#jungle aricankurtay kurtay imagination

[storiesformygrandson]

THE PANTHER By Arican KURTAY It was the last minute of the championship match. The Virginia team had won a penalty kick.The crowd was cheering as their star player Deren was getting ready to make the shot.The goalkeeper was standing beside the goal post and watching every move of Deren. His nick name was ‘The Panther’ not because he had green eyes and black hair but because he could move like a panther and save almost impossible balls. In this tournament only, he had saved three penalty kicks up to now. Deren got behind the ball and ‘The Panther’ took his place between the goal posts. Deren raised his head and looked at the goal before he started running towards the ball. Suddenly ‘The Panther’ started to get bigger and bigger and covered the goal, becoming a real panther. He opened his jaws and Deren could see the sharp white teeth of the panther in front of his eyes. He tried to run away but his legs would not move, the crowd was also screaming with fear. Then suddenly he woke up. It was still dark outside. This was the second time that he was seeing this dream. He decided to go downstairs and have something to eat. Maybe he would make himself a nice omelette. He was already feeling very hungry. When he got to the kitchen his grandfather was already there, drinking his morning tea and reading some stuff from his I-pad. “Good morning Deren, why are you up so early this morning “ he asked. “I had a nightmare and couldn’t get back to sleep “ he replied. Then he started preparing omelettes, one for grandpa and one for himself. “It smells delicious” his grandpa said while pouring himself another cup of tea. “What was your nightmare about” he asked. “My favorite one is, being chased by a group of tribesmen with long spears in their hands, in the jungles of the Amazon river. I get frightened every time I see this dream and wake up soaked in sweat”. So Deren told his grandpa about the goalkeeper becoming a panther and jumping on him. “That's very interesting” his grandpa said as he was finishing his omelette. “Let me tell you what happened to me last winter in Istanbul. It was a very cold day and a cold wind was blowing from the sea. We had some leftover chicken from last evening and I decided to take it to the cats of the seaside park. There was no one else in the street as I walked the short distance to the park. While  passing in front of a building, I heard someone say, “Hey you guy with the chicken”. I was startled because there was no one else around except a black cat sitting on the wall. I looked at the cat and she said, “Yeah, I'm the one who spoke to you. Is there anyone else around carrying a bag full of chicken”. “How did you know I was carrying chicken” I asked. “Can't you see I am a cat and we can smell things”, she replied. “Well sorry, I don't see a talking cat every day so I was a bit surprised. By the way what are you doing outside in this weather, shouldn't you take shelter somewhere”. “I have just come to your world so I don't feel cold yet”. “What do you mean by another world”. “I am actually a panther in my world but when I switch worlds to come here I become a cat so that no one will notice me”. I was so surprised that I could not find anything to say at first but there was this cat talking with me and saying very interesting things. “What is your name if you have one” I asked. “When I first came here I was a kitten and a woman took me to her house. She wanted me to be her pet and started calling me ‘Cotton’. What a stupid name, me being black and cotton white, she thought it was funny. Anyway it was nice at the beginning, she was giving me all sorts of nice food and all I had to do was sleep and play with anything that moved in the house. After a while I was bored and started to miss my life in the jungle. So one day I ran away and returned to my own world. I sometimes miss the days I spent here so from time to time I visit this world also”. I was still not clear about this other world thing so I decided to ask what she meant by it. How can a panther living in the jungle come over here as a cat and speak our language. “What is this other world and how can you switch from one world to the other” I asked her. “It is very difficult for me to explain but if you want I can take you there”, she replied. “Why not, let's give it a try” I said. She looked at me with her green eyes trying to understand if I really meant it. “If you go there you can't go as a human being, you will also have to be a panther like me” she said. Now that made me think, because I was quite old and how could an old panther survive in the jungle. Anyway I decided to go on with it. “How do we get there” I asked. “We have to pass through the jungle world gate” she said, “but I have to warn you because when you get there you will have to spend at least one day before you can return to your own world, although one day in that world is just like a minute in this one, so when you get back no one will ever notice that you had gone away”. “OK, let's go Cotton” She gave me a bad look and started walking towards the seaside. I put the chicken on the wall so other cats could eat it and started following her. She got between the trees in the park and started sniffing the air until she found whatever she was looking for and stopped. “Now stand here and close your eyes, you will go first then I will follow. When you get there hide yourself and wait for me to come. Do not make any noise