Along came a hero

Chapter 2 

Leah new she was about to faint. Not just from the shock of looking into eyes of a human that reminded her of the lion that she just saw from the roof of her SUV. And not because he was now so close to her in this very confined area that she could see little speckles of brown in them as well.

No, it was  probably from the pain that shot right up into her leg after she touched the clutch pedal with her foot. “I landed into something on my way down from the rooftop of my car. It is now stuck in my foot and it … hurts so badly.”

Lionman reached down and moved her foot just enough to take a look at the damage and then a sigh escaped from deep inside of him. Almost like a roar.

“Oh no, that does not look good. That is not good at all. Don’t you have any shoes?”

“I have sandals. I just thought I don’t need to wear it in Africa.”

“Going bear foot or wearing sandals is not a good idea when walking in the veld. Here are snakes, scorpions, thorns and sharp sticks and stones. I strongly advise that when you get to a nearby town you buy some hiking boots and wear it, whenever you walk around.” He did not laugh at her joke.

“I was wearing sandals while driving here.”

“And they are where now?”

“My sandles are outside by the steps that lead to the roof of my car. I took them off before climbing on top of my roof tent.”

“I see. Next question…what were you doing on top of your car?”

“Trying to make a call to my dad. I could not find a signal. I suppose my cellphone could be anywhere from here to Beira.”

“Mmm your dad… Yes he was a little worried about you. That is why we came looking for you. You triggered one of his security cameras. It is just over there.” He pointed in a direction. For Leah it could be anywhere.

At that moment another much larger vehicle pulled in, next to the window on Lionman’s left hand side.

Down came both the windows. A familiar voice that called out her name before asking. “Leah! Oh my word Sergio. Just tell me that my babygirl is okay.”

“Dad?” Leah lifted her head up. “Daddy…” and then the tears came.

“She is a little hurt John, but not by the lion and nothing too critical. The wound is just bad enough that she won’t be able to drive the Jimney.” Lion man opened the door and climbed out of the little car as if death was no longer in the long grass and strolled over to the driver side of the car.

There he opened the door again and asked. “Lady, are you able to climb over to the passenger side again?”

Lady? Of all titles he could give her.  

“No…” Leah said. The adrenaline was gone. Her foot was killing her. She was stuck. He probably realized that himself and lifted her from the seat and carried her in his arms to the other side of the vehicle.

“Where are the lions?” she was in shock by now. 

“Gone. They took off. Too many humans I suppose,” he said. “Hang in there, your ordeal is almost over…”

The stranger parked her Suzuki at the back of the old house. She got out, standing on one foot and hugged her father. It was so good to see him again. But thenb she had to find a chair again. She was a bit off balance.

So Lionman did it again. He lifted her up in his arms and carried her on to the veranda and through the kitchen where poor Maria the Portuguese cook stood with her hands over her mouth. She also wanted to come closer to greet Leah. Now she was in shock. “It’s okay Maria. It is just a little stick stuck in my foot. I will have it out in an minute, bandage the hole up, and then I come back to greet you.”

“Where must I take her?” Sergio asked in Portuguese. “This one is not exactly getting lighter by the minute, guys.”  

“Her room is the one next The granny flat. The one with the en suite bathroom, Sergio,” Maria explained and started to run ahead of hom, to remove the fancy comforter from the bed.

And that’s where Sergio dropped her.

He lifted her leg and took a good look at the stick that was now part of her foot for about an hour and it is not exactly feeling better. It also had no intention to fall out by itself.

Sergio lowered her leg again and exclaimed. “She needs a doctor. You will have to take her to the hospital, John. This must be removed under local anaesthesia. Then she will need antibiotics, stitches where it will leave a hole. And she may need pain pills to get her through the next day or so.”

Maria gasped. “But why can’t you do all of that for her Sergio?”

“Because I am not a doctor and it is not ethical for me to do any procedures on human beings.”

Her dad tried another angle. “If she was a wild dog or elephant baby in the same trouble, what would you do? Left her to die?”

“If she was an elephant calf or a wild dog, she would probably try to walk with it for days before we realised that she was in trouble. Then she would sit down and lick the wound until the strange object left her body. If someone reported that they have seen an elephant or dog with something like that in their feet, we would dart her and remove it.”

“What the hell are you guys talking about? What’s got an elephant baby or a wild dog got to do with the stick in my foot.”

The two men looked at each other and then they looked at Maria. Eventually it was her dad who did the explaining. “Elephants are Sergios favourites and Wild dogs are on the red data list for scarce and endangered species. We don’t have a lot of them here. And you are my precious daughter. The nearest doctor and small clinic is about seventy five miles from here.”

Enough, decided Leah. It was time to take her fate in her own hands. She removed many thorns from her feet. “Stop talking about a doctor or clinic. I don’t need any of those. I will remove the thing myself.”

“See Sergio! That is the daughter I told you about. My brave Lea. Maria bring us some of my special Brandy.”   

But Sergio was clearly still not convinced of her father’s vote of confidence in her. He folded his arms over his chest and planted himself firmly at the bottom end of the bed. The expression on his face showed that if there was anything he ever had to see in his life, this was it. He wanted to see how Leah pulled that tiny little sticky from her foot. A moment he was going to enjoy. Sadist!  

Leah slowly sat up and lowered her right leg from the bed. Then she crossed the left one over, turned her foor slightly for a better look, and started to inspect the stupid thing that caused so much inconvenience in her life. It was stug. As deep as it could get in and it caused a lot of pain.

She could go through the roof the moment she touched it.

Her dad had enough. “So Sergio, are you really gonna stand there and watch my girl in so much agony. Help her, please.”

He nodded with his head. That’s a no no.  “No John. You just have to take her to a hospital or I will do it.”

That brought Leah to her foot. The one she could stand on. At least that made her look a little taller in front of this big guy, her father and Maria. “Get out of here all of you. Leave me alone. I am not going to any hospital. I just arrived here. Maria please bring me a Disprin and a brandy and let me sleep for the night. I will deal with the problem tomorrow.”

Clearly Sergio disagreed with that suggestion as well. “Tomorrow that foot will be septic. You can get blood poisoning which will make you feel miserable. And if you drink enough of your dad’s brandy to comfort you tonight, you will have a terrible hangover tomorrow.”

“See Sergio, I told you. Stubborn. So please, be my guest and go ahead. You are the only one here remotely qualified to help her.”

“How is Sergio remotely qualified to help me? Is he a lumberjack by profession?” Leah uttered sarcastically before sinking back on the bed again.

“No Sergio Martinez is a veterinarian.”