An Unexpected Trip...

Hector's trip to India was not turning out as he had anticipated. Coming to India had been a life long dream of his. Even as a boy, he'd don his khaki vest and grab the machete he'd made from cardboard and packing tape and would bush whack his way through old man Sorensen's elaborate garden. Old man Sorensen was the meanest old man alive, Hector was sure of this. All he cared about was that garden. Hector was able to spy on the old man a few times, watching him walk the garden, gently talking to the plants as if they were alive. When he came across the trails Hector had made with his "machete", you'd think the old man was going to explode from the contorted purple his face would turn. Hector would then imagine himself spying on a warrior scouting party- stealthily retreated deeper into the wood. If the Sorensen cat happened to be in the garden, it became an elusive Bengal tiger... if he happened to actually get close to the cat, that elusive quality quickly became paw at his trouser pockets friendly hoping for that bit of liver pate he'd brought along to help him survive getting hopelessly lost in the jungle amongst the wisteria in the back left corner of the property. Old man Sorensen would eventually discover his trespassing once again, and as he was chased out of the garden by the surprisingly spry for his age old man, Hector would imagine that the warrior scouting party had finally discovered him and were chasing him across crocodile filled rivers and through ancient temple grounds.

 Hector went on to become a luggage salesman, placing every tip he received into his own travel fund. After 10 years of savings, he had exactly 34 dollars in the tin. So it was with some surprise when he received a visit from old man Sorensen's estate lawyer telling him that the old man had left him some funds and a travel itinerary. Hector wasted no time and the following afternoon he was on a train with India on the horizon. The itinerary that Sorensen had provided was detailed and thorough. He'd walked the spice markets- where it felt as if he were really using his senses for the very first time in his life. He'd toured ancient temples- more exotic in real life than he could have ever imagined while playing in an English country garden. He was touched that old man Sorensen had been so thoughtful and generous to him, of all people. As he sat on a bus heading deep into India's green heart, Hector smiled to himself thinking how much he'd misunderstood the old man. He supposed that the old man must have enjoyed having a little life injected into what seemed like a very dull existence.

Hector arrived at the bus depot to see a man holding a sign with his name on it. Ah, this must the guide that was going to take him deep into the heart of the jungle to finally see a real Bengal tiger! He was so excited, he could barely think straight. Hector and his guide trekked many days- going deeper and deeper into the jungle's dark interior. Just when he was beginning to wonder if he'd ever see another living human again, they came across a ramshackle village. The villagers looked one half starved, and the other half crazy. How did old man Sorensen even know about this place?! As Hector was putting his trunk away in the dingy tent that he had been signalled towards, some villagers arrived at his door. One was dressed in feathers, with a beak crudely drawn over his nose in charcoal. One was dressed in tree bark, with leaves stuck into his hair with mud. The last was dressed as a skeleton- his skin had been charcoaled black and bones had been twined around his body and limbs with a human skull as a mask. This was unexpected... Hector was enjoying the weirdness of the situation, though, and laughed as they led him silently from his bunk.

 They brought him to an ancient stone temple- there were pictures of people in all sorts of costumes carved on the walls. The flickering torch light made all them hard to see though, and he was quickly led deeper into the temple. He could hear the beating of drums coming from further in. Oh, this was going to be exciting! It was obviously some kind of native costume party! Hector gleefully put on the costume that his guides provided for him- a giant slab of meat. This was just brilliant- no body would believe him when he shared the tales of his Indian adventures back home in England. Hector was preoccupied with how he could even come close to describing in accurate detail the feel of this bizarre costume, and how it smelt of liver pate... so preoccupied that he failed to notice the gate shut behind him. He looked up to see his guides disappear down the now darkening corridor on the other side of the closed gate. The torch light flickered again... but this time reflected in a pair of large feline eyes.