Story: The Pantheress

 The pantheress

Lost and all alone in the jungle was I!

It had all started a day ago when we were going on a school trip to the jungle, the principal had allowed well-mannered cats and dogs too, Mimi (a pet cat of mine)was well-mannered of course, so I took her with me, in one of those kids was my best friend, Yara, she was all like me (she didn't look like me), her thoughts were just like mine, but she didn't have any pets.

When I was climbing the bus that we would take us for camping, I realised how heavy my rucksack was. We were gonna camp there for only 2 nights and three days, but I had packed as if we were going there for 10 days!!

My rucksack contained simple things, but those simple things were in large amounts, I had two boxes of cat food, two collars for mimi, a cat pillow, two torches, two boxes of matchsticks, two packets of marshmallows, too many snacks, tablet for messaging, camera, binoculars,4 Amazon jungle books, emergency tent(a very small tent in case of emergency), clothes for me and finally my tent, I could never understand how all those things fixed in that rucksack.

It was a long bus ride, maybe 2 hours or so, and we finally reached there, I had camped there a lot, but I had never camped with Yara, we were both sharing my tent, and every child was, I had taken a big tent, because not only two kids will be sitting in there, but Mimi too!

When we settled down the tent, we arranged things in there, all in order, it looked like a small house, when it was done, Mimi and Yara got a rest, and I went to my madam and said to her….

Me: Miss I know a lot about this jungle, can I please go for a walk alone, in the afternoon?

Maam: Rosa dear, the jungle is really dangerous, no

Me(sad): Okays 

I then went back to my tent.

Yara: What did ma'am say about walking alone?

Me: A big fat No.

Yara: We can still go for a walk alone, and prove to ourselves that we can do things alone.

Me: You are right, we can sneak off, in the afternoon, everybody is in their tents at that time.

Yara: Great idea, but I think we should make a small bag in case of anything…..

Me: Oh yeah, give me your compass.

Yara: Here.

I had packed in my rucksack one packet of marshmallows, a compass, one extra collar for Mimi, a packet of cat food, the emergency tent, a few snacks, matchsticks, a camera, two torches and nothing else, and I'm grateful I packed all these things.

After lunch, everybody went to their tents, and our plan worked. We took my bag and Mimi and sneaked out of the campsite, and Into the green cover of the forest, then we started proving ourselves that we are independent, but little did I know what was about to come on us.

It's very easy to get lost in the jungle, that's what happened with us, our ma'am was right that the jungle is dangerous, why didn't I listen?

it was becoming dark, I was so happy I had taken the emergency tent, it's very easy to set up, so because it was becoming dark, we had to stop our hike.

We then started setting up our tent, I took a torch but I was feeling cold too, so we decided to light a fire, but how?...... We had matchsticks but no kindling(a thing in which you light a fire)we needed wood, fortunately near our camp was a pile of sticks, so then we both went to the sticks and put Mimi in the tent, luckily there was no snake near the sticks so we took the sticks, I lighted a fire, while Yara went through the backpack for any snacks, I had packed snacks and marshmallows, and so we prepared our dinner with some beans, I gave Mimi her food, and then put her to sleep.

The fire had gone out when we were doing dinner, so then we went to the tent.

Me: I wish I had never come on this school trip,

Yara: Rosa?

Me: Yeah!

Yara: lnstead of doing idle talk we should make plans of how to go back to the campsite.

I nodded, Yara did say the right thing.

Me: You are right, I think we should sleep, for some energy.

Yara: Yeah, we should take turns for sleeping, like I watch, you sleep, then you watch and I sleep.

Me: It could happen, but if we stayed up, we could feel hungry, we have little food left.

Yara: Let's sleep together then?

Me: Yeah!

We slept, and in the morning we woke up, Mimi was outside, trying to catch butterflies, we did our breakfast, cleared our campsite and then started our walk.

But then I felt like someone was following us, I turned and what I saw was scary. It was a leopard growling at us. I had once read a book which told me about how they look like, when they feel that or that, and according to that book, it was angry!

I got goosebumps on my skin, I was scared to my heart, Yara was shivering with fear, and Mimi was really still, Yara was about to run when I stopped her and said:if you'll run the leopard will run behind you, so stay still and make yourself look bigger and the back away as fast as you can. I got Mimi in my hand and made myself look bigger, Yara did a better job, and then we started backing away, but it didn't do anything to that big cat, it looked angry, It started coming closer, and it was ready to pounce!..... when suddenly I heard a roar from behind.

It fought the leopard until it ran away we didn't have any were to go so we stayed there, it was a black panther, I was a female, so she was a pantheress, she looked friendly, and she looked happy, for finding two human beings to eat I suppose but I was wrong, she was happy to help us, she came to Mimi and gently lifted her by the scruff, and then they both started playing!

Then I went close to the pantheress and touched her Yara screeched: It'll eat it'll eat, but she didn't she licked my hand, it was a feeling that animals use to tell that they like you ... .so…she liked me?

I was really happy to know she liked me, I called Yara: Look look she likes me, she likes me.

The pantheress made a gesture for us to follow her, and she started going somewhere, Mimi followed her too, followed by me and Yara, when those big cats were fighting, my bag had been laying on the ground, and the leopard had jumped on the bag and he tore it up, so there was nothing for us to eat.

Then the pantheress entered the river where she drank water, Mimi drank it too, followed by me and Yara, my trust were building stronger time by time, then the pantheress took us to her territory, where she had a den, she entered the den, this time I entered it followed by Yara and mimi.

When I entered there, I was amazed by the deer, that was killed by her, I suppose, she started eating, and then she tore a leg from the deer and gave it to us, Mimi started eating with the big cat, I took the leg and lighted a fire, skinned the leg, and then we started cooking it when I took the first bite, It tasted horrible, without any spice or seasoning, but we still eat it.

It went like that for two days, the pantheress hunted for us, we slept in her den, and it was as if she had met me before, I tried to remember when…..Ahha, I was once out camping with my parents, I had seen a pantheress just like her, so she must be the one who is helping us, but now we could not stay in the jungle forever, I had to go back home, so I went to the pantheress, hugged her big neck and whispered in her ear: Thank you beautiful cat, for helping me, but do you know how to get out of the jungle? 

The pantheress then went out and hunted for us, after we ate it, then the pantheress made a gesture for us to follow her, we started following her, we reached the river, she drank some water followed by us, then she started going somewhere I didn't know.

We followed the pantheress, but then suddenly pantheress turned and growled at us, but then I got to know that she was not growling at us but at the male leopard that had attacked us earlier, the pantheress fought bravely with the leopard, but the fight was so terrible that we ran away from the fighting big cats.

We went into the green dark jungle, and we saw a Cave formed in a tree, without thinking for a second, we went straight in there, and situated in a corner scared to our very core, I thought I had lost the pantheress, but after some time, I heard the sound of pantheress footsteps, I ran out hugged her, then we followed her to the dead body of the leopard, I stared at pantheress, a pantheress can kill a leopard?!

I got scared of her powers now, but I still trusted her. We followed her until we reached the edge of the jungle, I looked at her, confused, then I remembered what I had said to her. It was time to say goodbye because the school campsite was in front of me. 

Yara hugged the pantheress, Mimi licked her and I hugged her tightly and whispered in her ear: Thank you beautiful pantheress.

it was the time to go when I started walking towards the camp,I said to her loudly, "we'll repay you for your favour beauty",and pantheress narrowed her eyes at us as if to say: "THANK YOU".

The End

I hope you liked the story, until next time it's me!

Part two coming soon.

I'm open for your feedbacks.

Your loving explorer,

Sidra khan

⭐⭐