The sky was turning orange as I was still on my hunt. A herd of zebras gathered together on the land, heads lowered as they were eating grass. I crouched low in the tall grass nearby, hiding myself since I'm a lioness in a hunt, a lone lioness in a hunt actually. I was watching their every move, getting ready to make mine. My claws dug in the ground in anticipation, and I took a deep breath, already starting to feel the taste of zebra in my mouth. Ok, Sayde...Get ready.

After watching my food for several long moments, I finally dashed out of my hiding spot. I would've got one of them in time, but the zebras heard me, saw me and started to run, yipping in surprise, didn't expect me to show up. Their hooves sounded loud as they ran from me across the ground, while all four of my paws carried me after them. They were getting fast, and I was slow. I snarled to myself. C'mon! Go faster! They're getting away!

I used some more strength in my legs, sprinting with urgency to catch up to the herd, to one of them. I was gaining on them, as the thought of jumping on one of them on their back was the only thing in my head. I was almost behind one of them, not letting myself up since I know they wouldn't till I was gone. When I was a foot behind one white and black striped animal, I sprang, flying up in the air, not taking my eyes off its back, and landed on it.

The zebra cried out as we both crashed to the ground while the rest of the herd kept on running without their fallen member of the herd. I fell off its back momentarily, landing on my side about a couple feet from it, but as my heart pounded in my chest from adrenaline I picked myself up fast and ran to the creature while it was trying to gain its footing and get up. I was faster than it, it didn't have the chance. I roared, pushing its side down on the dirt. When I was scratching at it with my claws to try to weaken it a bit, the zebra rolled a bit and tried to kick me with one of its hooves. One of them hit me on the shoulder, knocking me away, and my side landed on the dirt again.

I roared in pain, "Argh!" But that didn't stop me as I got up once more and went back at it. I wasn't gonna let that thing win! Another hoof came at me, this time about to struck me right on the head. But I dodged that one in time, and really fast had my form moved over its body while the zebra was lying on its back. While the zebra tried struggling underneath me, my jaws swiftly went down and grabbed its throat. I bit down, my tongue tasting blood. It still tried to hurt me with its feet, but it was no use, they were all missed strikes. For several moments, as the zebra slowly died, its legs moved weakly, so has its chest, and they stopped moving shortly after that.

It was now dead.

My mouth let loose of the throat, blood still spilling out of the jaw wounds, and I lifted my head over the zebra's, seeing the lifeless look staring back at me. I let out a huff, my heart still pounding away inside me. Gosh...This was one tough zebra! When I moved off the creature and back on the ground, I shut my eyes and let out a squeaky moan of pain as my shoulder still hurt. Owwww….

I opened my eyes, glaring at the now dead zebra. Dammit, you got me! My anger melted away as it gave way to a victorious smile on my muzzle. But I got YOU. I was letting out a breath, then started to nod to myself, as I said some words to myself, "Alright, Sayde...Dig in."

With my claws and teeth, I started to eat my food, till my stomach had its fill. There was still a lot of the meat left, but I'll be leaving the rest to the vultures, or whatever else that's out here tonight. I trekked slowly away from the half-eaten zebra, limping a bit since every step I took sent a slight twinge of pain up my shoulder. I know I usually go out on hunts alone, but the pained shoulder is making me wish that I wasn't alone when I was hunting. Hunting with a group of lionesses is always easy especially for a hunt. That's what my mom always tells me.

But I think I was more hungry than anything else! If I was with a hunting party, I don't think I could have my fill because everybody else would eat most of it before me. And knowing how several other lionesses in the pride feel towards me, I'm not a biggest fan of them.

Some of them are mostly fans of my sister.

I growled in anger. You know what? Screw them, and screw her! I like huntin' alone anyways.

I took my slight limping pace all the way to the nearby watering hole, since I saw my claws and feet are dirty with red stains, and I'm sure my face is covered in blood too. I wanted to clean all that off. I hate trying to sleep in the night with blood stains close to my nose. I can smell it when I try to! Better get to that. I found the watering hole and got close to the edge of the water, being careful not to fall in it since I don't like getting myself TOTALLY wet. I can drink it, since it is always refreshing, but I will NOT dip myself in there. I've seen other animals submerge themselves in the water, but they can leave me out of it!

