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Description

The next few days passed in boredom, at least for me. With nothing to do all day, I chafed at the desire to run, or hunt, anything other than sitting around doing nothing. The others seemed perfectly content to laze the day away. Occasionally, a group of two-legs would walk past the enclosure. I would approach them, hoping for a chance to relive some of the excitement from the rescue center. But these two-legs not only looked different, they didn’t really seem all that excited to see me. This left me with a hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I spent the day walking the border of the enclosure. One reason was so that I could rebuild my strength. If I ever wanted to run again, I’d have to have the strength and mobility. The second reason was to stay warm. The chill in the air was strange after leaving the heat of an African dry season.

I think my pacing annoyed Shiba because she began to keep her distance from me. Not only that, she urged the same of Maddox and Vince, although it seemed to pain the latter. I didn’t care. I was on a mission and these captive-bred cheetah couldn’t help me. I ignored her scalding looks and went on with my day.

Feeding time came once a day and it didn’t take long for me to figure out where I stood in the pecking order. I didn’t like being fed. I was a hunter and I wanted to hunt. However, my choices were grim. I could either eat the strange meat they fed me or I could go hungry. The others didn’t seem to mind and crowded the entrance to claim their food. Being last, I was left with the least desirable portions.

At first, Francis came with the food to check on me. I ached for his presence because it was the only thing that was familiar. He would show me some affection and speak to me for several minutes, always promising me he’d find some way to get me home. Then he would once again leave me to my solitude. I think his visits further isolated me from Shiba and the others. They did not allow the two-legs to touch them. Because I did so, among everything else that made me different, Shiba did not see me as a cheetah at all. She would openly snub me and would not allow me to sleep near them. In fact, I couldn’t even get close to the shelter without her flashing her teeth at me.

So, I kept my distance. I found a spot on the farthest part of the enclosure where a large rock sat. It was a perfect spot for sunning and getting lost in my contemplations. It was one of these times I’d taken notice of my nearest neighbor. Normally, I wouldn’t have paid more than a moment’s notice to those around me but this creature had me both confused and curious.

It looked like nature had gotten something wrong, as though it were putting together a jigsaw puzzle but instead of putting the pieces in the right order, it had just given up and glued them in some haphazard way. It had small horns on its head, like the budding horns of a young antelope, except that they were covered in fur. Its face was long and narrow, like a giraffe, but its eyes were smaller and snout rounded. It had large ears and a long neck like an antelope.

While its back sloped slightly, it was not nearly as pronounced as that of a giraffe and its body was heavy and muscled like that of a horse. Its legs were also strong and stout, like a horse. Its tail, however, was anything but equine. It was similar to a giraffe with a small tuft of fur at the end. Stranger still, was the coloration of the animal. Most of its body was covered in a rich mahogany that shimmered in the sunlight. However, its legs and rump were covered in white stripes, like that of a zebra. While its legs resembled those of a horse, or a zebra, its feet were cloven and looked almost too small to support the animal’s weight.

As a young one approached the barrier between our enclosures, it lifted its head, sticking out its long tongue to reach the leaves of the tree in my enclosure. I stared, amazed and unable to look away. Eventually, my blatant stares were noticed. The young animal looked down at me, chewing a mouthful of leaves.

“Hello,” it said around its lunch.

“Hello,” I answered, not wanting to be rude.

“You must be new. I’ve never seen you before.”

“I just arrived a few moons ago.”

“I’m Nala. What’s your name?” he said, swallowing the leaves.

“Sahara. I don’t mean to be rude but my curiosity is killing me. What are you?”

Nala chuckled. “Curiosity killed the cat.” Noticing that I didn’t get the joke, he continued. “I’m an Okapi.”

“A what?” I asked, cocking my head to the side.

“An Okapi. My mom says we live deep in the forest where the sun rarely reaches the ground. I can’t imagine never seeing the sun! Mom also says it’s too quite here. She said, in the forest, there is always noise: monkeys, birds, and leopards. The forest is so dense, you never even see the animals. Even at night, the forest is alive with music. She has a hard time sleeping because it is so quite.”

“Have you never seen your home?”

“No. I was born here. Mom says we will probably never go home. I think it makes her sad.”

“Why can’t you go home?”

“Mom says there isn’t enough room. She was brought here because the two-legs cut down the trees in her forest. She had nowhere else to go.”

“I can’t go home, either,” I said, looking down at my leg stretched out next to me.

“Why? Is your home disappearing, too?”

“Yes. There is not enough room and too many two-legs. The lions have also taken control of what little land remains. They kill anything that poses a threat. It isn’t their fault, really. It’s just a need for survival.”

“Is that what happened to your leg?”

“I was too hungry to give up my meal without a fight. If it wasn’t for my brother, I probably wouldn’t have gotten away.”

“Well, it’s nice here. Plenty of food and it’s safe. I think you will like it.”

“Thanks,” I said, but I didn’t feel grateful. That kind of outlook could only be seen by someone who had never been free.

Nala’s mom called him away and, with a farewell shake of his head, he ambled over to her.

I watched them for a while later. Something familiar tingled the back of my mind, like maybe I had seen one of them before. After a while, I curled up on my rock and closed my eyes.

