Six Nights for One Encounter

The conditions should have been perfect. Instead, unexpected rain arrived during the driest time of the year. Water was suddenly everywhere, and the animals no longer needed to visit these particular waterholes.

Night after night, the waterholes remained quiet. The rain had changed everything. With water now scattered across the landscape, there was little reason for any animal to come here.

By the fifth night, I was fighting to stay awake. Then, without warning, a leopard silently emerged from the darkness. It paused at the water's edge, took only a few quick drinks, and suddenly looked up, startled by something I never saw.

Just as suddenly as it had appeared, it disappeared back into the darkness. Those few seconds were the reward for nights of patience, uncertainty, and waiting.