I raised a paw close to my face, examining the blood still on it as I twiddled my claws. Then I got on my stomach, submerged my forepaws in there, getting them wet, and started scrubbing them together, washing off the blood. When I was done after I got back on my feet, as the ripples in the water finally stopped, I paid attention to my face now as I stared at my own reflection with it. My eyes frowned as I see the crimson blood on my face. Heh...Knew it'd be dirty.

My dipped paw flowed smoothly through the water as I was getting it wet again and I rubbed my face with it, trying my best to get all the blood off there. After a few more swabs of water with my paw and more scrubbing, I gazed at my own self in the surface of the watering hole again, and see that I'm clean now. I smiled at myself. That's better.

My ear flicked when I heard a very loud roar in a distance. I shot my head off at the direction it came from. I sighed. I know who that is.

Dad.

I looked up toward the sky, seeing the orange glow up there about gone. No wonder he's roaring. It's getting dark and I'm probably the only one out here. He'd noticed that and he's now calling for me. Better get home before he sends a search party for me.

With the thought, and with a clean face, I limped towards home. As minutes passed, the sky above me finally went dark. From walking for a long time, I finally see my home ahead. What my home looks like on the outside is a large wall of rock that looks a little high, and around that wall there were only a few paths that'll take you to the top. At the bottom of the wall is a huge hole that leads to a cave, where it houses the rest of the pride.

With my good sight in the dark, I can see a member of the pride sitting outside the entrance, probably waiting for me. It was my father, the king of the pride, Jabari. My dad's magnificent black mane was blown a bit by the small graze of the wind coming at him as he caught sight of me. I think he looked worried, I can see it on his face. Oh, daddy...I'm not little anymore.

As I still limped to him, father got off his butt and said, his eyes filled with relief, "There you are, Sayde. You were gone for a long time on your hunt. It's late now."

I stopped in front of him, "I know. Sorry I'm late."

"And here I was about to gather up some lionesses to search for you."

The side of my lips rose a bit for a tiny smile when I stretched my head forward to him, "Buuut, you don't have to now."

A sigh left his muzzle, "Don't get smart with me, young lady. I was getting worried." He frowned, "And are you ok? It's because when you were walking, I saw that you're-"

I cut him off, knowing what he was about to say, "I know I am limping, but I'm fine."

He still looked concerned, "Are you sure?"

"Yes." I sighed and said before he could open his mouth and ask me why I'm hurt, "Let's just say I had a hard time killing a zebra and got hurt by it."

I see he smirked, "Got hurt by a zebra? A lioness hardly ever gets hurt by one."

I rolled my shoulder a bit, feeling the pain still within it, "Ooooh…I certainly had. It's just my shoulder that hurts. That thing gave it a good kick."

He chuckled, "Must have been one brave zebra. I guess it didn't want to join the heavens."

"Or maybe it forgot its purpose in life: Being food for predators." I shrugged with one paw, "Who knows, and who cares? It's dead now."

Daddy tilted his head in amusement, "You killed it?"

I grinned, "Well duh, of course I did!"

Dad replied, "Well I just thought since you were hurt, maybe it had a chance to-"

"Daddy, just because I got hurt by it doesn't mean I had let it get away. I was quick enough to do it."

He giggled and raised a brow, "I was also gunna say, if it hurt you and you didn't have a chance of killing it, I was gonna tell your mother to give you more hunting lessons."

I shook my head, "I don't need them anymore. Besides, it's not like it was my first hunt in my life and you know it."

He puffed out his chest and let it out, "...Yes, daughter, I know."

I closed my eyes and held up my head in pride, "And as usual, Imma back." When one of my paws pressed to the ground, another shot of pain erupted in my shoulder. My face winced in pain and I only had one eye half-opened, a tiny smile on my muzzle, "Well...Only in limps this time."

Daddy gave me a serious look, "Seriously Sayde, you really need to be careful out there. I know some lionesses hunt alone, and in groups, but either way you do it it's still dangerous. Who knows what could happen?"

I relaxed my face and nodded, "I know daddy, and I'll be fine."

Them he gave me a smile and teased, "You'll be fine? Tonight you ain't, a zebra almost beat you."

Well thanks a lot for bringing it up, daddy. I rolled my eyes, "But I still beat it. And if I ever come across another stubborn zebra who won't come to accept its fate it was supposed to have, I'll come find you."

He laughed a bit, "I'm sure I'll take care of that." Then we both shared a giggle together. After he took in a deep breath, he went on, "And besides...If something bad did happen to you out there, you won't get to hear this talk I want to have with you and Dahlia sometime. A VERY important talk."