or other stupid things because you are going to the jungle and there is danger everywhere”. I went to the place where she wanted me to stand and closed my eyes. Suddenly I felt like I was being carried up into the sky and then being dropped down. My feet hit something hard and I fell down. I opened my eyes and everything was green around me. At first I could not understand where I was but as my vision cleared I could see the high trees and bushes around me. It was very hot and I had to hide behind the tree so I had to get up and run, but what do I see, I have huge black paws in place of my hands and I could not even stand up because I am a panther now and I have to run on my four legs. With one jump I reach the trees. Wow,  that is amazing, I could never have done it even when I was young. Then there is a sort of an explosion and Cotton comes out from the dust cloud. She is a wonderful animal, her black skin shining as she passes through the sunny part and comes to me. “Now remember this place” she says,  “because you have to be here exactly at this time tomorrow, otherwise you will not be able to get back to your world. In the meantime I will try to protect you, but in any case if you see something big, run away, it's your enemy and if you see something small, try to catch it, it's your meal”. “So what do we do now” I ask. “It is daytime now, so we have to find a place to hide, sleep and clean ourselves. We shall go hunting when it gets dark” she said. Then without another word she started running between the trees. I was having a difficult time following her and in the meantime thinking about the foolish decision I had made by coming over here. If it was possible I would want to get back to my little world immediately. Finally we reached a tree and with great ease she jumped to branch. I tried to follow but could not even touch the branch with my front legs. I felt too old for such things. I tried to climb instead and found out that it was easier than I thought. I lay down on the branch and started wondering when I would fall down if I ever could sleep. I curled my tail upwards like Cotton had done and suddenly felt very comfortable. I would not fall after all. I was smelling all kinds of things, hearing even the slightest noises and still being able to sleep. It was wonderful being a panther. After a while I heard Cotton call me. She was already under the tree. It was dark, the birds had stopped singing and all I could hear  was the noise of the leaves as the wind blew slightly. I jumped down, I think I was getting used to the idea of being a panther. I was also a bit hungry. If I were at home I might eat some pasta, but it was not possible here and as a panther I did not feel like eating anything other than meat. Cotton told me that it was not the best season for hunting so we may not be able to find any food but we had to try anyway. It was not a big problem for me because I planned to return home the next day and I could manage without food for a while. But I was thirsty and the only place with water was the river. So we started to go towards the river. There were no cups to drink water from so I had to put my tongue into the water and started licking. Suddenly I saw a big fish looking at me from the water. With one strike of my paw I was able to catch the fish. It tasted delicious, my first prey as a panther. I was very pleased with myself. Even Cotton appreciated my hunting skills. Having fed ourselves it was time to rest, sleep and cleanup again. It felt very nice being a panther I thought. We slept some more and it was almost time for me to return home to my world. Suddenly Cotton jumped up to the higher branches of the tree. I think she was not happy with something going on around us. I could also hear some voices but couldn't make up what they were. She came back down and she seemed rather troubled. “The natives are coming this way, they will hunt us if they see us, so we have to run away. I can escape but you are not as good as me and older so they can kill you. You better run to the jungle world gate and return to your own world. I had fantastic time with you and will visit you again in the near future”. I was very moved by what she said and almost felt like crying. But now I could also hear the noises made by the natives, so I started running towards my exit gate to my world. When I looked back I could see the natives with their long spears running towards me. They had spotted me and were very excited because a panther was a great catch for them. I came to the place where the jungle world gate was supposed to be and closed my eyes. I could almost feel the hands of the natives trying to catch me. Then suddenly I was gone. When I opened my eyes again I was at the park by the seaside. I was lucky because there was no one around, otherwise they would be surprised to see a man suddenly appear in front of them. When I returned home your grandma looked at me and said “Where have you been, you are smelling awful, did you sleep in the street? Come on, go clean up we have fish for dinner”. Do you think she would really believe me if I told her what happened. I still have this nightmare about the natives chasing me, so I am sure it is not a nightmare but the real thing. Deren looked at his grandpa, he was not sure if what he had told was true, but then he remembered his own nightmare, maybe he was also in the jungle himself, being chased by a real panther. “OK grandpa, let's go out and play some football” he said.