Pegman this week takes us to the remote and magical island of Madagascar.
THE HUNT
“Gaeton, son, you’re thirteen, old enough to hunt in the forest”
“Papa”
You must catch a live animal to sell. Lemurs are best, I know men who will pay for them. We need money.”
“Will you come Papa ?”
“No, my health is not good.”
*
It’s daybreak, I push through the dark leaves of the forest. I find a quiet clearing, sit on a fallen tree to eat my breakfast. Opposite me the leaves swish, I see a striped, graceful body, a face with round black eyes looking at me.
The animal dances into the clearing, puts out a long furry arm and takes the papaya out of my hand. We look at each other, chewing our food. He is a long thin monkey, eyes looking into my soul.
Then he is gone.
I return to my village, one step lighter from our meeting, the other heavy with the anger that will come.