My smile became bigger. Is that talk...What I think it's going to be about? I asked, trying to not show too much excitement in my voice, "Does it have something to do with you picking one of us as...Future queen?"

Dad modestly giggled, "It...Probably does." Then he narrowed his eyes, "And remember what I have also talked to you about. Once I pick one of you, then it's done. There can be no fights with your sister, and the same goes for her. I...Your mother and I don't want you both having bad blood toward each other."

I didn't show it, but on the inside thinking about Dahlia really annoyed and angered me.

I hope he picks me. I hope I can be queen! I HAVE to be queen!

I slowly started to nod at him, "I know. I got it. No fighting."

Dad smiled once more and then walked up to rub his cheek against mine lovingly, "Good."

When he backed up from me, I cocked my head, "So when do we get to have this 'talk' with you, anyway? I'm just wondering."

He answered after he let out a breath, "Well, your mother and I are still talking about that. But...I think both of us are close to having the same thought on who the future queen's going to be....Perhaps soon."

My heart jumped in my chest. Soon?! Yay!

Dad backed up a bit more, "But enough about that now. It's late. You ready for bed?" He eyed at my shoulder, "I think a goodnights rest will do your shoulder some good."

I squeaked as the pain came back, snapping the excited thoughts out of my brain, "Eee...I hope so. I'm tired of the pain."

He playfully giggled, "Since you're tired of it, do you want my help carrying you in here?" He stood firm on his fours and flicked his tail behind him, "I'm not old as Makena. I'm still strong enough to lift you on my back."

I waved him off, giggling a bit, "No thanks, daddy. I can bear the pain a little longer. Besides..." I glanced at the entrance of the cave, "...It's not far of a walk to my spot in there as much as walking through the savannah back home. I'll be fine."

Dad giggled again, "Alright." He turned his back on me, heading into the cave, "Come on." I limped when I followed behind him. I think I agree with you, father. A goodnights sleep might help me.

Excitement and anticipation coursed through my body. And other than hope for my shoulder feeling a bit better tomorrow, I hope when that day comes, he picks me to take mom's place as queen.

*****

I came out of the restroom stall, heading to the sink with the intention to wash my hands after another person was just done using it. As the person left the room and closed the door behind him, I turned the left faucet and a flow of water came out of the pipe. After putting some soap in my hands from the soap dispenser, I held them through that water and began rubbing them, cleaning them from germs. While I was doing so, I looked at myself in the mirror in front of me, staring at a twenty-year old man with a good build, pale white skin, and short brown hair. Still staring at me in the mirror, I blinked my hazel colored eyes a few times.

I shook my head, snapping myself out of it since I remembered the sink's still running. I peered down at my hands and seen they are now soapless. Well that's done and over with. I turned the sink off and pulled a few paper towels and wiped my hands away with them. Better quit standing around in here, Ryan. Get back and sit down in the terminal, mom and dad are probably done getting food from Subway.

When I had dried my hands, I discarded the used paper towels away and immediately walked out of the restroom, emerging back in the airport terminal. Several people were traveling off in separate directions, trying to catch their flights. I was strolling like everyone else, to the several rows of seats in the terminal. I dropped down onto a seat in a row I sat in earlier, back to waiting patiently for my parents. They weren't back yet.

I leaned back and sighed. The Subway's not far from here, right? So what's taking them? I'm guessing there's a long line in there. I glanced at the huge wide windows of this place, the sun glaring through them had hit my eyes, making me squint. I can barely see the plane me and my family are gonna use. The plane to Kenya, Africa.

Kenya...Never thought in my life that I would go there. Go to Africa for that matter. Actually...Never thought I'm going to live in Africa for the whole summer with my family.

I snickered in a bit of disbelief. I'm gonna miss you, America. Gonna miss you.

My thoughts went back to mom and dad again, giving me an amused chuckle. I swear if they're gonna be stuck in a line to get some food and don't get back here in time, I'll probably be boarding without them!

But seriously, they'd better get back here soon. I'm hungry!

The sound of a dog's whimpering broke through my thoughts and my eyes tore off the windows to find its source. Not far from here, in front of a seat at another row several feet across from this row I'm sitting in, I see a medium sized pet carrier box with a dog in it. I didn't see the owner with it, the person who owns it probably left it alone to go do something important and then come back, I'm sure.

I couldn't take my eyes off that box. Poor thing. I do know you're not supposed to let dogs loose in the airport and putting them in those boxes are legal, but hearing a dog whining is making me feel bad. It's probably sad that it's stuck in a box.

