The Elusive Cat

           Here is yet another scene from the deleted files of “Where the Sky Meets the Sand”. I can’t believe how many of these passages I cut in my second edit of the book. Going back over them takes me right back to Kenya, and this scene especially reminds me of why I have to go back some day. On the two safaris I’ve been on, I’ve seen every animal I wanted to except for one. The one which the boy in this story falls in love with.  

 Far in the distance on the lowest branch of an acacia tree, a tan animal crouched. Ole thought it was the same leopard they had seen the week before. She was heavy with unborn cubs and had barely been able to get to this low branch.

               The Jeep took off in her direction. Even from his perch on the roof, Ole could hear the people inside. They chattered on as all of the guests seemed to, with no concern for the animals they stalked. Ole still could not picture what their lives were like. Lives where there are no wild animals. Lives where there are more buildings than grass.

               He took a sip from his water bottle as the Jeep lurched along. If there was anything he had learned here, it was how to drink without spilling as the vehicle tossed him about as James pursued the lions and elephants and warthogs.

               As James stopped the Jeep a short distance from the acacia tree, Ole was certain this was the same leopard. He figured that her den must be in the brush on the hillside behind the acacia. In his past life, he had never noticed the leopard much. She had been more elusive than the lion. The lion, knowing its great power and knowing that it was rarely without its pride, had nothing to hide. He knew he was king out here.

               The leopard though? Her beauty rivaled the lion’s. Her fascinating and varied spots, her patient eyes, her solitary life.  Her ability to climb trees, even when she was carrying a freshly killed antelope.

               Ole was surprised that he saw so many animals travelling on the roof of the camp’s Jeep. So many animals that he rarely saw while herding his goats. Had the animals always been there, watching him? And he hadn’t been watching back? Were the people from his village right when they told him that he never paid attention?

               The leopard hung her huge paws over the branch of the tree. Ole promised himself that he would always pay attention from now on, especially if it meant watching a beautiful creature like her.

Yup, I've seen lots of lions. 

Lots of cheetahs, too.

But the elusive leopard? Could she be hiding in that tree?
(No, she's not.)

 This may be the last of the "lost files" for a while. I have other things to write about, you know!