Sweet Tooth Raids
Response for the Triple Centina Writing Challenge
Sugary juicy corn! Midnight raids have always agreed with my insatiable sweet tooth. I tromp as quietly as an elephant can. I know the consequences; villagers appear, raging, swinging their kerosene lanterns, waving sticks, and shouting we must go, or be bushmeat.
Don’t they know this land has always been ours? We have browsed here for eons, say our elders. Besides, now the corn is hopelessly irresistible!
I rip and pull with my trunk, wrapping and curling corncobs straight into my mouth. Ahh, these succulent crunchy delights. A long line of lanterns illuminate in the distance; time to wander on.
Only if I am awake, do I hear their footsteps. They pass on the trail near our house; often slow-paced, several at a time. I know where they are going, to the field beyond the water pump. Our corn has just ripened for harvest.
I roll over and nudge Joseph. It’s the men who get to scare off the elephants.
“Joseph darling,” I whisper. “Wake up, they are here again, and will devour our crops.”