After staring at the box and hearing that thing whimpering again for another second, I slowly got up off the seat, seeing there aren't any people including the owner close by I had the urge to go see it. I wanted to try to cheer that dog up before the owner, and mom and dad, comes back. I know the dog will understand me...Literally. Not like I haven't LITERALLY talked to an animal before. I can calm the dog with my own words better than the owner anyway.

I made my way to it, making sure no person is around while at it, and crouched down to one knee when I stopped in front of the gate of that box. I see a fully grown beagle laying on its stomach, head lying on its paws. Its eyes were showing worry, only looking down since it didn't notice me yet.

I talked to the dog in a low voice, "Hey, you there."

The beagle moved its eyes up to me and lifted its head off its feet, hearing it speaking to me like it was another human, "Eh? Who are you?"

So it's a guy. I introduced myself with a smile, "Just a normal, average, everyday human named Ryan."

The dog just tilted his head, "Hold on...Are you talking to me? I know my owner talks to me, but...I can understand you quite literally. Are you speaking to me in a dog language or something?"

I shook my head, "Nah, just talking in a normal voice like everybody else."

The dog was still confused, "...Alright....And what are you doing here?" He narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth, growling, "Are you here to kidnap me, dog napper?"

I held out a hand, "Calm down. I don't want a dog."

The hound dog softened his look, "Why? Are you some kind of cat lover?"

I giggled deeply as I lowered my hand, "I love dogs, thank you for asking. Actually, I love ALL animals." Then I shot my head to the right and shrugged, having second thoughts about loving ALL of them, "Well...Maybe not all of them. I'm afraid of sharks and I never met one before."

It asked in a high pitched voice, "Shark? What's a shark?"

I giggled, only a little louder, "You certainly ask a lot of questions, pup."

His eyes showed disbelief mixed with surprise, "Sorry...It's just I'm having a conversation with a human. I'm...Surprised."

I stated, "I'm sure you are, but don't get used to chattin' with me. You won't be seeing me again after this." I tilted my head, "I see you're stuck in a small cage and I hear you whining in it. What's going on with you? Do you not like being in it?"

The dog chuckled a bit, showing me a small smile, "Now you're asking me a lot of questions."

I smirked, "I only asked you two, hound dog."

"Oh I know, I was playing with you."

Then I got serious when it went away, "Well now I'm gonna ask you another one....So what's the matter?"

The hound tried to look out through the small holes on the side of the carrier box, a look of worry shone in his eyes, finally answering me, "Well...I don't mind being in this thing, even though there's not a lot of room to walk around in."

My brow wrinkled curiously, "Then how come you were whimpering?"

"It's just...My owner left me, and I don't know where she went. It...Felt like she has been gone for a very long time...I hope she didn't abandon me..." He whimpered again.

I guess I should've known that was another reason why he was doing that. He wasn't sad being in this small cage. He's worried the owner, who is a woman, abandoned him. I said to him in reassurance, "Doubt it."

The beagle looked back at me.

"I doubt she abandoned you, and I doubt she had been gone THAT long. You're probably wrong." I was gazing away from the box, trying to see if the owner's coming back. No one was, not yet, "Course I'm not sure how long exactly she had been gone for. But I still believe it wasn't long ago when she left. And my guess why she left you is that she probably went to go potty, or went to get something to eat." I looked at the dog again, "Either way, she'll be coming back. Don't worry. I know she will."

The beagle replied after a moment of silence, "Um...Thank you. Hey, Ryan...Can I ask you another question? Why are you helping me? We don't know each other."

I let out a breath and answered, "Because your crying made me feel bad, and doing this was making me feel better other than you." I pointed behind me, at the plane through the large window nearby, "I'm going to leave this country very soon, and I didn't want to leave without helping you first."

The dog said, smiling, his tail banging against the floor as he wagged it, "Well...That's real nice of you to do that. Maybe I am wrong about what I felt. Again, thank you."

"No problem. Just remember what I told you. She did not abandon you. Be patient, and you'll see she will be back." Somehow I had a sense that somebody was coming, so I looked away from the dog...And saw mom and dad were coming back from Subway with the food. I shot my eyes back to the beagle and whispered quickly, "Good luck in your life, pup. Bye." I gave him a thumbs up, shot off the ground, and strolled away from there.