Description

The next few days passed in boredom, at least for me. With nothing to do all day, I chafed at the desire to run, or hunt, anything other than sitting around doing nothing. The others seemed perfectly content to laze the day away. Occasionally, a group of two-legs would walk past the enclosure. I would approach them, hoping for a chance to relive some of the excitement from the rescue center. But these two-legs not only looked different, they didn’t really seem all that excited to see me. This left me with a hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I spent the day walking the border of the enclosure. One reason was so that I could rebuild my strength. If I ever wanted to run again, I’d have to have the strength and mobility. The second reason was to stay warm. The chill in the air was strange after leaving the heat of an African dry season.

I think my pacing annoyed Shiba because she began to keep her distance from me. Not only that, she urged the same of Maddox and Vince, although it seemed to pain the latter. I didn’t care. I was on a mission and these captive-bred cheetah couldn’t help me. I ignored her scalding looks and went on with my day.

Feeding time came once a day and it didn’t take long for me to figure out where I stood in the pecking order. I didn’t like being fed. I was a hunter and I wanted to hunt. However, my choices were grim. I could either eat the strange meat they fed me or I could go hungry. The others didn’t seem to mind and crowded the entrance to claim their food. Being last, I was left with the least desirable portions.

At first, Francis came with the food to check on me. I ached for his presence because it was the only thing that was familiar. He would show me some affection and speak to me for several minutes, always promising me he’d find some way to get me home. Then he would once again leave me to my solitude. I think his visits further isolated me from Shiba and the others. They did not allow the two-legs to touch them. Because I did so, among everything else that made me different, Shiba did not see me as a cheetah at all. She would openly snub me and would not allow me to sleep near them. In fact, I couldn’t even get close to the shelter without her flashing her teeth at me.

So, I kept my distance. I found a spot on the farthest part of the enclosure where a large rock sat. It was a perfect spot for sunning and getting lost in my contemplations. It was one of these times I’d taken notice of my nearest neighbor. Normally, I wouldn’t have paid more than a moment’s notice to those around me but this creature had me both confused and curious.

It looked like nature had gotten something wrong, as though it were putting together a jigsaw puzzle but instead of putting the pieces in the right order, it had just given up and glued them in some haphazard way. It had small horns on its head, like the budding horns of a young antelope, except that they were covered in fur. Its face was long and narrow, like a giraffe, but its eyes were smaller and snout rounded. It had large ears and a long neck like an antelope.

While its back sloped slightly, it was not nearly as pronounced as that of a giraffe and its body was heavy and muscled like that of a horse. Its legs were also strong and stout, like a horse. Its tail, however, was anything but equine. It was similar to a giraffe with a small tuft of fur at the end. Stranger still, was the coloration of the animal. Most of its body was covered in a rich mahogany that shimmered in the sunlight. However, its legs and rump were covered in white stripes, like that of a zebra. While its legs resembled those of a horse, or a zebra, its feet were cloven and looked almost too small to support the animal’s weight.

As a young one approached the barrier between our enclosures, it lifted its head, sticking out its long tongue to reach the leaves of the tree in my enclosure. I stared, amazed and unable to look away. Eventually, my blatant stares were noticed. The young animal looked down at me, chewing a mouthful of leaves.

“Hello,” it said around its lunch.

“Hello,” I answered, not wanting to be rude.

“You must be new. I’ve never seen you before.”

“I just arrived a few moons ago.”

“I’m Nala. What’s your name?” he said, swallowing the leaves.

“Sahara. I don’t mean to be rude but my curiosity is killing me. What are you?”

Nala chuckled. “Curiosity killed the cat.” Noticing that I didn’t get the joke, he continued. “I’m an Okapi.”

“A what?” I asked, cocking my head to the side.

“An Okapi. My mom says we live deep in the forest where the sun rarely reaches the ground. I can’t imagine never seeing the sun! Mom also says it’s too quite here. She said, in the forest, there is always noise: monkeys, birds, and leopards. The forest is so dense, you never even see the animals. Even at night, the forest is alive with music. She has a hard time sleeping because it is so quite.”

“Have you never seen your home?”

“No. I was born here. Mom says we will probably never go home. I think it makes her sad.”

“Why can’t you go home?”

“Mom says there isn’t enough room. She was brought here because the two-legs cut down the trees in her forest. She had nowhere else to go.”

“I can’t go home, either,” I said, looking down at my leg stretched out next to me.

“Why? Is your home disappearing, too?”

“Yes. There is not enough room and too many two-legs. The lions have also taken control of what little land remains. They kill anything that poses a threat. It isn’t their fault, really. It’s just a need for survival.”

“Is that what happened to your leg?”

“I was too hungry to give up my meal without a fight. If it wasn’t for my brother, I probably wouldn’t have gotten away.”

“Well, it’s nice here. Plenty of food and it’s safe. I think you will like it.”

“Thanks,” I said, but I didn’t feel grateful. That kind of outlook could only be seen by someone who had never been free.

Nala’s mom called him away and, with a farewell shake of his head, he ambled over to her.

I watched them for a while later. Something familiar tingled the back of my mind, like maybe I had seen one of them before. After a while, I curled up on my rock and closed my eyes.