It was August during the dry weather, the time when the Berbice River--some two hundred miles from the mouth--becomes a shallow creek (just about two feet of water at most) you can walk across. I was the manager in charge of a logging grant; our camp was at a place called Long Licker. Long Licker is a series or rapids that dot the river for about a mile. It was a scenic place--water dogs early in the morning, baboons in the distance, a lonely toucan crying for attention, parrots of all colours and sizes, the regular troupe of monkeys going about their business, and of course, the mighty Macaw.
It was a Saturday and most of the men were on a weekend home, usually to see if their wives were behaving. I knew it was also to take a good drink as I never allowed any form of alcohol in camp. I was in my camp preparing my log book and documenting the tags that were used during the past week and the sizes and species of logs harvested. This was part of my work which I did on week ends. There is a peace when you are in the Guyanese rain forest. Birds and insects, even the water over the rocks, form an acoustical body of sounds, and it’s like a big orchestra, only this is with nature's own. I've seen many men get lost in its grasp, never to go home, choosing to die content and penniless.
My early morning baths would take place about five hundred feet from where my camp was--a shallow, rocky part of the river. It was fast running water and I liked that because every dip I made with my bathing bowl always had fresh water in it. I hated having to dip the same water that came off my skin. This spot had lots of wild Guava trees, big ones jutting over the river forming caves, and providing shade for some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen; The beaches aren't visible from a boat or if you are on the other side of the river.
I was at my table doing my writing and contemplating another bath when I heard the horn; it was the horn from my bosses' vehicle. They were paying their twice monthly visit to the camp. I was expecting them, so I got into the boat which was a little paddle boat big enough to hold about four persons. I got to them and immediately noticed the smiles on their faces that said they were hiding something. As I got up to the top of the river bank, there she was...my son’s mom. Damn! She looked like the Queen of Sheba. I was all in smiles, much to the amusement of my bosses; I had not seen her in over a month.
We were in love then, very much in love. Every thing we did was pleasing to us and to this day I wonder if I will ever be able to love like that again. Well, after the usual pleasantries and the small talk my bosses and company came over to the camp, which by the way, was on the western side of the river. We discussed the usual about how we were doing and how the business was progressing, then they asked to go further into the grant to see logs and other trees--the site seeing. I called one of the men left in camp to get the tractor and trailer, and he took the party for the site seeing. I did not want to go and they did not ask me to go. We all knew why.
As the tractor left the camp and I saw it over the hill, I kissed her. She was solid, nice to hold, nice to kiss all over, and I mean all over. But like all people in love, we had time...
I gave her a tour of the camp, and showed her my farm. I had planted peppers, pumpkins, banana suckers, cassava, papaya, thyme and married man pork. I love to plant and she liked it.
We kissed and hugged and I took her to where the wild guava trees were. I walked with a blanket to spread, so the sand would not get on our clothes. It was cool under the trees, and I felt I knew how Adam and Eve were in the garden. I felt the same. We were alone, but there was no forbidden tree to eat from, just us. I kissed her again, and this kiss was different; it was more intense and it was as if we were hungry for it. We were breathing like long distance runners, and I could hear my own heart beating like African drums; the type that send messages. We were ready.
I started to undress her and it seemed like eons to me as I was not doing it right. Buttons were left in their holes and in between kisses and grunts one came off. Clothes can be a hindrance when you don't need them. We were finally naked and I saw her breasts. They looked new, as they always looked when I saw them. I kissed them and she skipped a breath, like when you get a sudden cold breeze in your face. I let my tongue travel through the contours of a fragrant body, finding all the hills and a valley. I dwelt in the valley for a while and listened to her groans of pleasure and love talk. There was a river breeze which just kept us cool and the sound of the water over the rocks kept time.
I kissed her again and as our bodies met and touched I felt the warmth of that place, that place for which kingdoms are forsaken, the jewel, the Valley, wet and firm, wet and slippery, warm to the touch. Then we took part in all that was offered by both our bodies and it was heaven as is described to us by our religion. We became one, and I became much more. In and out I was going to the beat of the music provided by nature itself. She moved too with a slow gyrating of her hips and I could feel her rhythm moving in sync with mine. Then it came, a volcano of pleasure, of ecstasy, of, of, of, I don’t know, but it felt good.
I held her tight and she held me like she was on a wild horse, which I was at the time, and she said things I can't repeat here. I felt my whole body about to explode and I wanted to shout aloud for the whole world to hear but all that came out was “ggggnnnnnnhhh.” At that very moment all the parrots flew off in a chatter and there was a sudden howling of the baboons. It was as if they knew my moment of ecstasy had arrived. They cheered loudly; it was something to hear. All the animals were happy. We all some how knew that that man and woman would never make love like that again on a river beach, or anywhere else. We were all celebrating and applauding the end of something magnificent.
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Dear all,
The above story story was sent by Peter Sam to be posted for your entertainment and critique. Tell him what you think. I did.
