Angel of the Amazon

Part 7

February 26th 1875

Something amazing happened today, and it has changed my point of view on Zaphod. I had taken him out into the forest today in hopes he would help me find others of his kind. I thought if one saw me with him around or one called to him, they might come out of hiding and I could catch a glimpse of them. That didn't happen.

What happened was as we walked with the guide through the undergrowth, something caught his attention and he ran off. I unwittingly attempted to chase after him but got my self lost. I called out for him several times, but got no response. After a while I gave up and started walking back, or at least tried to.

All of a sudden, an anaconda fell down on me from a tree branch above! I tried to shake it off, but it soon had itself coiled around me. It was too small to actually be able to eat me, but that sure as heck wasn't going to stop it from trying! It was crushing me. I couldn't breathe as it tighten itself around me. Each gasp I desperately made for air only made it worse. Soon I was too light headed to be able to balance and I fell to the ground. I was sure it was going to be the end of me.

Then I heard a swooping noise. Something turned me over and I heard several loud thuds and a crack before the great snake's body went limp and I could breath. Through the haze of being oxygen deprived, I could see Zaphod holding a large, and now bloodied stone, glaring al the spot just to the right of me. I looked to my right and saw the mess that once was the snakes head. He saved my life!

Before I could say anything Zaphod was looking at me with worry and kneeled over me to remove the dead creature from me, and gave a low whimper when I gasped in pain as he tried to move me into a sitting position. The snake had cracked one of my ribs. Before I could even give a reaction to this revelation, he had pulled me into a gentle hug. I know I had almost died, but I honestly never expected him to show this much care and concern for me. What had I ever done for him?

He had eventually got me into a standing position, and helped me back to camp, finding our guide along the way. Ralph ended up patching me up (he's a medical doctor as well as my assistant) and I had to lie down for a while. I'm still lying down. Zaphod has been watching me to make sure I don't move very much. He wouldn't even allow me to reach for my journal! I had to wait until Philip came in to check on me and ask him to pass it to me.

Anyways, this has opened up my eyes to several things I hadn't realized about Zaphod before. I knew he was complexed, but I never realized the full emotional range he had. I've had dogs before, and you can tell what emotions they're experiencing very easily, but I've never seen an animal save a human with such a mix of emotions written on its face. Usually it's just one at a time. His eyes however, were glistening with an emotional cocktail.

Secondly, I have always seen him and his curious nature like that of a child. I hadn't realized he was capable of such violence. I should have though. Living in this dog eat dog world of his, I should have known he would have some training in killing for selfdefense.

Lastly though, I never realized he cared for me so! He had saved me before and I expected him to save me again, but in the past few hours he's pretty much devoted all his efforts into caring for me! I knew he liked me to some extent, but this much kindness for someone you know almost nothing about? It honestly makes me feel like a terrible person in comparison! I do hope I can find out why, but I'd have to teach him enough English to be able to hold a conversation first, and I haven't even started on that! Maybe I can work on that in this downtime...