Tarzan & G.I. Jane (Complete)

Part 3

Unable to sleep I stand back up and look around. It's unbelievable how normal the small home looks. Everything seems to be handmade. The place is beautiful in its simplicity. I notice a door. If I was in a "normal" home I would just assume it to be a closet. But from his lack of clothing on his body I have doubts that this is the case. I turn the makeshift door knob and open it. Part of me thought it might be locked. Feeling like I'm doing something wrong, I glance at the doorway the man left out of before entering the small room.

My eyes sweep across the room and to my surprise they stop on a small piece of furniture in the back of the room. A cradle. My forehead creases. What? Why? I step farther into the room. My hand runs across a smooth surface and my fingers are covered in dust. I can instantly tell this room hasn't been used in a very long time.

As I get closer to the cradle I see toys, handmade children's toys on the floor. The shock is overpowered by the sadness that fills my chest. To think of a child here, lost in the jungle, living here? Was the man the father? Where is the mother? Where is the child? So many questions are running through my brain.

I sense his presence before I ever see him. Without a word I leave the small room and find him standing next to the table. He is staring at me. I watch as he places odd looking, what I assume to be fruit, on the table. My stomach growls again.

Suddenly I remember the things in the other room and anger and confusion fills me. I stand up straight and scowl at him. I will not let his height or piercing stare make me back down.

"What is that room? Is there a child here?! Who are you?"

He doesn't seem to be listening to me ramble on with questions. He is looking at the open door. He isn't angry, in fact he looks sad. He slowly makes his way to the door and closes it. The look in his eyes makes me feel heartbroken. The child must have been his.

I plop down on the bed exhausted. This man was probably lost here with a baby and the child must not have survived...where's the mother?

I'm deep in thought when the sudden sight of the man surprises me. He is squatting down in front of me. His closeness makes me a little nervous.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude..."

I missed it at first but he has something in his hand. He places it on my lap. I look down and then back up at his face with curiosity. With no words he smiles and nods. I start to wonder if he can speak or if he doesn't speak english. I look down at what he has placed on my lap. It's a book, old and worn. It must be a favorite.

I carefully open it and my eyes grow bigger as I start to read.

7 Sept 1992 Journal entry 23

Kris and I have started building a structure to live in. I think he has given up hope of escaping the jungle. If I'm being honest I don't want to leave. It is so beautiful here. I just hope he doesn't change his mind when I tell him my little secret.

8 Sept 1992 Journal entry 24

I couldn't be happier!! I'm going to be a mother! Kris is over the moon about being a father! I won't say this to Kris but I am scared. How am I going to have a baby in the middle of the jungle?!? No doctors! I can't let my mind run away with itself. Even if I wanted to go back to civilization it's not like we know how to get there. We will be fine and we will make this our home!

I can feel the tears building behind my eyes. This isn't a book. It is the journal of a couple who were lost in the jungle...and expecting a child. I can still feel his eyes on me. I stare up into his ice blue eyes. My brain starts working again and I do the math. 1992...that was twenty-eight years ago. This man in front of me couldn't be Kris, the father. That could only mean...

I don't even realize I'm crying until he gently wipes away the tear streaming down my cheek. I catch my breath and he stands. He turns towards the table and retrieves the fruits he brought in.

As he moves across the room I can't help but notice his body. The way his muscles coil and ripple as he moves effortlessly around the space. Then his blue orbs are on me again.

After eating, the man leaves again and I sit on the bed. I am curious about where he keeps going off to but not enough to venture out yet. I'm afraid to explore more inside as well so I grab the journal and start reading. I notice the entries are not everyday and most of the time I am left with more questions than answers.

I don't realize I've fallen asleep until I wake to the feeling of the journal being removed from my hands. I'm too tired to open my eyes. I sigh and drift back to sleep as I feel a fur blanket being placed on me.

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Light streaming in on my face, I wake up soaking wet. I look around and find I'm once again alone. I am covered in sweat. I throw the fur blanket off of me. The heat is suffocating. I unzip the front of my flight suit, it hangs from my hips as I sit down to remove my boots. A sigh of relief and comfort escapes my lips. I rip off my socks and finish removing my flight suit. Having only lost one layer of clothing I already feel better. I don't even need to look down. I already know I have sweated through my sports bra and cotton t-shirt.

My cotton shorts stick to my legs as I walk out the door. If I was hoping for a fresh cool breeze when I stepped outside I am sadly disappointed. The air is hot and humid. I look around and I have to admit the jungle is beautiful. It's like a trance that pulls you in to explore more. I find a thin path and make my way along it. I am overcome with relief when I notice the pain in my leg has faded. Only the scabs and bruises are signs of the traumatic ordeal I have been through.

A low growl comes from the jungle next to me. I freeze in fear. I don't know all of the animals that live in this rainforest but I know anything that sounds like that is dangerous. I can't see anything but I can hear something approaching me...fast. I know I can't out run the animal so I grab my knife and stand my ground. My heart races. I don't see what happens but I hear another animalistic growl and then silence. Whatever was heading towards me seems to stop and run off in another direction. I am mixed with fear and confusion. What just happened?

I hear something behind me and I spin around, knife ready. My entire body sighs in relief when I see the blue eye man. I put my knife away. When I look back up at him he hasn't moved and is watching me. He has an odd look on his face.

I decide I've had enough excitement for the moment and head back to the house structure. He doesn't move. As I pass him on the path it's like shocks of electricity where our bare arms touch. I am sure he flinches away. He doesn't move until I pass him and only to turn and continue watching me. I can sense him following me back inside.

I spin around to ask him something and lose all train of thought. He is looking at me but there is a heat in his eyes. I can feel as his gaze slowly slides down my body. I can feel my whole body heat up and blush from his stares. I can't move and my heart rate rises with every agonizingly slow step he takes towards me. My breath hitches when his fingers glide down my upper arm.

This snaps him out of it because he quickly stops and steps away. With some distance between us again my heart rate goes back down to normal. He moves and I look up at him. He stops in the doorway and reaches his hand out to me. I look at him, confused. He nods towards outside the door. Then disappears.

I don't really want a repeat of my last walk through the jungle but I follow him anyway. We make our way back down the same thin path I had ventured down just moments ago. I try my best to keep up but the man seems almost superhuman the way he moves through the jungle.

When I step out into a clearing I find myself in awe. He is standing next to a small pool of water with a little waterfall feeding into it. With my clothes sticking to me, my body aches to be in the water. Before I go running into it my rational brain goes through the many things that could be living in the water.

Sensing my hesitation he steps into the water and gestures for me to enter as well. As I step into the water a quote from a movie I watched as a kid comes to me. "Are you sure this water is sanitary? It looks questionable to me!" Then it hits me. He's a real life Tarzan!!!

I laugh. I literally fall to the ground laughing.

As I bathe in the cool water Tarzan sits crouched over on a rock. His crystal blue eyes never leave me. It is an unreal feeling being watched all the time. I don't know if it makes me feel uncomfortable or if it makes me feel safe.