"I want you to stay away from Ami."

"Huh?" Bryan stopped what he was doing -- securing the tent's guy ropes to the stakes -- and looked at his companion. "What's that, Buddy?"

Tama looked very serious. "Stay away from Ami."

Bryan nearly laughed, then thought better of it. "But why?"

"I don't like it."

"You're jealous."

Tama did not answer and instead, looked away. Bryan shrugged and continued about his business. "You wanna help me, man? I could do with some."

Reluctantly, Tama rose. "What do you need me to do?"

"You can drive the stakes into the ground. Use your foot, like this." Bryan showed him. "Okay?"

"Mmm..."

Bryan inspected the result. "Not bad. Maybe you're into camping after all."

"Mmm..."

"Listen, Ami is a grown-up woman. We should let her decide what's best for her. You want her to be happy, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Great. Look, it's not my choice to take her away from you -- if that's what happens." Bryan added with a mischievous smile, "Besides, we men are used to healthy competitions for a girl's attention, are we not?"

"Whatever."

"Now, come on, we have this summer camping trip to enjoy. Let's make the best out of it, shall we?"

As they worked to secure the tent, Bryan kept chatting away amiably and Tama kept giving one-word answers. Bryan tried not to think about it too much. He knew how Tama was feeling, yet, there was little he could do -- he cared about Ami a lot, more than Tama would have known .

Tama had another idea. That night, he decided to kill Bryan -- his competition. And what better place to do it than in a deserted camping area such as this? For all Tama knew, they could be there illegally, anyway. When you did something illegal, accidents were bound to happen; that was what his father had always told him.

Tama loved his father so much. He wanted to take Ami to visit the man. Unfortunately, Ami always seemed opposed to the proposal. Tama had no clear idea why.

Tomorrow, Tama thought, he would make sure that one accident did happen.

***

Morning broke and Bryan shook Tama awake. "Come on, Big Guy, time to do some fishing."

Tama was about to say something mean, then he remembered his plan for the day. He said instead, "Great! I can't wait."

Bryan tried to detect any trace of sarcasm in Tama's voice, but could not find any. He cheered up. This whole camping idea might work after all. "That's good. Neither can I. We're bad news to all those fish, man."

Bryan led his partner to a creek about a kilometer away. It was an ideal place to fish, he told Tama. It was not far from the main river, so the water was considerably warmer and the current was not too strong just yet. "Fish like it here."

Yeah, whatever, Tama thought. But to his surprise, he actually started to enjoy the activity. They managed to catch several fish in a fairly short time and were both genuinely excited.

"Fun, huh?" Bryan remarked.

Tama nodded enthusiastically. "I kinda like it. Never done this before."

Bryan smiled. "You city boy. You should go outdoor sometimes. Trekking, fishing, canoeing. All good fun."

His companion looked him over. You don't look much an outdoor type yourself, Tama thought, observing Bryan's fair skin and neatly tucked-in t-shirt. An outdoor type could smell danger from kilometers away, Tama recalled the Native American stories he had read. He smiled.

"Yes, I'm having a great time myself," said Bryan, mistaking the smile for excitement. Tama's smile grew wider.

"Can we canoe there?" he asked, pointing at the river's direction.

Bryan thought about it. "I think so. Although, from what I heard, the current is very, very strong down there. We can have a look later if you want."

An hour later, backpacks on their backs and results of their productive fishing expedition safe in a plastic container in Bryan's hand, they did. The current was indeed very strong. Bryan shook his head, "No way I'm canoeing there, man. I'll leave that to the pros."

They were standing on a cliff's edge. About six meters below them, the river ran wild, swallowing big rocks standing in its way and making impressive noises.

"Hey, look!" Bryan had to shout to be heard over the river. "Is that a waterfall over there?" He narrowed his eyes. "I think it is, wow!"

Tama was getting very excited himself, for a different reason. Very few people survived a waterfall drop, he had read. "Can we get closer to the waterfall? I want to see it."