When I was walking up to them, I was gazing right towards their features. My father, Elliott, has hazel eyes and short brown hair, and by the way his face looks made me think I look like him, a little bit. My mom, Barbara, has blue eyes and short brunette hair herself, it was long for several months, but recently she cut it short. Mom has a skim figure, while father seemed a bit large with his frame, but he wasn't fat. And both of them are in their mid-forties.

As soon as I stopped in front of them, dad asked me while frowning, "Ryan, what were you doing over there?"

I replied, "Nothing."

"Didn't look like nothing." He glanced at that carrier box, his eyes examining it from a short distance, "Huh...I think there's a dog in it." He looked to me, the frown looked to be demanding now, "Ryan, were you talking to that dog?"

I know what sort of 'talking' he's referring about, and I know how he feels about me doing that. I nodded at him, telling him only the half-truth, "Yes...But it wasn't what you think."

He made a smile, "Well good. Cuz we have talked about you having that kind of behavior before."

Mother sighed and nudged her elbow into his ribs while holding the small sack with our food in it in her hand, "Elliott."

Dad looked at her, "What? I was just reminding him that it's not TOO normal to talk to animals ALL the time and believe they're actually talking to you back." He stared directly at me, his face grew serious again, "You still know that animals can NOT talk back to you, right?"

I shook my head, telling him what he wants to hear, "No...They can't." But they can talk back to me, dad. You just can't understand them, and they can't understand you.

Dad crossed his arms, "And you do understand that you probably could've gotten into trouble with the owner when you were near that dog over there, right? Who knows what kind of person that dog belongs to?"

I sighed and nodded, "Yes, dad, I do." I thumbed at the carrier box at a distance from us, "Look, the only reason why I was just walking over and giving the dog company is because it was crying, and the owner wasn't around. I just...Thought I wanted to. It was making me feel sorry for it."

Mom was smiling at my kindness, "Now I know that we have raised such a caring son."

Dad scratched behind his head when he remarked, "Yeah, not a crazy one." I just blinked at him, not saying anything about him calling me 'crazy'. No point in arguing with him about it.

Mother shot at him with narrowed eyes, "Elliott, he's not crazy."

He grinned as he raised a finger and looked back at her eyes, "Now, I did not say he was crazy, I was just saying that we didn't raise a crazy son. Because we both know that he is not delusional and crazy, and he knows what is reality." After dropping his hand back to his side, he asked me with a bit of urgency, "Right, son?"

I nodded again, "...Yes." Then I finally changed the subject, grinning when my eyes saw mom carrying that food, "About time you guys came back with the food. I was getting hungry." I looked right at their faces and added, "And if you guys took any MORE longer to get good food, we would have missed our flight."

Dad chuckled when he walked off to take a seat on the row of chairs in the terminal, "I know, and it would've been a waste of tickets if we had." He looked back, smirking and shrugging, "But we're back now, so that's good."

Me and mom walked with him as I said, "True." I asked mother after we stopped in front of the chairs, "So, did you get the half inch chicken-bacon ranch?"

As all three of us sat down, mom giggled and dug her hand into the sack, "Yep, right here." She pulled out the sandwich and handed it over to me, "Probably be the last time we'd get something from Subway for a while." I was giggling as I was unwrapping the wrapper off my food. Be worth the last time. And this will surely be better than eating that airline food on the plane we're gonna board on. I heard that stuff is disgusting.

While she had her hand in the Subway sack again, mom asked dad, "Say Elliott, I'm just wondering since I don't really know. Are there any Subways in Africa? Did Gabe tell you over the phone?" Then she pulled out his sandwich and held it out for him.

Dad took it out of her hand as he smiled and said, "No, I didn't think of that to ask him. But I'm sure there's probably good food in that country. Just have to go there, eat it and find out."

I nodded, feeling some excitement in my chest, excited about going to another country, "Can't wait."

Then dad said to me, looking past mom since she sat between us, "And after we're done eating, and after we hear that announcement, better say goodbye to Atlanta. Cuz, we're going to be gone for a while."

"Yep." Before I could take a bite out of my half-inch sandwich when I held it to my mouth, I noticed across from us at a distance that the dog's owner, a middle aged woman with long black hair who's also a bit overweight, had came back and is talking to the beagle in that box. I smiled at the reunion that dog was having, and then my mouth bit on the sandwich and took a bite from it, chewing on it.

I knew she'd be back.

