Wild Adventures of Summer

I was shaking! I knew I was safe, but I couldn’t help feeling frightened. Thirty feet ahead of me, between the trees and the shrubs, we could see the tiger. Something to the east had caught his attention. I could hear the rustling as whatever it was skulked around. It was creeping carefully as if it were a mastodon walking on eggshells. Eventually, the tiger lost interest and wondered away.  The tour guide advised us to be quiet; “Shhh, we have to be extremely quiet,” Gitta whispered, motioning us to follow her. We heard the tiger plop down in the water not too far off.

We tiptoed around trying to find a good place to sleep for the night. The rays of broken sunlight that the trees permitted through were growing dimmer. If we didn’t find a place quick, we would be wondering deep in the darkness amongst the wild, the canopy holding us captive.

Gitta found an abandoned, poorly built fort, which she assumes was left from the last passersby. My brother and I hurriedly gathered some leaves to make the dirt floor a bit softer. Gitta started a fire. We still had some food left in our backpacks and were able to use the light and the heat of the small fire to cook a meal.

As we sat around the fire, Gitta told me and my brother stories about her previous jungle adventures. Gitta found her passion within the endless walls of the jungle. She told us about run-ins with elephants, monkeys, tigers, and even a rhino. As Gitta talked, a strange looking lizard scurried over my foot. I jumped back like someone had given me a violent push. Gitta laughed and explained it was a harmless lizard.  I began to yawn; it had been a long, hot day. The jungle grew quieter, seconding me. Gitta agreed it was time to call it a night.

The birds woke me as the sun rays returned. I could hear the jungle come alive as I lay in the fort crammed between my brother and Gitta. Soon they woke up and Gitta went out to gather something for our breakfast.  We sat around the remains of last night’s small fire and watched the smoke disappear into the sunlight. After eating breakfast, we packed up our belongings and looked around once more before leaving.

As I closed the sliding glass door I glanced back at my Nana’s and Pawpawl’s backyard. I could see the water of the swimming pool moving with the wind and the huge pine trees swaying. The birds were chirping and the fire wood from last night was now a pile of ash. I pushed the lock down and knew that the jungle would be there next summer, but until then I had some wild stories to share with my family and friends.

My Nana and Pawpawl always made the backyard an adventure through some exotic place. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend the summers away from school than to be with my grandparents in the backyard! Now it was time to go buy all the demanded school supplies and the much wanted new wardrobe. Nana and Pawpawl always helped prepare us for the upcoming school year; 7th grade here I come!