Sal's POV
Sal happily clung to the tree, his face beaming with a smile as his eyes glittered.
The sun, a red fiery ball lighting the sky up, finally dimmed as the usual hour came along at last. The dark, peeking in the corner, waiting for the sun to finally leave, creeped up slowly, devouring the light of the sky.
Perhaps it's the way the sloths are designed, perhaps it's the angle and light hitting Sal's face in a special way, but it seems as Sal changed.
Drastically.
Every single day, Sal's eyes brim with eagerness threatening to pour out. His smile covered half of his face, making Sal's aura much more amicable than previously.
His body no longer languidly slump on the tree, his mouth instinctively opening and closing, smacking his firm lips to eat. Now, as the clock ticks closer and closer to sunset, he tenses up, leaning towards a direction with enthusiasm, his mouth smacking on delicious food, savoring every bite.
The normal dullness of life, the cycle of perpetual act of mechanically eating or sleeping, the strange emptiness of the bustling and growing rainforest no longer seemed so…meaningless.
Because…
A flash of bright green, the color of fresh sprouting leaves, jumped in front of Sal. The streaks of blue and yellow dazzled in what little remained of the sun's beams. And the eyes…
A pair of striking yet beautiful eyes, red and bright like juicy fruits, glowing with such a strange lure that it sent Sal into a peaceful and serene mood immediately.
"Hello Sal," the beautiful and tiny creature greeted, "Good night."
"Yeah, good night Rosa!"
With an energetic reply, Sal's smile widened even more, his cheeks squeezed so tightly they became sore, but Sal could care less.
"So Rosa, how are you today?"
"I am good, how are you?"
"Well, just the usual! Eating and sleeping, living day by day in this rainforest. In fact," Sal remarked, "Today's food is pretty good! The leaves lately taste really fresh and flavorful."
"What exactly do you eat, Sal?" Rosa asked, her curiosity once again roused.
"Well the usual. I typically only eat leaves. Round or narrow, thick or thin, big or small, as long as it's a leaf, I eat it!"
"I even managed to find a cacao pod! It was my lucky day!" Sal exclaimed in delight, saliva dripping on the corner of his lips as he closed his eyes to reminisce the taste.
"Hmm, you must really like cacao pods," Rosa chuckled.
"Absolutely!"
"Cacao pods have such a different texture than leaves. They're really juicy and fleshy inside, especially when they're yellowish-green on the outside rough skin, they're a burst of flavor in my mouth!"
"They taste really leafy and green. I can't describe it well, but let's just say they taste really deep like I breathed in a lot of flowery and newly greening trees after a light rain. And then, there's these hints of earth, like dirt but better."
"Dirt but better?" Rosa asked, her face blossomed into a smile.
"Yeah, dirt but better! Like if dirt tasted good. Yeah, yeah, the cacao pods taste green and earthy!"
"Alright, I will take your word," Rosa nodded her head from Sal's totally-professional food critic review, "Cacao pods taste amazing."
"You betcha!" Sal crossed his arms in total confidence, "There's nothing better than cacao pods!"
Just as he said his final word, a quiet "Whoosh" passed them, the air seemed to curl and transform into a small gust.
A strange occurrence for the night.
Like a bucket of ice water poured over Sal's body, Sal froze on the spot, the smile dissolved from his face, leaving behind a pair of frantic eyes glancing up and around in a panic. Clutching the tree harshly, his claws seem to want to dig into the thick bark of the tree.
As quickly as a sloth could, Sal mustered all the strength in his body to climb down the tree, the starry night sky slowly got patched up by the leaves brushing past Sal's face, the foliage covering and hiding Sal.
Shrinking down, Sal darted his eyes back and forth restlessly.
"Sal?"
"Ssssh…Please Rosa!" Sal whispered urgently, begging between his quickening breaths.
Rosa frowned.
Cautiously hopping up the tree, the night sky became more and more apparent as the leaves on top of her head became less and less.
Perched on a small branch, Rosa twisted her head around, her bizarre red eyes surveyed the area carefully, scanning for irregularities.
Noticing nothing amiss, Rosa's frown deepened.
Hopping down, Rosa went to find Sal.
To find…nothing.
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Rosa's POV
-Where is Sal?-
Her forehead furrowed in concern as she narrowed her eyes, her eyes searching for a large, furry animal.
Still…nothing.
Swiveling her head left and right, Rosa still couldn't find anyone.
Beside insects chirping and buzzing in the dense foliage, there wasn't a sloth in sight.
Rosa felt her heart thumping harder than before, her blood rushing in her veins.
Shaking her head in confusion, Rosa inspected extremely attentively, scrutinizing any detail, any clue to lead her to Sal.
…Nothing.
Rosa's face twisted.
-This is so strange, where is he?-
-Where is Sal?-
Her heart thumped harder, faster.
Beating, pulsating.
-What am I feeling?-
Noticing the abnormality in her body, Rosa narrowed her eyes.
-That is beside the point.-
-I need to find Sal and stop wasting time.-
-I have to find him.-
-Now!-
With a large croak, Rosa started to shout in the empty rainforest.
"Sal!"
"Where are you Sal?"
"..."
With no response, Rosa croaked in frustration.
With a great leap, Rosa leaped throughout the forest, croaking Sal's name.
Her heart was hammering as she leaped, her voice echoed with urgency.