Every
day here is a mini-adventure. One minute I am rooted down by reality and then my next blink transports me to a world where I am living within the pages of a storybook crawling with various creatures.
Today as I was descending the steps in my hostel to
go to school I noticed a group of security officers, teachers, and
students gathered around the garden that lies between the student dorms. My initial thought was that they were
having some kind of traditional dance practice with all of the hopping
and lunging that was happening . . . but then I noticed the 6-foot cobra
slithering in the grass! The young children wrinkled with fear and uttered short cries from a far distance; the curious minds inched closer to the battlefield and gasped on cue; the Big Voice leaders jumped onto the garden's stone ledge and shouted strategic movements; and the chauvinistic male teachers knighted one another and charged into battle. Armed with shields of bravery and long sticks, the men - in their flip-flops - slowly danced around the slithering beast. Our knights slid their sticks under the snake and simultaneously lifted the monster, hurling it over the boundary wall of the school into the nearby field. A chaotic flurry of joyous shouts and applause burst throughout the garden.
The storybook closed. I blinked my eyes and the garden was empty - the young children, curious minds, Big Voice leaders, and Knights continued on with their normal day, scattering to different destinations . . . But perhaps I will blink and see these characters again very soon . . .
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