*****

After I heard the flight attendant's voice through the intercom telling us passengers to put our seatbelts on, I already had before it happened actually, I still stared out through the window beside me, seeing the city of Nairobi during the night as the plane's smoothly heading down from the sky to the runway at the airport. The lights from the city looked beautiful from up in a plane.

I huffed and wiped one of my eyes, feeling a bit sleepy. Talk about a long flight getting here. I should've slept just like most of the passengers on here, but I didn't. Guess I didn't want to miss anything.

Mom's voice broke through to me, "Ryan." I looked to her sitting beside me in her seat. She was smiling as her eyes gazed past me and out through the window, "Beautiful, isn't it?"

I nodded, "Yeah..." I turned my head to the window again, "I thought Africa would be beautiful during the day, but during the night...Didn't expect that."

Dad was shifting around on his seat a bit as he still sat close to mother, "Well, where we're going to live for the summer won't be TOO beautiful during the night, I think. We're just gonna be living in the middle of the savannah."

I yanked my eyes off the window and onto him, "Kinda knew that. Savannahs don't have bright lights. It's all just bare lands filled with exotic animals." I grinned, adding, "According to what I saw in pictures, anyway."

He giggled, "Images that you see on the internet don't compare to the real thing."

I mentioned, "Yeah, and here's the weird part about it. When some people look up exotic places on the internet, looking them up in pictures, they probably feel like they are literally on vacation."

Dad said to that, "That means they are intellectually denying it."

"That. Or maybe they're just fat and lazy and don't want to get up from their beds to go see the real thing...Lazy bums."

He rose a finger off his seat, "I think it's the first one."

I groaned, waving my hand to him, "Oh come on. You don't exactly believe that they are just lazy and don't want to do anything but look things up on their computer? Kinda makes sense to me."

Mom remarked with a playful frown, "OR, maybe they don't have enough money to buy a ticket and go to one of those places, smarty pants."

I didn't relent, only shooting back at her, "Then they need to stop being lazy and work more harder."

Father gestured to mom and then to himself, stating, "Which me and your mom did, and we aren't lazy enough to not buy a plane ticket."

I giggled deeply, "More like buying three plane tickets."

Dad gave me a nod, "Got that right, Ryan."

I peered out the window, seeing we're almost about to land on the runway, "So, where are we going after we get off this plane? To a hotel?"

Dad nodded in reply, "Yep. Can't go to Gabe's place tonight, it's far away from the city. Unless you want to walk through the savannah during the night and somehow find it."

I had some form of apprehension on my face and turned my gaze back to my parents, "Yeeeaah, I like spending the night in a hotel."

He smirked, "That's what I thought." He turned his head straight and only stared at another passenger seat in front of him, letting out a bit of an impatient breath, "About time we made it to this country. Wish this plane had those..." His hand shot up to the ceiling, "You know, small TV screens that planes sometimes have so we could watch a movie or something. But too bad this thing doesn't have that."

Mom laid a hand on his wrist, rubbing it gently, "Isn't your family enough entertainment?"

Dad grinned when turned his face to her a bit, "Not really. Sitting close to my own wife all day has made me very bored."

Then she slapped his arm, not hard to hurt him, "Hey. If you were bored during the flight, walk up and down the aisle."

I said after I felt the plane had hit the runway, signaling that we had landed, "Not sure the stewardess would like that idea, mom." Then I leaned my head to her and whispered, in case someone heard me, "I'm just happy we're in the country too. That way I won't listen to that annoying baby crying its head off a few rows ahead anymore."

Mom smirked when she looked at me, "You were the same way back then, sweetie."

I leaned back in the seat and rolled my eyes up to the ceiling, "And I'm not surprised, I'm being a crybaby right now." I heard mom just giggling at my remark as I was letting out a relaxed sigh. And good thing that baby's not crying now. If it does before I get off the plane, I'm going to scream!

After several minutes had passed since we landed, the plane had found its station for all of us to get off. It did take us a long time to get out of the plane though, since me and my parents were slow at it because of the other passengers. I mean, my gosh, there were like so many people on board and I'm just now noticing. Guess it's so easier getting on the plane than getting out of one.

We ended up in one of the terminals in Jomo Kenyatta airport and went to the baggage reclaim area to get our luggage. As everyone's bags from the plane were coming out of a hole in a wall and moved along the conveyor belt, I found my suitcase and grabbed for it, pulling it off the belt by the handle. Soon after, mom and dad reclaimed theirs.

Dad, after extending the suitcase handle and turning himself around from the carousel, chuckled at mom, "We found them, honey. And you thought those airport workers would lose them."