Bryan hesitated. "I don't know, man. It's not very safe..."

At Tama's insistance, they did, anyway. It was roughly a 10- to 15-meter drop. "Wow!" said Bryan, clearly awed.

It's now or never, Tama told himself. He took a step back, then ran straight into Bryan, hitting the unexpecting man on his back.

"Hey!" Bryan dropped the plastic container and struggled to keep his balance. He had stood about two meters from the edge. Tama wasted no time and crashed into his camping partner once again, putting all his weight into the push.

"What the hell, man?!" Bryan's skinny frame was now barely centimeters away from a free fall. Tama swung his backpack with all his might, hitting Bryan on his shoulder. He tried to grab the backpack unsuccessfully and staggered backward.

Over the edge and into the river six meters below.

Tama ran to the edge and watched his rival for Ami's attention disappear into the angry river. Tama barely made the man's body as it went headfirst toward the waterfall. Seconds later, it was completely gone.

Did he scream? Tama wondered. He did not hear anything amidst the river's and waterfall's mighty sounds. Not that it mattered a bit. And no longer did Bryan.

Tama now had Ami for himself.

***

The police officers -- two of them -- questioned him.

"So he was your friend?" asked the female officer. Tama nodded.

"And both of you were here on a camping trip?" Another nod.

"Did you know that it was illegal to camp here?" the male officer now. "No," Tama replied. "I don't know any of this stuff. Bryan's the outdoor type."

They did not ask him to identify Bryan's body, having been recovered nearly a kilometer downstream. Tama had steeled himself to come face-to-face with his victim again. Still, it was a relief that he did not have to.

But the questions kept coming. Tama braced himself. They could not possibly question him all day. Just be confident yet appear shaken. He could pull this off.

"How did you come here?" In Bryan's car.

"Only two of you?" Yes.

"Did Bryan appear sick?" Don't know.

"When did you arrive?" Yesterday afternoon.

"Where do you live?" In the nearby city.

"Who lives with you?" Only my mother.

"And Bryan?" Also in the city.

"Anyone lives with him?" Don't know.

Finally... "All right, we'll send you home now. You sure you're okay?" Yes, I am.

The female officer smiled encouragingly. "Sorry about your friend."

Her partner looked Tama over, as if deciding whether he should believe this witness.

Shoot, Tama thought, is he suspecting anything? Tama kept his best innocent, sad look on.

The policeman at last patted Tama's arm. "Sorry about the accident."

Tama nodded. "Accidents happen," he said bravely.

***

"Ami," Tama called. They were sitting on the sofa. He adjusted his position to put his head onto her lap.

"Yes?" the woman absentmindedly stroked his forehead. Her mind was clearly elsewhere.

"Love you."

"Love you, too, Dear."

Tama looked at Ami's face closely. "You're thinking about Bryan," he said accusingly.

"Of course I am. Such a tragic death. And he was so kind to take you on the trip." Ami was close to tears.

Tama sulked and looked away. "Why don't you forget about him. You have me!"

His tone surprised her. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Dear. Did I tell you how proud I was of you? It must have been very shocking and stressful to you, what happened. Yet, you were so strong and took the whole thing with a lot of courage." She added, "Like a man."

Tama sat straight. "Of course! I'm almost ten. I can take care of you, Ami." He stood up.

As she was watching her only child make his way to the kitchen, she could not help but feel the pride once again. He was such a wonderful son. At times she felt he was overprotective of her, but she understood and appreciated the good intentions.

The woman sighed. It was not easy being a single mom, after the divorce. She had since tried starting new relationships, but it was so unfortunate that the last two -- three now -- had ended in fatal accidents. Maybe it wasn't to be, she thought.

Her boy emerged from the kitchen with two glasses of water. He passed one to her. She thanked him with a smile and reflected that, after all, things could not be that bad.

Not when she had her Tama to protect her.

[Permission to borrow your name, Bro.]

Current music: SOband - Bintang Terang
Current mood: happy