Let me tell you about the time I was supposed to be on my vacation but ended up trekking three days through the humid, stinking, bug-infested jungles of Borneo. It all started with a girl named Evie and a rather valuable family heirloom that had gotten itself lost sometime ten years ago. Normally a prize like that would have me jumping in my boots, what with my enthusiasm for seeking rare goods, but this time I was reluctant to take the job; but my partner, as always, had a different idea entirely.
When people enquire as to what it is we actually do, I briefly explain that our work rests somewhere on the fine line between odd jobs and treasure hunting. Of course, it wasn’t always like that; this whole mess started out as a fundraiser for a children’s hospital in Western Australia. So yes, you can blame Evie, my co-worker and oldest friend, fellow adventure seeker and probably the reason I have arachnophobia – after an unsavoury incident with a King Baboon Spider in East Africa… but I digress.
Evie was, and still is, a free spirit, a ‘live life on the edge’ kind of girl. The initial fundraiser was her idea; she raised a thousand dollars and then abseiled from a one-hundred and forty meter building while I watched smiling – and a little jealous – from the sweet stability of solid ground. Then Evie started doing other stuff, ordinary jobs for ordinary folk like you and I – well, maybe not me, but you get the idea. I joined in the charade because I liked the idea of being my own man, we had an opportunity to travel the world and conquer it… and the pay was incredible!
One could say that our motives were at opposite ends of the spectrum; Evie was never in it for herself, she never kept her half of the pay, and some of the stunts she pulled were just a way of reminding herself that she was free and alive. As for me, well, I remained morally ambiguous. She was the adventure seeker and I was the treasure hunter, and yes, there’s a difference.
After seven years on the job we had earned ourselves a lovely vacation, and it turned out Evie’s uncle owned a seaside resort in Borneo. This is how the fun began. The day was pristine and I was sitting by the pool with a glass of lemonade in my hand. The sun was beating down on me without mercy and I loved it! I spent some time eyeing off three men playing poker by the bar with the thatched roof. I think the bar-maid had a thing for me too; she had deliciously gorgeous eyes and her skin was a dark shade of caramel. A game would be a lovely way to show off.
But then I noticed Evie beside me with her business face on. She was playing with her new GPS and glossing over some crumpled old documents that I had never seen before. I threw my head back in disbelief. Evie’s swimsuit and straw-hat told me she was on holiday, but the way she bit her lower lip was a sure enough sign that she had taken another job. I, for one, would not stand for it. “The point of taking a vacation is to relax. Please tell me this isn’t another job!”
She ignored half of what I said and proceeded to hand me the files. “Mrs. Binsby is a friend of my uncle and this—” she pointed to a drawing of an old necklace, “—is a family heirloom she lost nearly ten years ago when she was exploring the ruins south of here with her husband.”
I hated the way she talked about these kinds of jobs, she always made them sound so appetising. “How far away are the ruins?” I asked, hating myself for being so intrigued.
“If we hitch a ride to the nearest town and then walk the old tourist track, about three days,” she said, and of course she made it out like it wasn’t a problem.
“Why wait until now? Why didn’t Mrs. Binsby just go and get the necklace herself, or pay someone to do it ten years ago?”
“Well, after a number of landslides the local villages deemed that area too dangerous for tourists, so no one’s been there for a while. I’d be surprised if the old path is even still there, let alone the necklace itself, but I promised Mrs. Binsby that I’d at least have a look.”
I thought about it for a moment. I did want to visit some of the old ruins while I was here, but this was something else. Still, hunting an old necklace in the jungles of Borneo; even for us this was an especially juicy case, and I bet that piece of jewellery was valuable if Mrs. Binsby wanted it back so bad. But then I glanced at the pool and the poker table, and of course the lovely lady behind the bar. I returned the documents to Evie and saw her try to hide that scowling expression. I said to her, “We worked hard to earn this vacation. How about I buy you a drink and we go and play poker for a while?”
Evie was always hard to sway. Two and a half days later I found myself standing at the top of a steep ravine in the thick of the jungle. We picked a terrible time to set out, the air was hot and sticky, and thick with that earthly jungle smell, accompanied by a constant song of birds and bugs, always chirping. I wish spiders could make more noise; when I discovered one creeping stealthily across my shoulder I almost slipped and fell into the ravine. At last I could see why no one came here anymore. The ancient ruins were strewn out before us, but now they were nothing more than a bunch of oddly shaped rocks, devoured by the jungle. The earth there had been all churned up and layered with moss and undergrowth; if not for the single remaining pillar – some great and forgotten monolith – we might have missed the ruins all together.
We roped down to the bottom of the ravine and stopped for a moment to look around. I’ll admit I was in awe; was I even on Earth anymore? This place was almost magical, so still and serene, and shrouded in mystery. What secrets had been swallowed up here, other than an old family heirloom?
Evie stepped up beside me with her adventure face on. She checked her precious GPS again and nodded, “This is definitely the place. See, this isn’t so bad.” She smiled and slapped me on the shoulder. Damn, that mood was infectious. “Oh, don’t act like you’re not having fun!” she said.
We agreed to split up and search the ruins. I didn’t really know what I was expecting to see, anything out of the ordinary I guess. It came to a stage where I was on my hands and knees flipping rocks over when at last I found this weathered old gold-plated box. Bingo! I opened it up to have a look. The thing was prettier than I expected, but then I held it into the sunlight. I was shocked! The emeralds drank in the colour of the jungle with glossy perfection and diamonds glistened in the sun. Mrs. Binsby lost this in the jungle? It must be worth a fortune! Ten times more than what we’re being paid!
I’m not ashamed to say that I thought about keeping it for myself. Sure I’d be cheating Mr. Binsby, not to mention Evie, but I couldn’t deny the primal urge to just slip it in my jacket pocket and act like I never found it at all. I was going to do it, but then I heard her voice. “You found it! I can’t believe it. Here, let me see.” I let her examine it for a while. “Aw, one of the gems is missing. Oh well, we have it and that’s what matters.”
We returned to the resort, and I felt some sense of relief that Evie had caught me just in time, but as I slipped the very expensive necklace into her hands, with the one gem still missing, I knew it wasn’t enough. I loved Evie like a sister, and she knew that despite the act, beneath my mask of selfishness, my slight disregard for others and my love of forgotten valuables, I wasn’t really that kind of person. She slipped me a sly smile and said, “You know, I’m surprised you didn’t think about keeping it for yourself, this necklace looks pretty valuable.”
She turned away from me and was heading over to deliver our treasure to Mrs. Binsby. I opened my hand and stared longingly into the jewel I had stolen. She knew – of course she knew! Damn her. I turned around and ran to catch up. “Hey Evie, wait for me!”
ns 172.70.131.114da2