Mom didn't seemed to be bothered as she shrugged her shoulders while we walked off and dragged our suitcases across the floor by their wheels, "Well it was just a thought. Not to mention who knows if those workers were opening up our bags, looking through them and taking some of our stuff without us knowing."

As we strolled past a small group of people, I stated in a disbelieved tone, "Mom, if they did they'd get fired."

"Not unless they do that without a camera watching them."

I rolled up my eyes, "You're being paranoid."

Mother giggled a bit, "I know. I'm having the urge to see if all my stuff's in it."

I looked down at my feet and muttered under my breath, "Oh my god."

Dad, after he avoided running into a man by accident, assured her, "Honey, no one has looked through your stuff."

Mom looked to him, "Sorry but I feel like I want to stop here right now and take a peek."

Dad reached out to plant a hand on her shoulder as we still strolled, "Everything is in your bag, I'm sure of it." He glanced ahead and dropped his hand to the side, "Now please, try to control your paranoia until we get to a hotel."

She mumbled after sighing, "I'll try..." Mom seemed to have some concern for her own stuff still that was shone in her eyes but she didn't mention it. I can understand her anxious feeling, other than I still seriously doubt what she said had happened. Maybe she'll quit doing that in a minute, but I'm not gonna guarantee it.

Not very long, we found ourselves at the airport exit. After we walked up to the door, it automatically slid open for us and we went through, met by the fresh cool air as we stepped outside on the sidewalk. When we walked halfway to the edge of the sidewalk and stopped, I breathed in through my nose, smiling, "Ahhh...Finally here." And no crying babies nearby!

Dad huffed, "Yep, pal, we are." He took a step forward, his head moving slowly all the way to his left, "Okay...Gabe did tell me there is a taxi service here. We just need to get a taxi, and it'll take us to a hotel somewhere in the city." He turned at me and mom, "Probably a good idea not to walk through the city since Gabe said some people living in Nairobi don't take kindly to tourists that well, especially at night."

Mom had let go of her suitcase and nervously rubbed her arm, "I agree that's a wonderful idea. You know me, I'm not the kind of person who ventures through a city without driving a car." Then she gave me a somewhat worried look as I let go of my bag too, "And I know you're that kind of person back at home and glad you don't get mugged for it."

I furrowed my brow, "Oh please, it's not like we were living in New York City. We live in Atlanta."

"Doesn't change that we live in a city."

"Whatever, mom."

Dad, while he was unzipping the small part on his suitcase, finally interrupted us by laughing, "Alright guys, since Gabe gave me the phone number for the taxi service, I'm gonna call them." He glanced up for a moment with a smirk, "And we won't have to worry about getting mugged in the streets." I looked down and seen after he said that, he was looking through that spot in his bag until he pulled out a small piece of paper with that number on it, "Ah, there we go." Dad also pulled out his cell phone and stood up straight with both the things in his hands. He was looking down at the paper and phone in his hand at the same time, dialing that number.

Father had gotten ahold of the taxi service and got a taxi coming to get us. I let out a breath. Well good...I know I was kinda tired of sitting in one seat for hours and I want to walk, but I agree with mom and dad about not walking through Nairobi. It's kinda giving me the creeps.

Several minutes later, the taxi arrived and pulled over in front of us. We grabbed our suitcases once more and dragged them to the back of the car. The African taxi driver popped the trunk open, and we lifted our suitcases and dropped them in there. After I slammed the trunk shut, we went to the passenger doors and got in the car, sitting down behind the driver. I sat in the left seat, mom sat in the middle and dad was in the right seat.

The driver, who was wearing a cap and has a bit of a grey beard on his face, looked behind his seat and greeted us with a huge smile, "Hello there."

I said back with a tiny wave, "Hello."

Mom said as well with a smile, "Hi there. How is your night?"

He responded, "It's good, thanks for asking."

Dad grinned, "I see you speak English. That's good, I was afraid we'd get a driver who didn't know how."

The driver giggled, "I speak it well. Trust me in my line of work, you get all sorts of passengers. You know...Tourism and such. May as well know how to speak as many languages as possible." Then he cleared his throat, "So, are you three Americans? Judging by your accents, I believe you guys are not from the UK."

Mom laughed and she gave him a nod, "We are actually."

Then the driver said, gesturing to us, "Well Americans, welcome to Africa."

We all nodded in gratitude, "Thank you."

