After a frustratingly large amount of failed attempts filled with exasperated hand gestures from me and confused facial expressions from him, the hanuk and I finally found a way to communicate.
If he leaned down practically on top of me, he could just barely hear me.
Unfortunately, the conversation, while friendly, was singularly unproductive.
As the hanuk Jake waved to me and left the room, I reviewed our conversation in my mind. It boiled down to two important points.
Jake was friendly, helpful, and sincere about bringing me anything I might want or need.
He thought I was his pet, and he was never going to let me leave voluntarily.
My only option was escape. That night, I sat down on the soft cushion he’d given me and started making plans.