02/26/2015
Excerpt from Missing Mothers: After retrieving her backpack from the pile at the rear of the van, proud to have packed so lightly, Nina made her way through the jungle toward the office to sign in. The short walk took her breath away and filled her with warmth that competed with the heat of the humid air. Into the green she walked. What she saw, felt, and heard amazed her and saturated her senses. The colors of the jungle were so vivid, that when Nina turned her gaze upon them, she felt as if she was soaking in the healing hues. There were stories to be told in those plants, stories of immigrants, wars, continents coming together, and the evolution of thousands of plants and species. The vibrant green in all its shades and blushes was a backdrop to the bright, colorful flora and fauna that blended in at times and stood out like jewels at others.
To Nina, it felt like a vast city of green with splashes of paint. Canopy trees created the roofs of the city. Shrubs, smaller trees, vines, and thorns formed the smaller houses and buildings. Seeds were taking sprout; flowers were blooming into a rainbow of colors, portraying an overabundance of life. It felt as if she was stealing a glimpse into ancient times—the rich coast was a survivor of the primeval jungles of ages past when thick evergreen forests clothed much of the world’s warm, humid surface. For a moment, she felt transported back 140 million years to the age of dinosaurs, as she was surrounded by one of the densest and richest proliferations of plants ever known. She remembered reading that Costa Rica alone had as many plant species as the whole of Europe.
Looking around her, Nina knew that the only challenge to survival in the favorable environment was the intense competition for the sun under the dark umbrella of the forests trees. The earthen floors were swathed in shadow, as very little sunlight actually man- aged to pe*****te the canopy, creating streets and pathways for the green city that were relatively bare. The vegetation was sparse at that level, making the going easier for small animals as well as hu- mans. The intensity of the jungle was mind boggling and Nina also knew that uncountable insects dwelled there.
It was enough to make any person’s skin crawl just thinking about, let alone hearing and feeling, the millions of tiny creatures sharing the space, but Nina didn’t mind. She had been forced to get along with her buzzing and creepy-crawling neighbors the last time she visited Puerto Viejo, when she had stayed in a tree house without windows. Finally, getting tired of sleeping completely tucked under a sheet, head to toe, and feeling not only ridiculous but claus- trophobic, she had conceded the victory to the noisy night travelers and had fallen asleep, hoping that they had no interest in her sweaty human skin.
Nina stopped for a moment and breathed in the misty, sweet air, and she noticed a blue Morpho butterfly float by. She became still and quiet, and pieces of the backdrop seemed to come alive, flashing bright signs. She saw beetles, a scarlet macaw, and a bright green tree frog before it hid next to a leaf, curled up and completely camouflaged, and she caught a glimpse of the quick movement of a lithe monkey high above her, enjoying his jungle gym. A limb of a tree awoke and slithered sensuously out of sight, coiling around a branch before once again being absorbed into the plant life background. Life piled upon life. Even the floor of the rainforest was alive with the decomposition agents—bacteria, mold, and insects breaking down the litter of the world around them, turning it once again to a rich, nutritious soil, feeding the city that grew around them. It was a magical light show with random beams of light decorating the shadowed earth and its green inhabitants.
