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Author: Rbalmonia
Image: A Civet cat (here)I wish to recall an episode while we were on vacation
a long time ago. It seemed hilarious now but not when
it happened.
We decided on a week's vacation at a small resort with
sea-side sports activities but with the bonus of jungle
trekking and fishing thrown in.
My loving wife Shadah had reservations initially as
a jungle environment would be fraught with danger.
I just brushed it off as wild imagination. It was a
mother's natural tendency of added caution, an
unnecessary worry.
We were housed in a 3-room chalet and the kitchen was
the back portion. My son Hafidz decided to investigate but
was held back by Shadah. It could be robbers and probably
armed, she cautioned. It could not be as robbers would not
give themselves away I countered.
We called security and a young man, John came by
sneering made a show of bravery and walked confidently
into the kitchen. Things were strewn about dented or
broken. By this time a few of the neighbouring chalets
had awakened and stood around wondering what happened
John looked around and declared things were under control
They would do a clean-up in the morning and all would back
to normal. Shadah then asked John whether it was safe to
pull back the curtains to let air in as a pot of spilled curry
was emitting some kind of odour.
The kitchen window had wire-mesh so John said it was safe.
He made a move to the window and was just about to pull
back the thick curtains - then it happened!
It jumped out from behind the curtains on to John's face.
John cried out and rushed for the door. He missed a step
and his face smashed against the door itself.
The honorable thing for the management to do for which we
we were grateful was to have our family transferred to one of their
suites at the main building. We were there for the whole week.
John was given a few days off but he met us before we left
There were still old scars on his face and when he smiled
there was a toothy grin - on account of two missing teeth
in the front.
He explained it was a civet cat that got trapped behind
the curtain because of the wire-mesh.
.
We arrived in the late afternoon enough to have a glimpse
of the sea and the accompanying sea breeze tugging at
wisps of our hair. A wonderful time on the morrow was
eagerly awaited. But what a surprise, for the excitement
did not wait for morning. It happened that very night itself!
We had retired for the night and snugly in bed snoring
away. Suddenly there was a din in the kitchen, a lot of
banging, knocking and sounds of pans falling.
We arrived in the late afternoon enough to have a glimpse
of the sea and the accompanying sea breeze tugging at
wisps of our hair. A wonderful time on the morrow was
eagerly awaited. But what a surprise, for the excitement
did not wait for morning. It happened that very night itself!
We had retired for the night and snugly in bed snoring
away. Suddenly there was a din in the kitchen, a lot of
banging, knocking and sounds of pans falling.
We were housed in a 3-room chalet and the kitchen was
the back portion. My son Hafidz decided to investigate but
was held back by Shadah. It could be robbers and probably
armed, she cautioned. It could not be as robbers would not
give themselves away I countered.
We called security and a young man, John came by
sneering made a show of bravery and walked confidently
into the kitchen. Things were strewn about dented or
broken. By this time a few of the neighbouring chalets
had awakened and stood around wondering what happened
John looked around and declared things were under control
They would do a clean-up in the morning and all would back
to normal. Shadah then asked John whether it was safe to
pull back the curtains to let air in as a pot of spilled curry
was emitting some kind of odour.
The kitchen window had wire-mesh so John said it was safe.
He made a move to the window and was just about to pull
back the thick curtains - then it happened!
It jumped out from behind the curtains on to John's face.
John cried out and rushed for the door. He missed a step
and his face smashed against the door itself.
The honorable thing for the management to do for which we
we were grateful was to have our family transferred to one of their
suites at the main building. We were there for the whole week.
John was given a few days off but he met us before we left
There were still old scars on his face and when he smiled
there was a toothy grin - on account of two missing teeth
in the front.
He explained it was a civet cat that got trapped behind
the curtain because of the wire-mesh.
A nocturnal creature it was more frightened of John
than we had imagined. It was not a dangerous animal
but it was an unexpected visitor which managed to get
in but not able to get out on its own!
Punam's at d'Verse Tuesday Poetics - vacation-reminiscences/
An adventure for sure.
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by my blog Hank.
Much💜love
Wow ~ what a story, Hank! 🙃
ReplyDeleteMuch love,
David
SkepticsKaddish.com
That was some adventure, Hank! I’ve never experienced jungle trekking, and I agree with your wife about I being fraught with danger. I love the details you included in the build-up to the incident, particularly the ‘sea breeze tugging at wisps of our hair’, and the image of you all ‘snugly in bed snoring away’ before the sudden din woke everyone up. Poor John! And poor civet cat!
ReplyDeleteThe poor guy! But good thing isn't wasn't you.
ReplyDeleteA very engaging write, Hank! I can imagine how terrifying all that noise must have been!
ReplyDeletePoor John and poor civet cat! But they did make your vacation memorable.
P.S: A woman's instincts are generally right. 🙂
Quite an adventure.🐅
ReplyDeleteSort of glad it was "Mr. Overconfident" who ran into the cornered animal, rather than your young son! In the Eastern States raccoons, possums, even squirrels, and of course mice and rats, have been known to bite people when cornered. Even stray pets sometimes.
ReplyDelete