Dad asked, "So uh, know any good hotels around here? You know, one that doesn't cost so much money to get a room?"

The African driver nodded, "I do. I'll take you to Serena Hotels." He looked ahead, shifted the car in gear, and started to drive. As the guy drove us away from the airport, he asked over his shoulder, "So, how was the flight? A long one?"

I answered with a giggle, "Pretty much was." I held a wrist to my mouth and yawned. I dropped my hand down to my lap when I continued, "I'm sleepy. I didn't sleep at all during the flight."

The driver giggled deep and said, "Well, where you're going to stay has a comfortable bed. Believe me...Ummm..."

I told him my name, "Ryan."

"Well believe me, Ryan, I know. I used to go there for a room and sleep. Better than my bed at home." He giggled with his mouth closed again. Then I see his eyes looking at us through the rearview mirror, "So what brings you three to Africa?" He held up a hand, then lowered all his fingers except one that was pointing up, "Wait, let me guess....You came to Africa to see the magnificent animals here."

I looked behind me through the back window, seeing the airport building far behind us as mom answered with a look of amusement, "You guessed one thing right. Actually since we're gonna be staying in Kenya for the whole summer, I think we'll be doing that a lot."

"You're staying here for the whole summer?" I looked ahead and can see the driver had wrinkled his face, "...Wow, are you planning to stay in the hotel all that time? Are you rich by any chance? I think that'll cost ya A LOT of money."

Dad joined in, shaking his head, "No. We have a friend out in the savannah that we'll be staying with. He's a game warden, actually."

The driver smiled, "Ah, I see now. Living in the savannah for the summer...That sounds like a great deal."

"It is." Dad then added with raised brows, "And since you were wondering if we're rich, we aren't. But we do have enough money and vacation time from our jobs to have a summer vacation like this."

The taxi driver nodded, "Not a bad thing to do. I hope one day I can at least take a vacation and go to one country away from home. I do have a place in mind."

I smirked, "Oh yeah? Where do you plan to go? Let me guess...Is it America?"

He laughed for a moment and then shook his head, "No. I actually want to go to Norway."

I frowned, "Why?"

"I dunno why. Just want to. Seems like a neat place to go to I guess." He chuckled a bit.

Mom and dad chuckled too, while I slowly nodded a few times and relaxed in the seat, "Alright, then." I sucked in a breath and let it out before I gazed out the window, sitting in silence as the bright headlights coming from another car went past us. I wasn't the only one being quiet after that conversation, everyone else in the car was too, including the driver. I guess after he told us where he wanted to go on vacation, he didn't have any other questions to ask us nor have anything else to say. Eh, it was fine. Apparently me and my parents didn't either.

When some minutes went by and my attention still out the window, my eyelids were close to shutting, I was about to fall asleep. But with a sharp shake of my skull, I shot them wide open, not wanting to sleep right now. I was saving my naps for the hotel and I wanted to see where we're going before we get there.

I kept myself awake while the taxi driver drove us through the streets of Nairobi, watching each building we pass by. I even saw some people wandering around on foot, a few had stared back at me as we drove past them. A couple of them looked a bit suspicious to me, kinda made me wonder if they would do anything bad to tourists who wander in their streets. I could be wrong about them though, and besides, me and my folks didn't walk out there and find that out.

The nice African driver probably drove us around for almost an hour until he pulled up to the front of that hotel he talked about. After the driver put the car in park, he looked behind him and said, "There. That's your stop."

I opened my mouth and yawned once more. I'm ready for bed. I thankfully said as I opened up my door, "Thanks for the ride."

Dad handed him the money and paid him, "Yeah, thanks for this."

Then the driver after he placed the money onto his lap replied while dad opened up his passenger door, "You're very welcome. Enjoy your stay in my country." All three of us piled out of the car and went to the trunk, then opened it up and got our luggage out of there. When we closed the trunk with a slam, the driver gave us all a wave with his hand sticking out of his window and drove off to leave us at our destination.

Dad sighed after we watched the taxi disappear from our sights. Then he said as he turned and walked towards the hotel, dragging his bag across the sidewalk, "Alright, we get a room, spend the night here, we call Gabe in the morning and tell him we're here, and then he'll take us to where he lives later on."

While me and mom followed along with him, mom said as she smiled, "Sounds good to me." I smiled beside her after we went through the hotel door, ready to walk up to the receptionist and pay for the room for the night. I was thinking about the fact that we, especially me, are in Africa now.

Yep...Sounds good.