17 December 2012
When I opened my eyes I was greeted by a loud screeching noise. My alarm clock. I leant over and smashed the button. The bloody thing never went off until a certain amount of force was applied. Uggh, thats too technical, lets just say it only shut up when I punched it. I rolled out of bed onto the floor and lay there awhile. I was just about to fall back to sleep when I realised what day it was. Quickly, I leapt to my feet and pulled on some jeans, my pajama top was good enough to wear out. A quick rinse with mouthwash, would have to do, and no breakfast. No time! Out of the door of my little, one bedroom shack and out into the warm rising african sun. I looked around and soon spotted who I was looking for. I ran over to Mac, the expedition leader, it was his idea and hard work that got us to the congo river basin. "Hey, Mac, todays the day, right?" He turned from examining an odd looking plant species and smiled at me. "It sure is, we're thinking of heading out at around noon. That should give us enought time to prepare." I nodded excitedly and ran back to my shack to get ready. Id been looking forward to that day for weeks. See, when we first arrived with the intention of measuring the health of the surrounding jungle, we had thought that the only gorillas within a lightyear of us were hundreds of kilometers away, zero chance of us encountering them. But then two days in, my friend Rick came back from a day in the rainforest two hours late with a friend. A little baby gorilla. We asked him were he'd found it and he said it was just strolling down a trail completely alone and in the dim light beneath the canopy he had nearly trodden on its foot. Now, Rick is extremely cautious about ever interfering with wildlife and so he said he had searched the surrounding 500 meters thoroughly before deigning to bring the little guy to us back at camp. We were all completely shocked and had no clue as to how this tiny little gorilla had managed to appear so far from any known gorillas apparantly alone. There was a lot of debate about what we should do, with some of the more serious, by the book, scientists, claiming we should just put it back where we found it. "We are here to measure the health of the forest, not to save every little whiny helpless creature we come across!" Were the words of a man by the name of Anthony Windlestraw. A particularly unhealty looking man, tall with a greenish tinge to his skin. He also happens to be the person I like least of all the people this side of the sun. However, this idea of leaving it to fend for itself was not a very popular one and Mac made the decision that we would keep it in camp with us until we find out where it came from. But we needed someone to look after it. That job fell to me, famously the softest towards animals in the camp, I was more than willing to sacrifice some of my expedition work in order to care for the little gorilla. I was warned of the difficulties of caring for gorillas by the camps great ape expert,Isabelle Margot , who Im not afraid to admit I have a bit of a crush on. I cant explain it but there is something about her brown eyes and matching shortish hair that makes me feel different, I cant explain it, maybe its just being under the heat of the african sun all day or.. I dont know. Oh and shes french, but speaks fluent english. Anyway, she informed me that I was making a commitment I couldnt walk away from, and of the new responsibilities and duties I would have to perform to keep the little guy (I had her check, its definitely a guy) all happy and healthy. The briefing took nearly an hour and by then it was nearly midnight and the gorilla was asleep. Isabelle's own little shack was on the other side of camp so I said she could crash on my bed and I would sleep with the gorilla in his makeshift sleeping/living area Id constructed while Isabelle was making a checklist of the things that would need to be done in order to suitably cater for the little handful. She graciously accepted and gave me a wonderful smile before getting into bed almost fully dressed (We rarely changed clothes in the jungle, unless it was the day of our shower, there was no point). I collapsed into my bed too, with the little gorilla snoring away quietly in my arms, when a thought suddenly hit me. "He needs a name." I whispered. She didnt reply and lay silent for so long I assumed she had already fallen asleep when she whispered back, "Geason. It means rare, uncommon and extraordinary. Geason." I thought about it for a minute and watched as the little gorilla rolled over in its sleep and I smiled. "Geason. I like it."
{Any critique/ suggestions or ideas for the womans name please tell me in the comments}
Geason • Opuss № I