—"¡Oho péicha, eju! (She went this way, come on!)"
—"¡Ndojegueroviapái, ipya'eterei! Mba'eichagua mono piko ikatu omýi peichagua reheve? (Unbelievable, she's so fast! What kind of monkey can move with such agility?)"
—"Ha'e ndaha'éi oimeraêva mono añónte. ¡Ha'e Q'oya Yuraka'i, upévare! ¡Ñaĝuahêvo hendápe, pe espíritu ome'êta ñandéve ijehovasa! (She's not just any monkey. She is the queen of the monkeys, that's why! When we reach her, the spirit will give us her blessing!)"
—"Reime seguro upévare, che ryvy? (Are you sure about that, brother?)"
"Katuete. Péicha he'i chamán ko pyharevépe. ¡Ani repyta tapykuépe! ¡Eñani! (Of course. That's what the shaman said this morning. Don't be left behind! Run!)"
—"Oĩ porã, ere ramo upéicha... (Alright, if you say so...)"
A pair of inexperienced young natives ran past through the jungle, chasing a shadow. A mere rumor. Motivated by blind faith and a belief that would bring glory to them and their entire tribe. All they had to do was catch it first so they could take it back to their village and experience the miracle.
Suddenly, one of them stopped abruptly his march. His partner couldn't avoid colliding with his back. The reason: there was no more road to walk. A dead end. In front of them, there was only a huge mud pit in which two peculiar animals were resting. A mother hippopotamus and her infant. No other sign or trace of the deity they were after.
—"¿Mba'e? Ha katu... aime kuri ahecha hague pe espíritu ogueraha ko tape... (What? But... I was sure I saw the spirit take this path...)"
—"Ikatu rentende vai, che ryvy. Ndaipóri mba'eve ko'ápe ndaha'éirõ yvyku'i. ¡Eñangareko, ani re'a pe yvykua guýpe! (Maybe you got it wrong, brother. There's nothing here but mud. Be careful, don't fall into down the pit!)"
—"Ikatu... ikatu oho ambue gotyo. ¡Jajevy pe tape jaju haguépe! (Perhaps... perhaps she went the other way. Let's go back the way we came!)"
—¡Oñemoĩ! (Agreed!)"
Both boys turned around and walked away from that place. To their misfortune, they didn't realize that the spirit had hidden from them in plain sight. An experienced tracker would have noticed immediately. On the back of the little hippo, a nude girl remained perched, covered in mud from head to toe, not moving a single muscle. Only her azure eyes and those of the little one were visible in the black pool.
Y'shaati had already met Tamii months ago when she helped him hide from a curious human explorer from the outside world. Since that day, the monkey queen and these hippos have become good friends whom she often seeks out when she is in the mood to cool off on the hottest days of the season. But now that he has grown bigger, this time it was Tamii and his mother who returned the favor. A tender way of showing their strong bond of friendship.
