When the Jaguar Wakes

by Ryann Gordon (United States of America)

I didn't expect to find Belize

Faces of strangers smiled in my direction from different angle as we stepped off the ship. Their eyes were light, like mine, but skin a dark hazelnut, as if we were far from the only hemisphere I’d never left. English rolled off their tongues with fluency though. What was this place? Water stretched for miles on every side, but no beaches in sight. Thick rainforests were the only backdrop outside of a vanquished city. Beaten, but far from broken. Something in the air told me this place was alive. And for some reason, I was welcome. Our bus took us miles out into the forest, where surprises continued to bewilder me every interaction I had. Never have people with such contrasting appearances given me this type of consideration. I’m a “rich blonde bitch,” or so they always seem to think. Perhaps it’s that I share their indigenous blood. Perhaps it’s that they want to take me with them and sell my kidneys for dinner to feed their families. Perhaps it’s just a different culture ... it’s definitely not America. The villagers give me coconuts without pay, pull a mother tarantula from her best and let her climb on their faces and take me to the woods, where they roll their marijuana in crumpled up tobacco leaf that they’ve pulled from their pockets. It’s a new world. But what’s in the forest even deeper, is what I wasn’t prepared for. “Is that a cat’s cave?” asks my friend Haylee, as we descend deeper into the forest on our zip lines. The group of men with us laugh, all too early. A low, rumbling creeps from the cave, silencing each of their voices like magic. A heavy paw, yellow-brown and black spots covering the thick fur that conceals it’s massive claws as they extend and retract, sneaks out of the shadows. A grey eye catches mine. We are all silent now. The cat is looking in my soul. And suddenly, like it heard my smooth, beating heart stay unchanged in rhythm, it’s eye departs into the shadows. The men look at me, as if they know it was watching me, but none dare say a word. Smiles have turned to nerves every time I’m near one of them now. They know better than to mess with the cat of the forest.