Capítulo 7: Her Seventh Birthday
Months prior to her seventh birthday, Ibrahim started hunting for foxes with beautiful fur. He also built a kiln not far from their cabin where he kept himself busy throwing ores into the oven.
He discovered that the island is a vault of treasures. There are a lot of medicinal plants as well as rare and precious metals. He found gold nuggets on the shallow sandy river bed, amethyst crystals, and diamonds in one of the caves, and graphite and iron ores scattered all over the jungle. If only he could bring these treasures back to civilization, he will be the richest man in the world.
He thought for a long time about how to come up with a tiara for Amaya. He didn't have any idea how to make jewelry but based on theory and instinct he created a mold from clay then pour over the molten gold on the mold and placed the amethyst crystals and diamonds that he polished.
It took him three attempts before he finally created a beautiful tiara worthy of her little princess. He then worked on Amaya's dress. The inner garment was made from an orange anaconda skin that consisted of a tube and a skirt fastened by hemp fiber. He made a matching pair of boots from the same snakeskin. Finally, he made her a cloak from the fox skins.
In two weeks, Amaya will turn seven. They were trapped on the island for about five years now. In those years, not a single shadow of an airplane passed through the sky nor has he sighted ships sailing the seas so he has given up the possibility of being rescued.
When his wristwatch stopped functioning two years ago, he continued tracking the dates by using an improvised calendar. He made forty wooden blocks and curved out the numbers from zero to nine. He made another twelve wooden blocks and curve out the months of the year. He taught Amaya the numbers in each month and tasked her to adjust the block of numbers every day and changed the months when it was time so they tracked the dates.
Another two weeks passed and it was Amaya's seventh birthday. Ibrahim decorated their dining area with lots of wildflowers. He and Amaya cooked a lot of food and gathered lots of bananas and wild berries. He created improvised candles from dried wooden twigs and propped them on the flesh of a wild watermelon which he cut into the shape of a cake.
Amaya wore her new dress and Ibrahim put on her tiara. He has painstakingly engraved the words '7th Birthday of Princess Amaya Rocas, daughter of Ibrahim and Danaya' on the lower band of the tiara which was made from pure gold.
"My daughter is the prettiest in the world. Happy birthday my dearest." He hugged her tightly and kissed her on the cheeks. He sang a birthday song and at the end he let her make a wish and blow out the candles. Her guests were a tiger, a wolf, and an ape. There were a dozen more apes crowding and two wolf pups in the dining area.
Amaya threw bunches of bananas to the apes and raw meat to the tiger and the wolves. She then enjoyed the feast that was laid out on their small table with her father.
Ibrahim studied her beautiful daughter committing everything in his memory. He will encapsulate this memorable event in a painting.
"Thank you for the beautiful dress and tiara, Daddy. I looked like a real princess." She curtsied and turned around happily. Ibrahim held her by the waist and spun her around for some time before letting her down.
"But you are a real princess Amaya. You are the princess of Lireya. Always remember that." Ibrahim said solemnly as he ruffled her hair.
After lunch, Amaya left with her friends and entered the forest.
"Don't forget to bring your bow and your quiver," Ibrahim shouted at the disappearing figure.
"It is too cumbersome Daddy. Don't worry, I will be fine." Amaya shouted back.
Ibrahim sighed. Her daughter already has a mind of her own and so he just let her be. While the forest was a dangerous place, Amaya seemed to have adapted so well and her pet animals were there to protect her. He had also trained her in different types of martial arts and hand-to-hand combat and taught her how to use spears, bows, and arrows.
He took out a sheet of paper that was pressed between two flat blocks of wood. It was 12 inches by 14 inches. A few months ago he attempted to create paper from the reeds that grew along the river bank in the forest. He made a lot of mistakes until he finally succeeded.
He made a mortar by making a depression out of rock. He cut the stalks of the reeds, boiled them, and then beat them into a pulp. He added a small amount of the sap from a rubber tree and sandwiched the pulp into two pieces of flattened wood.
He was pleased by the paper quality that he took from the wood press. It was not as smooth as the commercial paper in Lireya but he can still use it for drawing.
He started sketching the image of Amaya in her dress and tiara. Then he added her pet animals and the flowers in the background. He completed the sketch before sundown. He regarded his work and his lips curled into a smile. The last time he draw was back in college when he painted a portrait of Danaya for her eighteenth birthday.
He hid the drawing. He will show that to Amaya once he completed applying colors.
Amaya was back before darkness descended on the island. After dinner, Amaya and Ibrahim strolled on the sandy shore. They found their favorite spot and lay down to gaze at the stars.
"Daddy, look! Mom's star is brighter today." Amaya exclaimed excitedly.
"Yes. Mommy is happy because it's your seventh birthday." Ibrahim said gently.
"Mommy, Daddy has made me a beautiful dress today. I also have a beautiful tiara Mommy and I felt like I am a real princess." Amaya's voice was loud and clear.
"Silly girl, I told you that you are a real princess. Your Grandpa is the King of Lireya, and I your father a prince and that makes you a princess!"
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