The sun was already half covered by the horizon and the sky and clouds were orange and purple.

Everybody was gathered before the tree where Mara and Tov met to decide about the fate of the dark eyes girl and me.

I found out her name, Emunah. She was staring badly at me and I could feel her anger towards me as if I could touch it.

At the same time, John was still calming Ashley that was very worried about me.

At first I liked how things were done in that place, but now that two men of our group died, I couldn't stand the situation and completely do nothing about it.

Suddenly Tov and Mara came out of the hut and she started speaking:

"Here in this place, whenever a fight is brought up, we must settle the argument and the two people in war against each other must create a stronger bond by overcoming a challenge. The decision we made is exile: you are not welcomed here until you learn from each other and respect your culture and your way of thinking. During this exile you must learn to cooperate and if you still want to have a place here you must reach the origin of the stream on top of the mountain and bring back three feathers of the eagles who make their nest there. Your departure will be at sunrise tomorrow morning."

I saw Emunah containing her wrath and going away followed by the people wearing red bandanas.

John glanced at me and breathed deeply while Ashley simply hugged me and whispered.

"I don't want to lose you too. Please don't go, ask them to set you free from this challenge, let's go home"

"You know I can't" I answered back.

"It doesn't work like this. I promise you I'll do my best to come back safe and sound. Whatever  happens is for the best of the tribe. I understand now that their way of thinking is much wider than the one we have. This is not about me but it is about the risk that there will be other fights and separations"

"You don't have to go, we are not even part of this place" she said with fear in her eyes.

"Don't worry" I replied. "Nothing will happen to me as long as I follow their teachings. I take the responsibility and I will make it right,  I need to leave. Tov and Mara won't allow another death. My silly way of reacting over inevitable events deserve this challenge"

Fires were lighted up for Luke and Koach and chants were sang a second time. People were walking around the camp in circles throwing petals and flowers around the flames.

We spent the evening without talking and staring at each other faces. We didn't eat much and we went to our shelter to sleep exhausted by the day we just overcame.

The next morning I woke up early and I went to the nearest stream of water to refresh and clean myself before the departure.

Ashley and John escorted me to the end of the village where everybody was waiting for me. Emunah looked at me with a fierce glance, then her dark eyes went in Mara' s direction.

She came toward us carrying jackets made of skin and fur.

"You'll be needing these. It's going to be very cold where you are headed" She said as we were wearing them.

"Here there are three objects but you can chose only two for your journey, pick wisely.

Tov wanted you to have this too" she said handing a satchel made of skin. Emunah opened it but there was nothing inside. We walked in front of three objects and surprisingly we saw that they were a string, two rocks and a dioxide knife. Mara made me choose first and after thinking for some seconds I took the string that could have be useful for fishing. Emunah came closer to the two remaining objects and I was sure she would have chosen the knife but she picked the two stones. I glanced at her surprised and for the first time I saw her smiling at me in an ironic way.

"You still know nothing" she whispered.

Mara gave us her last goodbye, I turned and waved to John and Ashley. They waved back and then they disappeared in the crowd of hands and heads moving like the sea when it meets the wind.

I started walking by Emunah's side, who remained silent as we put more and more distance between us and the village.

I had time to study her and I noticed that her complexion was darker than mine like the rest of the people there, that were used to stay under the sun all day long.

She walked like a cat, always putting her feet in the best position, avoiding sharp rocks or other objects on the ground. She was so silent  that it seemed she was not even there. She wore the same clothes as Ashley, but her arms were filled up with wooden on bone bracelets. Like Uram, she carried a necklace with a seashell hanging from it.

After a while I decided to talk.

"Do you know where we are headed and how to reach the eagle nest?"

She glanced at me very scornfully and replied "Don't talk, just walk"

I followed her order until she decided to stop under a giant tree.

"Tomorrow we will reach the end of the forest, but now we stop here for the night. Look for some wood while I check if this tree is safe."

Before I could even reply, she jumped on the lowest branch over our heads and started climbing.

When I made it back with the wood, she had already collected some fruits and berries from around the tree.

"This will be our dinner" she said taking out the two stones she had picked earlier. She pressed them together and after some sparks that came out from the friction between them, she lit a fire in no time. In that moment I understood how clever she had been. Those were not regular stones!

I felt scared because my life was in the hands of a girl I didn't even know and we needed to survive to the jungle's violence and who knows what danger. On the other hand I felt courageous because I went where I thought my limits stood , but it was all in my mind. We ate silently and after we warmed up close to the fire, she climbed up to the tree above our heads.

I followed her example and we lied down to the branches that were large enough to make us sleep comfortably.