Mary drew the shape of the
rhinoceros as fast as she could. The beast was not moving at all but she knew
she had to be fast if she wanted to fill her sketchbook with drawings. She had
already seen a zebra and also an elephant, from afar. She had also done some
landscapes, although she was fed up of doing those. Back in school, that’s all
they did. Just walks and walks to draw mountains and a prairie and homework
like drawing what you could see from your bedroom window or from the kitchen or
from the bathroom.
Coming to Africa was a surprise
from her father. She rarely saw him around, as he was one of the most acclaimed
scientists in the country. He was always in some exotic location and he would
often mail her beautiful handwritten letters with at least one curious thing
inside. He would often mail her feathers from birds that no person in Europe
had ever seen, but he would also encase in the envelope a couple of leaves from
some rare plants or a complete flower, dried up from the journey on the plane.
She had kept all of those
treasures in a small shoebox in her closet. She would often look at all of it
and just sigh, thinking both about her father and about the kinds of adventures
she could have once she had graduated from a good university and then study
even more. She knew very well how hard her parents had to work to achieve the
milestones they had arrived to, but sometimes she hated to be so young and
silly. Mary wanted to have all those grownup things right then and there, no
more wait.
Her mother had always been the
patient kind. Her name was Debra and she was the one in charge of raising them
properly. She also had a job though, so she left at the same time than the
children in the mornings and she would return a couple of hours after the school
bus had dropped at home She was a very kind woman that enabled them to explore
the world and be open about everything. So open that when Mary’s little brother
Devon said he liked one of his school friends who was a boy, she was
understanding and supportive.
No one knew if Devon’s crush for
his friend was real or something that should be looked at, but that wasn’t the
important part of the whole thing. The issue was that they had great parents
that tried to make them see that the world was truly open to them and that they
could do whatever they wanted, if they wanted to become better people and even
help others be better too. That’s why both kids would often go camping in the
summer and would be encouraged to join clubs at school. That didn’t make them the
best students ever, but it made them curious and that was more than enough for
their parents.
The only thing that had always
bothered Mary was the fact that his father had never wanted her or her brother
to join him in one of his trips. Of course, she had only wanted to go to one of
the shorter ones or maybe something in the summer. But no matter how long it
took or where they would have to go, both their parents’ answers were two
resounding “no”. Her brother, of course, was too young still to go and do those
things. At eight, he barely knew what the world was really about. But Mary was
seventeen and she had already decided that she wanted to be a biologist.
He dream was to be able to
discover many new animals and help classify them and protect them. That was her
life plan and she had even discussed it with her parents, who had been very
supportive up until she had requested for a spot in her father’s next trip to
China. She felt she had been very close to convincing him but her mother’s last
words, something about school and being a woman, made her father decide against
it. She had been very mad with her mother that summer, so much so that they
didn’t speak at all.
Of course it was all related to
her father. She was very aware that one of her reasons to go and explore with
him was the fact that she felt she didn’t really knew him that well. He was a
kind man and very intelligent too, but anyone that worked with him could say
that. She wanted to know him properly, as people and not as an adult and a child.
There was no real connection when he came and visited because, every time he
was with them, it didn’t feel as if he lived there at all. He was just hanging
around.
They only had a couple of very
deep conversations, all of them regarding animals and the trips his father had
taken. She could hear him for hours, talking about the new creatures he saw and
how they were careful enough to preserve every single shred of new things they
encountered. He even told her about the other people on his explorations, must
of which were always unknowns to her and her brother. They would visit
sometimes but would always only talk to their parents, have coffee and then run
back out.
When the Africa trip came up,
Mary couldn’t believe her ears. It was so shocking to her that she started
laughing hysterically. Once things calmed down, her mother explained that they
had been talking about her dream of becoming a biologist and they had concluded
that it was necessary for her to have real life experience, on the field. Coincidentally,
his father had some things to do in a national park in Botswana in the summer,
so the whole family would be able to go with him and just enjoy a couple of
weeks as if they were actually working with their patriarch.
Preparing for the journey had been a chore: clothes had to be bought,
suitcases had to be taken out of the attic and caretakers for their pets had to
be found. Once the two cats and the dog had someone to live with for the time
they would be out, everyone got a bit less stressed. However, they had to be
smart about what they would pack because, after all, they weren’t going to a
beach or some beautiful city to walk and take selfies. They were going where
the wild things were and it was necessary to be objective.
Mary was the first one to have
her suitcase ready. Her mother requested to check if everything was in order
and she was not so surprised to see that her daughter was taking the trip very
seriously. She was so proud of her that she took her to the mall in order to
buy some supplies: a large sketchbook and a big box of colored pencils, as well
as a smaller case with only normal pencils with different degrees of granite.
It was the best gift Mary had ever received and she hugged her mother tight,
which was a rare occurrence.
They were not really one of those
hugs and kisses families. They were the kind to remain together and respect
each other, but physicality was not at all involved in their interactions.
Mary’s hug was something spontaneous, out of sheer joy because everything she
had always wanted was happening at the exact same time. It was fun and it was
happy, so much so that she even helped her little brother packed and talked
about his crush for a short while. It was nice to feel they were more than just
siblings.
The plane ride felt too long and
strenuous. The moment they landed and met their father in the terminal, Mary
knew it was the thing she had always waited for. From that moment on, she was
always very perceptive of anything near her. She would carry a backpack with
her sketchbook, pencils and camera, plus some other things that she needed in
order to really prove herself on the field. Her father would check on her work
at the end of each day and he would always nod and then kiss her goodnight.
She needed much more from him but
she had no idea how to ask him that. She couldn’t just do it because, by doing
so, she would probably break the very fragile and interesting relationship they
had. She wanted to build on top of what existed and not tear everything apart to
try again.
However, she reminded herself every night that they were going to stay
there for almost and entire month. She was going to have all the time she
needed to really prove herself to be as good as her parents. She needed to do
it but she also wanted to do it. She never put herself out of the equation.
