National Park

Chapter 23

"Is he alive? Oh my god! What happened to his tail?"

Raja slowly opened his eyes. His head felt thick and heavy, but he recognised the voice.

"He's awake!" Maya screamed.

His entire family clustered around him. At Maya's outburst, they stroked his body, being very careful not to touch his tail, which was now totally bandaged. Raja welcomed their hands, but still felt too weak to stand. They were not the only ones in the room. He appeared to be in a small room that looked like the chalet rooms Dev and the family had been staying in, but this one was more like an office than a living area. A tall bald man wearing a white coat walked up to him and, using his thumb and forefinger, opened first Raja's left eye and then his right eye, shining a light into them. Raja, slightly blinded by the light, remained lying on what felt like a small bed, listening as the man in the white coat spoke to the family.

"He seems fine. He had lost a lot of blood, but I believe we found him in time. I removed the drip just before you arrived and his energy levels should return in a few hours. He still requires rest, but he will be fine. The tip of his tail has been bitten off, possibly by a lion. It's extraordinary that he managed to survive and, for that matter, managed to escape! I have stitched and bandaged the wound. The stitches will dissolve in a few days. Besides all that, he's in great condition!"

Raja attempted to grin, but just did not have the energy. He watched, his eyes half closed, as the doctor continued chatting and answering questions being posed by the family. As they spoke, Raja could hear another familiar voice that seemed to be coming from outside. He realised with discomfort that it was the reporter, Jane Coetzee.

"We are back live at the Madiba National Park, where it has been an extraordinary few days! We have had reports that there appeared to have been a massive animal war last night. Various visitors have sighted injured animals around the park this morning, but it is unclear what the cause of this disruption was. We have also had an unconfirmed report that the old rhino that has been missing for a few days has turned up, thank goodness. We will continue our search, and hopefully confirm this in a later broadcast. Now we have just received unconfirmed reports of a dead lion! The rangers are not commenting on the cause of death, but an unnamed source has indicated that it might have been the work of hunters in the area. Moving on to a related story; we reported some days ago that a little puggle by the name of Raja had been lost in the park after an elephant attack during a night drive. Amazingly, the little dog was found this morning, alive, with a minor injury! If only animals could speak! We have the family gathered here and maybe we could get a few words."

Jane Coetzee entered the room to smile cheerfully at an annoyed Patel family and gushed:

"You must be truly relieved!"

Dev responded:

"We are very happy with the return of our beloved Raja, yes. He is still heavily sedated, but will be fine with some rest. We would like to thank all your viewers who have sent through many messages of support."

He then waved Jane away and she pulled back the mic smoothly and stared into the camera again.

"Well, there we are, all glad this story has had a happy ending. Thank you for watching and we will return when there are further developments. This is Jane Coetzee reporting live from the Madiba National Park."

She walked over to her cameraman and exchanged a few words, then waved at the family, smiled at Raja and left the room.

"I really don't like that woman," Dev grumbled.

Raja smiled weakly in agreement. He looked over at his family and thought how glad he was to be back with them. It had been an amazing experience, but Raja thought he had had enough excitement.

He watched the family contentedly for a few more moments before passing out again.