Tiger Beach

It was the second day of my vacation in India.

I decided to spend the day at the beach.

First, I went to a local deli with some friends for lunch.

I enjoyed a tasty meal of Cajun rice, seasoned mushrooms, and a large cup of pumpkin cinnamon chai tea with cream.

Next, we went to a gift shop after lunch, but I decided not to purchase anything just yet.

Finally, we made it to the beach; which was surprisingly packed with tourists and surfers.

My friends went over to the sandbar and I sat in the shade of my umbrella to read my book.

But it was hard to focus with the sound of excited tourists and the beautiful aroma from the meat on a grill and the fruit in margaritas.

A few hours went by and then my friends informed me that they were going back to our hotel, which was very luxurious.

By the late afternoon, all of the tourists left and I decided to enjoy having the beach to myself.

I read half of my book and spent the rest of my time relaxing to the sound of the waves.

After an hour and a half, my stomach let out a growl, telling me that it was time for dinner.

So I packed my bag and started my journey back to the hotel.

No sooner than I did, I saw a short trail of large and vivid pawprints leading from the jungle to the water.

To my far left, I hear something slapping the water.

I finally turned my head to see what it was.

To my surprise; it was a tiger playing with some fish!

Aside from the occasional trips to the zoo, I've never seen a live adult tiger before, certainly not at this time of day!

Suddenly, the tiger's vibrant moves stopped.

She became fixated on a large, gray fish that slowly swam past her.

She crouched down a little bit and started to swish her tail fiercely.

After five seconds, the tiger lept three feet above the water and dived down making a loud thunderclap in the water, catching the fish.

The tiger pulled her head out of the water with the large fish in her jaws.

As she was walking out of the water, she made three small chuffs as if she was calling out to something in the jungle.

I looked at the edge of the jungle and saw two small cubs gallop onto the beach.

The girl was a rare golden with ice blue eyes. The boy had the traditional tiger coat but had emerald-jade green eyes instead of golden eyes and was a bit smaller and chubbier than his sister.

The family of three munched happily on the fish until there was nothing left.

Shortly after they finished their supper, the mom looked up and saw me standing ten yards away.

The tiger nudged her kids and coaxed them into the jungle while retreating quickly.

After I saw the tigers, I quickly left the beach and walked into the gift shop.

I saw a tiger plush and couldn't resist buying it.

I kept the toy with me for the rest of the vacation.

I continue to look at the toy, which will always remind me of the special experience I had with the small family of tigers on the beach.