The Panther

Note: I don't know what happened with the color and highlighting of the words, my computer is acting up.

Walking into the mangrove forest with Josiah and Téa, I took in my surroundings. The air is cooler since the trees are are blocking the majority of the sun, only tiny spotlights shine through. While looking from the towering trees to the branches and leaves blanketing the ground, I noticed that I am alone. Téa and Josiah have wandered off, deeper in the mangroves, probably taking in the scene of the mini beach behind the mangrove forest. That mini beach has water that is so muddy that you can smell it in the mangrove forest.

  I don’t mind being alone in a place like this especially since I am still on the school grounds. The slight breeze blowing my fiery red hair in my face drew me from my thoughts. Through the strands of hair, I spot a glimpse of something tan, right in front of me. I move my hair and I notice that I am face to face with a florida panther. This massive creature with pale green eyes that take up the majority of its face looks at me the way a child would look to their mother with their hands in the cookie jar. The panther and I were both surprised to see one another. For being someone who could potentially be prey to a vicious predator, I am not afraid. I can tell that the panther isn’t in the mood to eat or attack a sixteen year old girl. The one to make the first move was the panther. All he did was situate himself so that he was no longer standing on all fours; he sat down, facing me. I have never been so close to a panther without a fence between us before.

  Letting curiosity control my actions, I slowly took one step closer to the panther. His only reaction was just a blink. Since he didn’t seem to mind the first step, I took another. The panther yawned, sticking his pink tongue out and stretched out his large front paws to wind up laying on his stomach. So, instead of stopping in between steps, I kept walking until I reached the panther. Those four steps took a lifetime to make due to the fact that I didn’t want the panther to feel uncomfortable. When I ended up bending next to him, the panther rolled on his back and playfully pawed at me. I slowly brought my hand to his soft stomach, the warmth from his body spread to my hand. I can feel his steady breathing with every stroke. This is when I noticed the panther do this happy rumble from his throat, rubbing his head into my hand. This is when I remembered that panthers are the largest cats to pur. When the panther moved to his feet and looked at me, I was able to take in how big it is. From afar, he seemed massive, but up close, with the panther on all fours, he comes up to my waist. That’s a good three and half feet. If he were to stand on his back legs, he would be taller than me.

  People who see a panther in the wild would probably be afraid because they would think that the panther would turn them into a meal. Those people are definitely wrong. I am sitting here, interacting with a full grown panther with no problem whatsoever. He’s acting more like a kitten than a beast. My hair moving across my face made me aware of the sudden breeze that took my attention away from the panther. I also heard the voices of  Téa and Josiah getting louder as they are coming closer to me. I cannot wait to show them the panther. When my two friends arrived to my area, I showed them the panther...or so I thought. When I looked at where the panther was, nothing was there. The only remains of the panther are the paw prints in the sandy grass and his memory in the wind.