Waking the next morning, I was exhausted; my body felt as though a Rhino had trampled it, and my head had the ache that normally only a night of scotch could bring.
Dragging myself from bed, I smiled when I smelt the now-familiar morning aroma of bacon and eggs wafting in through the open window my mother had taken over the park kitchen, and breakfast had become her favourite meal. My stomach rumbled most mornings happily. I avoided the hall, preferring to eat something small, but this morning, the idea of a large greasy meal was mouth-watering,
Dressing quickly, I hurried out of the cabin and up to the Hall. This was where the guests would take all their meals and could gather for activities. It could be transformed many times throughout the day; right now, just the front of the hall closest to the industrial kitchen had several picnic tables set up with plates of bacon and eggs adorning them; most of the workers were already seated and eating.
"How you feeling this morning."
Brax greeted me; he seemed a little wary, and that bothered me. I didn't want my closest friend nervous around me.
"I'm okay I answered him, smiling and hoping it came across as reassuring as I tried to make it.
Silence settled at the table, the uncomfortable kind we could not hope to work like this.
"So," I said to no one in particular.
" Last night was a little strange and uncomfortable but didn't worry, I'm fine, and we have so much work to do today. So let's focus on that, and whatever is going on with me, we can tackle later, ok."
Brax and Fernando nodded, looking relieved that I didn't want to re-live all that happened. It was my problem, and I would handle it, but it was too much to think about right now, and we had more important things to do.
"Jacey", my mum was calling me from the kitchen, "Are you ready to go."
We were heading into town today to purchase linens and other miscellaneous items for the guest cabin. I was really excited about it.
"Sure, mum, just give me a minute to go over some jobs with Brax, and I'll meet you in the car."
The city of Irina was about a 2-hour drive from lion's haven. Most things we needed could be sourced from the local village or the smaller outlining towns around the area; being relatively close to the Ruaha national park, a few small villages sold things now that they wouldn't have years ago thanks to the growing tourist trade. For what we required today, though, a long journey was required, and Iringa was the closest thing to a major city we would get.
I was excited; this was the first time Mum and I were getting away from the sanctuary, and only the second time except to attend local animal auctions I had left the place at all.
Iringa was a beautiful but crowded town. We headed straight to the main market place although we passed plenty of smaller stands along the way selling all sorts of things from cards, wooden statues, idols and beaded items made by local craftsmen. Finally, I found the store I was looking for tucked in the corner of the square; It was a crafts store that sold beautiful embroidered blankets and odd trinkets and woven baskets. The blankets were what I had come all this way for one of the worker's wives had recommended them, and I thought they would brighten the rooms and maybe to raise extra funds, we could sell them and other craft items in a small gift shop. I had been thinking of opening one it would provide a job for the local women as well as give them some sense of being involved in the sanctuary, a lot of the people that lived in the area around lions haven were still wary of me and what the opening of a tourist attraction would mean to their isolated simple lives.
We purchased 20 blankets, each with different intricate designs and brightly coloured beads; we also purchased a basket for each room and a few other odds and ends to give the rooms an authentic feel. Before we left, I spoke to the stand owner and enquired about purchasing some more in bulk once; I got the Shop up and running; surprisingly, she seemed very positive about the idea and eager to assist.
We did a bit more shopping before it was time to go. I arranged with one of the bookstores to have several editions of popular stories shipped to the sanctuary to give the visitors something to read. I also intended to transform part of the conference centre into a small cosy library nothing as fancy as the one Ethan possessed but well-stocked all the same, After mother had patronised almost every food stand in the market area ensuring we had enough food to feed 1000 people for the next three years (well it seemed like that much) We were finally ready to head back.
The road out of Iringa was mostly dirt, with savannah and grasslands hugging the sides of the narrow two-lane road. We had made it past the entrance to the National park and had about an hour and a half of travel to go; I had been dozing off in the passenger seat when the urgent braking of the car jostled me into consciousness. I glanced at my mother. She had a startled look on her face and was clutching at her chest but appeared unhurt before I could ask her what was wrong; she pointed to a spot just in front of the car.
I looked where she was pointing and was surprised to see a group of three African Wild dogs lounging next to a freshly killed carcass in the middle of the road, Mum pulling herself out of the slight shock she seemed to have slipped into and beeped the horn urging them to move. They did not
We did not have time to wait for them to finish their dinner. We had taken far longer than we intended and spent the whole day away; it was now starting to get dark, and we still had a long way to go. I did not want to be travelling these roads in the pitch dark of night.
Getting out of the car, I approached the animals keeping my eyes on the largest of them. He had been the only one to stand when I exited the car, so I assumed he would be the one to try to calm first. He growled and lowered his head at me as I approached. Putting my hands out towards him, I centred myself and tapped into my gift, sending calming waves towards him. It seemed to be working; he took a step back and looked around, appearing almost confused,
< It's ok, I mean no harm> I sent the thoughts to all three of them, stopping my approach to see if they understood; they were all on their feet now looking at me with a mixture of interest and Caution. Studying the wild dogs, I noticed the smallest of the three had a large gash on his hind leg, probably caused by the kill they had just made, judging by the blood that was still flowing quite freely from it.
I took a step towards the injured dog and received a growl for my trouble
< I'm going to help you> I gestured to his leg and took another small step forward, focusing more calming thoughts on all three of them; as I reached the injured dog, a soft growl bounced around my mind pushing away the fear that shot through me I reached out the animal and thought at all three of them as I did so < Stay calm I won't hurt you, it's alright imp a friend> After about a minute of constantly repeating this to them, they seemed to relax and sat not far from me, still watching my every move <Come> I gestured to the injured one, with a glance at the others she limped over and lay at my feet.
I inspected the wound; it was a deep gash, and if left untreated, it would become infected and probably kill her. I bound the wound as best I could with a scarf from around my neck and then turned my attention to the other two < i need to take her with me I won't harm her> the male of the group Growled and jumped to his feet, I Knew this had been too easy. Holding my hand out to him, I made a fast decision
< You can come to all of you> I gestured to the bushes on the side of the road where I could sense two more of the pack were hiding.
< I mean you no harm I can help you, please come> I walked to the back of the car and opened the hatch, thankful we had bought the four-wheel drive, moving the shopping into the back seat.
" Jacey" Id almost forgot my mother was in the car when her worried voice broke into my thoughts. I had been concentrating on sending continuous calming thoughts to the dogs.
" It's alright, mum; this is what I was born to do, right."
" Ok, Hun, just be careful; these are wild animals, not were's you don't have as much control."
"I know it'll be fine" I smiled, trying to show more confidence than I felt my gift was still new, and I hadn't tried to influence this many animals before, but something deep in me said it would be alright.
I picked up the injured dog and carried her to the back of the jeep, placing her gently on the floor; she let out a small yip and seemed to settle, <So> I turned to the other 4 dogs standing in a circle not far off observing what I was doing
< Are you coming? It's safe, I promise>
Closing my eyes, I decided to try something I hadn't before I pictured the sanctuary and the beautiful grounds that surrounded it as well as the gazelle antelope and warthog that lived there; I sent these images to the dogs, and when I opened my eyes the dogs were wagging their tails they had seen the images and understood.
<In >
I gestured into the car and was still a little bewildered by what had occurred as one by one they jumped into the back and lay down; satisfied, I jumped in the passenger seat and nodded to my mother, who looked as if she had seen a ghost without a word she put the car in drive and headed for home.