“Oh my Kobe! They’re so cute!” Belie exclaimed. Bella chuckled. “I know right. Hard to believe that they become kings and queens of the jungle.” Bella stroked the back of Sindisiwe’s ears, keeping him calm while Nathan examined his sister. “Now what are their names again?” Belie asked. “Sindisiwe and Nandi. Saved...and sweet,” Bella explained. Nandi was indeed a sweetheart. Even as Nathan examined her, she was snuggling up against his hand. “We didn't think this little guy would make it. Yet somehow we saved him. That’s why Inyoni gave him the name.” “Sind-what?” Bella laughed. “Sindisiwe. I just call him Sindi.” She chuckled. “Aright,” said Nathan. “Sindi”--he said it with a playful grin--”is the picture of health.” They commenced their routine, feeding the cubs, playing with them a bit. The cubs enjoyed romping around in the grass, even when they couldn’t quite comprehend the concept of playing with each other yet, nor were their eyes quite open.
That night, Bella walked Belie to the location where she was staying for her visit and just as Bella was about to head back to her home, Belie grabbed her arm. “Thanks for letting me see what you do here. You seem really happy.” Bella smiled at her. “I am." “I was thinking… remember, before you left, we talked about those missionary programs here? For herbal medicine?” “Yes?” “Well… I’m thinking of applying. I’m not sure if I’ll do so this time or next time I visit.” Bella flashed her a smile. “That’s great!” she said. “See? This land has that effect on a person, huh?” Belie grinned. “It sure does. But we both know it’s not just the land that makes you enjoy what you do here.” She wiggled her eyebrows, making Bella nudge her playfully. “Okay, okay,” she said laughing. “But it’s obvious you love him. I’m glad you’ve found your place here with him. I approve.” She grinned. Bella laughed. "Thanks little sis."
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“Nhm,” Bella muttered, reaching out to silence what she thought was her phone alarm. After reaching out and not successfully touching her phone, she realised that not only was she not reaching out to the side table, but that she was actually not even on the bed. She and Nathan had fallen asleep, it seemed. The television was still droning on in the background, Jabu was curled up on Nathan’s lap and Bella’s head was resting on Nathan’s chest. She grabbed her phone from the couch and squinted at the screen. Belie’s face slowly registered in her blurry sight.
“Crap!” Bella exclaimed. Both Nathan and Jabu jumped. “Sorry,” said Bella, immediately lowering her voice. They were supposed to leave the house hours ago. But they needed to relax for just an hour or so. Working at the rescue centre all day and then going straight to the site of where their own home and animal rehabilitation centre will be… it was exhausting. “Belie’s here,” said Bella. She got up and frantically looked around. She was still so sleepy, she didn’t know what she needed to do first. Ideally, a shower would’ve been good. A change of clothes even. But there was no time for that. They were 4 hours from the airport. Bella groaned and rubbed her forehead, immediately, she called Belie. “I’m so sorry. We fell asleep for quite a long time, apparently. I’ll be there in 4 hours. You just… make yourself comfortable. Sorry!” Belie chuckled. “It’s alright. I’ll take a nap and do some drawing. I have to go collect the dogs and my luggage first anyway.” “Great. See you there.” Bella hung up. Nathan was getting up from the couch, stretching. Jabu had long ran off to sleep elsewhere. “I’ll go. You get some sleep. I know you’re on call tomorrow.” “No, no,” Nathan responded. “I’m not letting you go all alone. I’m coming with you.” Bella was about to protest, but instead, she smiled gratefully at him. She leaned close and kissed his cheek before running off to get the keys to the jeep.Within minutes, they were out of the house and heading towards Johannesburg. It was a long, long, ride. Especially at 2am when they were both so tired. But at last, they arrived. Nathan stayed in the car while Bella ran into the airport to find Belie. There wasn’t much time to look for her though, so Bella called her. Her mind was racing and she kept hoping that Nathan didn’t get called in for an emergency before they got back home. “Belie? Where are you? We gotta hurry. Sorry to rush you.” “Right here.” The voice didn’t emit through the phone. But she heard it closeby. Then she heard a familiar whining sound. Bella turned and saw Belie standing there, the two dogs, Wesley and Ramsey beside her. A smile split Bella’s face. Without even thinking, she wrapped her arms tightly around Belie and hugged her, and soon the dogs were jumping all over her, begging for attention as well. “Wesley! Ramsey! I missed you.” Bella got down on her knees and wrestled around with the dogs a bit; giving big hugs and receiving even bigger hugs and kisses. It had been so long since she last saw them. “I hope you two will get along with Jabu.” Bella took Ramsey’s leash and Belie’s luggage and started heading towards the exit already. “Jabu. Your cat?” Belie asked. “Yup.” They got outside to the jeep and Nathan came out to help load the dogs and the luggage into the the vehicle. Quick greetings were exchanged and soon they were on their way home. An hour from their destination, a call came in. Nathan answered right away. It was Charlize. “Good morning Nathaniel. We have a transfer coming in from Krueger. Young lioness. Very ill and pregnant. She is malnourished and hasn’t let anyone get close enough to examine her properly. She’ll be sedated soon, and then immediately transferred. Bring Isabella.” Bella glanced at Belie apologetically. “Welcome to our world,” she said. It was one thing to find the perfect land to get their dream started. It was another thing to work out all the legal kinks. It was complicated due to the wildlife already existing on the land, so Bella and Nathan found themselves meeting with lawyers, discussing animal conservation and protection laws. There were all the fees, millions and millions of dollars had to be poured into the project in its entirety. They’d put their money together and purchased the land after dozens of legal paperwork and meetings, and yet there was still more money to be put into it.
