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Description

The first thing you notice about Africa in spring is all the green, for as far as the eye can see. Tiny wildflowers dot an ocean of swaying green grasses like stars in the night sky. The bellowing of water buffalo and wildebeest mingle with the braying of zebra in a song to the season. Morning dew glistens like diamonds on flower petals and blades of grass. The dawn is filled with puffs of clouds snorted from the grazers, even as the sun struggles to rise from the darkness.

   It is this world I was born into, me and my four siblings. I felt the tremble of the earth before I could either see or hear. The great beasts shook the earth as they moved across the plains. I slept, comforted by my mother’s warm body and those of my siblings. Before long, my eyes opened onto a world I would soon be part of.

   My mother chose her den well. We were ensconced in the hollow of a hill, probably an abandoned burrow of some other creature. From the top of the hill, she had a great vantage point, able to see far into the vast grassland that surrounded us. This afforded her the ability to spot prey that would otherwise be hidden.

   Although she raised us alone, she provided for our every need and I can’t remember ever going hungry in those early days. By the time my siblings and I were a few weeks old, we had fallen into a routine: wake, nurse, play, and sleep. My brother, N’dugu, however, always tried to be different. From the beginning, his adventurous nature got him into trouble. I lost count of how many times Mother scolded him for trying to follow her out of the burrow.

   When we were just a few months old, N’dugu’s adventures became ours. We abandoned our safe burrow and followed Mother into the deep grass. As little as we were, we could not see above our hiding place and the noises that reached us left me wondering what creature made the sounds. My mother’s presence was a comfort to me. I knew she would protect us. The further we ventured from our burrow, however, the more we traveled into the unknown. Little did we know of all the dangers we would face in the weeks to come and not all of us would make it through.

Description

The first thing you notice about Africa in spring is all the green, for as far as the eye can see. Tiny wildflowers dot an ocean of swaying green grasses like stars in the night sky. The bellowing of water buffalo and wildebeest mingle with the braying of zebra in a song to the season. Morning dew glistens like diamonds on flower petals and blades of grass. The dawn is filled with puffs of clouds snorted from the grazers, even as the sun struggles to rise from the darkness.

   It is this world I was born into, me and my four siblings. I felt the tremble of the earth before I could either see or hear. The great beasts shook the earth as they moved across the plains. I slept, comforted by my mother’s warm body and those of my siblings. Before long, my eyes opened onto a world I would soon be part of.

   My mother chose her den well. We were ensconced in the hollow of a hill, probably an abandoned burrow of some other creature. From the top of the hill, she had a great vantage point, able to see far into the vast grassland that surrounded us. This afforded her the ability to spot prey that would otherwise be hidden.

   Although she raised us alone, she provided for our every need and I can’t remember ever going hungry in those early days. By the time my siblings and I were a few weeks old, we had fallen into a routine: wake, nurse, play, and sleep. My brother, N’dugu, however, always tried to be different. From the beginning, his adventurous nature got him into trouble. I lost count of how many times Mother scolded him for trying to follow her out of the burrow.

   When we were just a few months old, N’dugu’s adventures became ours. We abandoned our safe burrow and followed Mother into the deep grass. As little as we were, we could not see above our hiding place and the noises that reached us left me wondering what creature made the sounds. My mother’s presence was a comfort to me. I knew she would protect us. The further we ventured from our burrow, however, the more we traveled into the unknown. Little did we know of all the dangers we would face in the weeks to come and not all of us would make it through.