The few hour of riding a jeep over and through the vast wilderness countryside came to an end. With my own two feet I approach the grassy and sparsely brushed hilltop, the invisible border of Tanzania. Suddenly, yet at the same time subtly, this amazing and uncontainable valley, endless and bountiful, untouched and untamed, my eyes witnessed for the first. As an added bonus, living rays of sunshine sprayed down on the valley and painted scattered patches of moving cloud-shadows in their various shapes and sizes. And then came the oh-so-familiar fear of this moment being the last my soul will know to enjoy.
The jeep stopped one more time, but this time next to a dried river-bed as wide as two school buses measure long. Though still suffering from the stomach pains, I found strength to walk out of the jeep, all on my own. In my unwashed dirty clothes that I've been wearing for a week, I found my footing towards the center of the river-bed bottom. Of mostly pure sand and small pebbles is the river-bed's composition with scattered pools of remnant mud-water. As I reached my destination that I had set in my mind, a mound of damp-dry patchy sand, I notice how light-footed my steps are even though my entire body is that of a heavy-footed clumsy boy drained of his fluids and nutrients. But I really didn't mind, nor did I truly care, for about 400-500 ft before me, a raging herd of Wilderbeasts, along with a few spots of Zebras, was already in full motion of crossing. My senses were overhwelmed yet not over-powered. Smokes of waked dust accompanied the herd in the ever-so-clear distance, and so did the cladder of a thousand thundering footsteps. And again...the familiar fear taunts and tantalizes me.
The jeep stopped one more time, but this time next to a dried river-bed as wide as two school buses measure long. Though still suffering from the stomach pains, I found strength to walk out of the jeep, all on my own. In my unwashed dirty clothes that I've been wearing for a week, I found my footing towards the center of the river-bed bottom. Of mostly pure sand and small pebbles is the river-bed's composition with scattered pools of remnant mud-water. As I reached my destination that I had set in my mind, a mound of damp-dry patchy sand, I notice how light-footed my steps are even though my entire body is that of a heavy-footed clumsy boy drained of his fluids and nutrients. But I really didn't mind, nor did I truly care, for about 400-500 ft before me, a raging herd of Wilderbeasts, along with a few spots of Zebras, was already in full motion of crossing. My senses were overhwelmed yet not over-powered. Smokes of waked dust accompanied the herd in the ever-so-clear distance, and so did the cladder of a thousand thundering footsteps. And again...the familiar fear taunts and tantalizes me.
No comments:
Post a Comment