Follow Your Star by Jennifer Bohnet (best value ebook reader .TXT) 📗

adventure. Making her way towards the hut where the women were working at the far end of the village compound, she listened to the now familiar exotic chorus of birdsong from high in the surrounding trees.

She stopped to watch a crowd of yellow crowned Amazon parrots squawking and bickering over some spilled seeds whilst the village pig rooted in some undergrowth just yards away. The small monkey who’d taken her banana the very first day they’d arrived in the village ran towards her chattering excitedly, weaving in and out of her legs as she approached the hut.

Angela was busy sorting through a haphazard pile of muddy boots and dangerous looking machetes and smiled her welcome at Vanessa.

Standing in the entrance of the hut, Vanessa watched as several of the village women began sorting through the remains of the Brazil nut harvest. She was surprised by how few nuts there were.

‘We have to sell most of the harvest,’ Angela explained. ‘And this year was not very productive. I hope next year will be better but then the aviamento will have changed too.’ She shrugged. ‘We know already we will be paying a higher price before the next harvest.’

Vanessa looked at her questioningly. ‘Aviamento?’

‘It’s the system that provides these,’ Angela said, gesticulating towards the boots and machetes.

‘We get the stuff necessary to do the harvesting on the understanding that this middle man will buy the nuts from us at a low price. He will sell them on and take any profit we should have had.’

‘That’s terrible. Can’t you sell the nuts direct?’

‘No. We need the equipment to gather them and don’t have the money to buy it.’

‘The government farm where you got the seedlings from – can’t they help?’

Angela shook her head. ‘In the past they talked about helping us to change the system but nothing happened. And now this foreign guy’s man from Rio has muscled in on the nuts as well as the dam.’ She glanced up. ‘Luigi thinks we’ll end up being forced to leave. We don’t need a lot of money to survive here but we do need land and food. Brazil nuts give us both our flour and oil.’

‘Is there enough there for the villagers until the next harvest?’ Vanessa asked.

Angela shrugged. ‘Depends on how well they keep. It’s difficult to stop them going mouldy in this humidity as we don’t have proper storage.’

There was a short silence as both women looked around, each lost in their own thoughts.

It was Vanessa who broke the silence. ‘Do you want a hand cleaning those machetes then? Or is there something else you want me to do?’

‘Be careful how you handle them,’ was all Angela said, as she handed her a piece of rag.

As she carefully cleaned the lethal tools, Vanessa couldn’t stop thinking about the problems the villagers faced. There had to be an answer.

Ambling back through the compound after the work was finished, Vanessa found Ralph waiting for her outside the large communal hut.

‘You don’t look very happy,’ he said, taking her hand as they walked towards their own hut.

Vanessa sighed. ‘I just feel so sad for this place. Everyone knows the rain forest is dying because of the way agriculture is taking over, but the people are dying too – if not physically, by being forced to move out of their villages. Give up their traditional way of life. Even Angela is talking of leaving.’

Ralph was silent as a frustrated Vanessa aimlessly scuffed up some earth with her foot.

‘I’m hoping my film will make people sit up and take notice. Do something about the problems,’ he said quietly.

‘I know you came to film the true story of the natives,’ she said squeezing his hand.

‘I just hope it isn’t too late and it just serves as archive material for the way it all was.’

There was a short pause before Vanessa deliberately changed the subject. ‘How are you feeling? It’s lovely to have you up and about again, but you mustn’t overdo it. I must ask Angela to show me how to make that ointment before we leave and take some home with us. The twins are always falling over getting bruises and.…’ She stopped in her tracks and pulled Ralph round to face her.

‘That’s it,’ she said excitedly.

‘What?’

‘I’ve thought of something we can do to help the villagers and preserve their way of life. We’ll help them form a cooperative to sell their natural remedies and their produce including the Brazil nuts. With a co-operative at least the villagers will be in control themselves and not some sleazy middle man.’

It was late in the afternoon of Nanette’s birthday and she and Patsy were out on the balcony of Mathieu’s apartment arranging a magnificent bouquet of flowers from Jean-Claude.

They’d spent the day mooching around Monaco old town and entertaining the twins before returning to the apartment. Mathieu had now taken Olivia and Pierre off swimming and the sisters were finally catching up on each other’s news.

‘These are beautiful flowers,’ Patsy said. ‘Jean-Claude must be really fond of you,’ she added with a sideways look at her sister.

‘It was so good of Bryan to treat you to this holiday,’ Nanette said, not rising to the bait. ‘Shame he couldn’t come with you.’

‘Wrong time of year for a farmer to take a holiday,’ Patsy said ruefully. ‘What with silage and haymaking, not to mention baby calves arriving. I’m sure Helen is enjoying looking after him though.’

‘Getting in practice for the new arrival?’ Nanette teased.

Patsy groaned. ‘Don’t. I’m really quite fond of her and I know she’s excited at becoming a grandmother, but she does have this tendency to try and take over.’ She glanced at Nanette. ‘You will still be able to come back and be with me when “the bump” makes its appearance? I’ll understand if you can’t though.’

‘I’m going to do my best,’ Nanette answered. ‘It all depends.’ She paused and concentrated on carefully pushing the last orchid into the arrangement. ‘I may end up bringing the twins with