Certain areas had to be fenced off, sectionized. They needed to figure out where they would actually put up buildings for the various animal rehabilitation. There would be elephants, wild cats, and perhaps even miscellaneous animal rescues. They’d be working along with the current wildlife rescue of which they were employed. Bella and Nathan stood in the middle of the land that was now theirs. It was surreal. “I can’t believe we own all of this,” said Bella. Even after all the headaches that they’d faced due to all the legalities, it was still unbelievable. Her cheeks were actually starting to hurt from smiling so much. Nathan pointed out some basic areas. Perhaps the elephant rehab over there, wildcat sanctuary there, and of course the animal orphanage. The area where they stood now was far from everything and a little closer to the main roads. They’d have to fence off everything that belonged to them, to keep away trespassers. Bella walked to a random spot, a little distance from a beautiful tree. “Maybe we can build our house right here,” she said, stomping on the plot. She grinned at Nathan. “What do you think?” How long did nicotine withdrawal last? Bella could’ve sworn that she’d gotten over the desire to smoke a cigarette ages ago. The move to Africa had basically forced her to give up the habit. She’d continued in the beginning, but having to go into the major city, hours and hours away, didn't make sense. So she quit. She’d experienced the anxiety, the headaches, nausea, insomnia, fatigue… But the animals that she cared for on a daily basis had the best distraction.
Yet now it seemed as though the symptoms were returning. At first, it was just the insomnia. But maybe it was the heat. Some nights, she felt so hot and sticky that it was impossible to sleep. But on cooler nights, like tonight, there was no excuse. There was a nice breeze coming through their bedroom window. Bella lay flat on her back and stared up at the ceiling. She was tired. Extremely tired. Some days it randomly hit her, even after she’d had sufficient sleep. Yet now there was no signs of drifting off. And gods, that jittery, anxious feeling was truly annoying. With all of these symptoms, she thought back to her withdrawal symptoms. Could it be? Hadn’t the nicotine worked its way out of her system ages ago? And if it did, why did she crave a cigarette so much now? She groaned in frustration and turned onto her stomach, burying her face in her pillow. Only seconds later, she felt Nathan’s hand touch her back. “Sleep…” she heard him mumble. He sounded barely awake. In fact, when she turned her head to look at him, his eyes were still closed. She sighed heavily and moved a little closer. She closed her eyes and tried to think. Or rather, she tried not to think. She was obviously fidgeting more than she thought because she soon heard Nathan’s voice again, “You okay?” Bella opened her eyes. “Uhm… I’m not sure.” The week had been hellish, put mildly. Both Bella and Nathan had been quite excited to check out some land for sale. It was a big step towards achieving their dream, but in the end there was quite an omen. A boomslang bite. Bella lay in bed beside Nathan, days later, still unable to keep her thoughts off the events of the previous days.
She'd thought for sure that she was going to die. The pain in her leg had been intense, but nothing compared to the violent shivers that wracked her body. Or the almost unearthly cold feeling she had while she fought the fever rampaging through her body. Effects of the antivenom. The days had been a blurr while she recovered. She was unusually tired, her leg still ached, and her head was fuzzy, making her think she was always in some sort of dream, or nightmare. Nathan, however, had been the only constant. He'd been by her side the entire time, keeping her company, keeping her calm. He'd been her anchor and she was more grateful that words could say. It was good to be back home. Valentines' Day came and went and Bella hadn't even noticed it in time to either scowl about the useless holiday or to use it to her advantage. She moved closer to Nathan. Her leg still stung and there was still a bit of a strange feeling lingering in her body, but she was sure of what happened in the past days. Her memory was clear again. He opened those deep blue eyes of his and faced her, still in that adorably sleepy mode. "Morning," she said, smiling at him. A sleepy little smile crossed his lips. "Morning," he said. He wrapped am arm around her waist. "How are you feeling?" "Meh," said Bella, though she smirked at him. "Uhm... Nathan? Did I say... I love you... a few days ago?" She wasn't one to blush. But until a few days ago, she hadn't been one to say those words either. "And... did you say it back?" Now she couldn't hold back the big smile blossiming on her face. She'd been feverish then, but she meant every word. “I wonder if this land is for sale,” said Bella as she walked around the savanna. She tilted her head to the sky and inhaled deeply. It was warm and balmy, but the disappearing sun took some of the heat with it.
Nathan was glancing around, assessing the land. It seemed virtually endless. It was rather flat, too. No rivers nearby, but there were a few scatterings of trees. So far, there didn’t seem to be any signs of wild animals, but both Bella and Nathan were cautious. “Careful,” said Nathan. “It’s way too quiet around here. I feel like there are some of our feline friends lurking in the tall grasses or something.” Bella nodded. There was always a chance of that in these parts, but nothing that they couldn't handle. At least not with the tranquilizer guns they always traveled with. Bella walked towards one of the trees, glancing up for any signs of life. There was a bird of some sort, high in the leaves of the tree. A wide smile spread across Bella’s lips. She placed her hands on the bark of the tree, wondering if it was possible for her to climb up there and get a better look--not just of the bird, but also of the savanna. Just as she tried to get a footing on the trunk of the tree, she felt a sharp sensation strike her leg. A yelp of pain and surprise left her lips. For a brief moment, she was perplexed. The pain was too intense to be a scratch. Just as Bella looked down, she saw a flash of green slither away and disappear around the tree. Her blood seemed to run cold as dread gripped her heart. “Shit,” she mumbled. She could see the fang marks on her calf now. She didn’t feel sick, apart from the fright spreading through her body. She glanced up at the tree, backing away as the snake hissed at her. Bella tried to back away and ended up tripping over her own feet. Suddenly, she felt alone and pretty much doomed. She clutched her leg and yelled as loudly as she could, “Nathaniel!!” |
Isabella Kaylee DwyerWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
December 2017
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