Cecelia

The jungles of the Amazon were some of the densest concentrations of vegetation in the world. It swallowed people up every day, too many of which were never to be seen again. But how Cecelia saw it, the trees and plants weren’t what swallowed them up. It was the insects. She swatted another mosquito; at least she thought it was a mosquito. Mr. Dickson, the entomologist on her father’s vast and diverse team of scientists, said there were over three hundred million species of insects in the Amazon. She wasn’t quite sure how many of those species bit.
Her black curls were pulled back into a loose ponytail that trailed halfway down her back, and her skin was oily with suntan lotion and bug spray. She was quite certain the bug spray wasn’t working, or else the insects in the Amazon thought it smelled all the more appetizing. But the suntan lotion was. Her skin, which had been fair ever since she’d been a small child, was now near copper, and the natives working on the excavation said she looked like one of them. She talked like one of them, too; she’d learned the language quickly, to the bemusement and pleasure of the natives. Her father had hired near a hundred of them to help with the excavation, some of them schooled but most just there for the muscle and cooking prowess. Everyone had taken a liking to the native cuisine, though everyone made sure not to ask exactly what it was they were eating.
Her Aunt Zelda and Uncle Haru were there, too, along with a bunch of their friends and classmates from the Academy. Cecelia had always thought it queer that their school was just called “the Academy”. She heard teachers at her school scoff at the name and say General Awada was too cocky. When Cecelia had told Zelda that, her Aunt had laughed in that quiet way she did and said that it was probably true. But Zelda and Haru both liked the General, so Cecelia decided she liked him, too, even if he was cocky.
They had all just graduated, the first graduating class from the Academy, and were here to relax, supposedly. They didn’t do much relaxing, but they always looked like they were having fun. Aunt Zelda seemed sad sometimes, though, Cecelia noticed. She supposed it was because Li wasn’t here. He’d wanted to be, but he was training to take over the Yakuza, which had only a few years ago been united, all of the factions becoming one. Cecelia had been young, then, but she supposed it was a big deal. Li was moving back and forth between Hong Kong and Kyoto, Zelda said to seal the alliance between the Yakuza and Triad, and build strong bonds between all of the leaders. Cecelia never really understood it.
Her grandmother and Rhayvin weren’t here. With all of the kids here, they’d decided to go traveling together. Her dad said that they used to travel all of the time together before Zelda was born, over twenty-five years ago, before her dad even met her mom. They sent them postcards once a week from all of the places they’d been. Cecelia swore they didn’t stay in the same city for more than a night, and her father said that’s just how they liked it. Cecelia didn’t understand that, either.
Her grandfather and great uncle were here, though. Grandmother had decided she didn’t want to bring them traveling, and didn’t like the idea of them at the house in Kyoto by themselves, so they came to South America with the rest of them. Her great uncle, Zelda’s father, seemed to be enjoying himself, and spent a great deal of time with Zelda during the day, helping her keep her debating skills in tune and her wit sharp. Her grandfather, however, never stopped complaining, except to play pranks. It drove her father crazy and usually scared the natives. Most of the scientists were from the Academy, though, and were used to the mischief. Cecelia thought it was pretty funny, though felt sorry for her father sometimes when he had to clean up the various messes and straighten out the misunderstandings.
Yesterday had been a special day there at the excavation, though it had nothing to do with the project. In fact, the project had been put on hold all day, so everyone could enjoy the celebration of Cecelia’s sixteenth birthday. She’d gotten all sorts of presents from everyone; jewelry from Nami, one of the native women who did the laundry; a different book from each of the scientists on their own field, since she’d taken such an interest in everything they did; beads and a hand-woven hair wrap from the daughters of two of the native diggers. Her grandmother and Rhayvin had even sent her a big box filled with knick-knacks and little things from their travels. But the best present had come from her father. He’d waited until last to give her his present, a small wooden box that had held oranges when it first came to the site. When she opened it, she didn’t find oranges. Instead, there was a headlamp and one of the digital cameras being used to document the dig. He’d laughed at her dumbfounded expression and explained that a passage had been opened up down into the temple they were excavating.
It was a narrow passage that led steeply down into the ground to one of the lower chambers. They’d already sent a robot down to make sure the way was stable and the air safe to breathe, as well as to take preliminary pictures. Now, they needed someone to go down and see if there was anything worth digging down for. “Think you’re up for it?” he’d asked; as if he’d needed to. She’d accepted without hesitation and gave him the biggest hug she’d ever given in her life, which made him blush with pride.
She only wished her mom were here, too, but she was back in Kyoto, accompanying Li and helping Eiji. She wasn’t due to come see them until the end of next week. But she got to talk to her on the phone every night, and last night she’d talked to her for an exceptionally long time. Even if she didn’t understand the work her mother was doing, she knew her mother was doing something important, and that was enough to make her content to wait.