I crawled through the seeping sound of the jungle. I plucked a golden fruit from the low-hanging branch beside my shoulder. It was fresh and juicy, the flavor exploded with every bite. I stopped, and crouched next to the blossoming azalea bush, full of red and orange petals.



A pair of deep brown eyes were fixed on mine. They didn’t dare blink, for fear they might miss a single move I made. We glared at one another for what felt like hours until I decided to carry on. I straightened my legs, and dropped my fruit into a small pile of smooth, green leaves, thinking some creature may eat it after I have gone.


As I continued through the canopy of leaves, those huge eyes never lost me. The gaze had locked on me, everywhere I went they would follow. The owner of those eyes could have been any animal that I could think of, for there was no silhouette, no shadow, nothing showed but the dark, glaring eyes that seemed to never close.


I found a pond next to a small group of trees, one of which seemed to be observing me. I sat beside it and dipped my aching feet into the cool, blue, crystalline water. My toes wiggled through the soft sand at the bottom of the shallow pool. I heard an ear-piercing squawk of a toucan and the rustling of leaves being stepped on by a bronze, speckled deer.


I peered across the pond to see not only a pair of eyes, but the beholder of them. The beast sat calmly, eyes still focused on mine. I stood up, and took a step to the left of the pond, I slowly began to creep towards the flaming mane blowing so gently in the light breeze. It stood, and watched intently as I kept moving forward. Minutes passed and I came to a stop. I crouched down just a few feet away from those big, piercing eyes. We scowled at each other, not making a single move. The jungle grew silent, the air grew cold, but we still went on, staring in serenity.