He reached forward and placed his body between them. He looked at Rose and he looked at Bella. He grabbed Bella by the hair and began dragging her toward the truck. Rose tried to hang on to her, but he swatted her down and she landed on top of Adrienne. Adrienne was not conscious, but Rose was. She knew she would not be able to fight this man alone, so she made a mental note of what he looked like, the shape of his body, the color of his hair and his eyes, and when he pulled down the bandana as he threw Bella into the truck, she made a mental note of the rest of his face. She would not forget it.

The truck sped away leaving a dead driver, an unconscious mother, and an adopted orphan abandoned in the road.