by Alaya
This is a scary story my mother used to tell me when she thought I was too cheeky. Sensitive people please cover your ears!
Deep in the Amazon jungle lived a stunningly beautiful girl named Taini from the Asha tribe, known for their harmonious relationship with the jungle and its spirits. Taini, with her dark skin and curvy figure, moved through the forest like a juvenile queen. Her long hair flowed along her naked body like a river of night, and her eyes sparkled with the wisdom of the jungle itself. The Asha tribe had lived for centuries in this paradise, untouched by the outside world. The jungle was their home, their protector, and their source of power.
But that peace was shattered one fateful day when the pale men arrived. They came in their strange machines, cut down the trees, dug up the earth, and polluted the sacred river. The pale men saw the land and its creatures as nothing more than a resource to be exploited. They spoke of progress, of building roads, of taking what they wanted, and they cared little for the ancient traditions of the tribes who lived there.
One night Taini was walking alone along the river when she saw the pale men creeping through the jungle. They were after her! She could hear their heavy footsteps behind her, their breath shallow and impatient. ‘You cannot escape,‘ a voice hissed from the shadows. It was one of the pale men, his eyes glinting with a predatory hunger. Taini’s heart raced. She knew they would not stop until they had her. She turned and ran, her feet light against the soft earth, her breath coming in quick bursts as the pale men followed. She could hear their shouts, their cruel laughter, as they chased her through the jungle.
She ran as fast as she could, but in a foggy clearing the men grabbed her and threw her to the ground. ‘Stop it!’ A short old woman was standing in front of them, just as naked as Taini. Her wrinkled skin was grey and dirty, the flat breasts hung down to her belly button. Her hair was long and filthy white, and the eyes were dark pools of ancient knowledge in a skin-covered skull. It was Nara, Taini’s great-grandmother, the shaman of the Asha tribe, a woman revered for her power over the spirits of the jungle. Her presence was terrifying, for Nara was said to possess the ability to control the creatures of the forest, to summon the ancient forces that lived in the shadows.
‘They will not harm you, Taini,‘ Nara said, her voice low and soothing, yet filled with an unsettling power. ‘I will protect you.‘ Before Taini could speak, Nara raised her bony hands to the sky. The jungle seemed to come alive, and in the shadows something stirred. From the darkness of the jungle, a horde of thousands and thousands of crawling insects emerged: giant ants, centipedes, spiders, ticks, scorpions—an endless stream of venomous tiny creatures. Their bodies were black as night or as colorful as nature’s poison cabinet, their legs long and thin, their eyes glowing like fiery embers. They crawled out from the underbrush, their movements swift and silent, a terrifying flow of legs, pincers, and spikes. They were the guardians of the jungle, ancient and powerful, and they had heard Nara’s summons.
The pale men’s faces twisted in horror as they saw the myriad insects, closing in from every direction. ‘No!‘ one of the pale men shouted, his voice filled with fear. He stumbled backward, but the insects were already too close. They moved with unnatural speed, their sharp legs scraping against the ground as they advanced.
Nara’s eyes glinted with dark satisfaction as she muttered an incantation. The insects, with their venomous fangs and glowing eyes, began to attack. The pale men screamed as the insects crawled into their pants and up their legs, their bodies writhing and flailing as the creatures sank their fangs deep into their dangling flesh. One by one, the pale men were overwhelmed by the sheer number of insects. Their screams echoed through the jungle, but no one came to help. The jungle had claimed them.
Taini jumped up, her breath caught in her throat as she watched the horrific scene unfold. The insects moved around her with startling precision, their jaws sinking into the pale men’s skin, injecting their venom. Within moments, the men were motionless, their bodies pale and lifeless. When the last of the pale men had fallen, Nara lowered her hands, and the insects retreated back into the shadows, disappearing as quickly as they had appeared.
Taini, trembling, turned to Nara, her voice barely a whisper. ‘What… what have you done, great-grandma?‘
‘I have saved you,‘ Nara replied, her voice calm and filled with authority. ‘The jungle protects its own. The pale men were never meant to be here. They sought to destroy what they could never understand.‘
Taini looked around at the lifeless bodies of the invaders, the weight of what had just happened settling upon her. The jungle had shown its fury, and the spirits had answered. The pale men were no more, their greed and arrogance swallowed by the very land and creatures they sought to control.
‘You are safe now, child,‘ Nara said, her eyes softening. ‘The jungle will always protect its own. And you… you are its daughter, just as I am.‘
Taini nodded, her heart still racing but filled with gratitude. She had been saved, not just by Nara, but by the power of the jungle itself. And from that moment on, Taini understood the true force of the jungle. It was not just a place of beauty, but a living, breathing entity, one that would rise up and defend its people from those who sought to destroy it. And as Taini walked back into the heart of the Amazon, her eyes shone with an untamed radiance, as she knew that the spirits would always watch over her, just as they had watched over the land for centuries.