Journal 20

A wind softly grazed upon the antelopes fur, brushing through the lush grass that the antelope was grazing upon. As the wind swept across he savanna, the antelope caught the scent of something very strange. Warily the antelope lifted up his head to look around for the source of the odor. He breathed in again testing the smell on his palate, and a primal shudder went down his back. He knew this smell. It was the smell of death. His eyes raked the surrounding the grass nervously, but he did not flee. He was hesitant to leave this lush patch of sweet grass that beckoned to his painfully empty stomach, and had not yet been found by the other antelopes. The call of the grass was to strong for the young antelope to resist and foolishly went back to eating the succulent grass after seeing no signs of another animal in the grass. Perhaps the smell had been carried to him from miles away and a predator was nowhere in sight. The antelope bowed his head and broke the stems of the grass with his teeth and relished the cool sweet water that poured into his mouth as he chewed up the grass. He was too focused on his meal that he did not react in time to the sharp snap of a nearby stick. His head flew up; his ears alert. Yet it was too late for the antelope. Yellow eyes were racing toward him, and the antelope was caught in those entrancing strange eyes. The cheetah was only a few feet away from the antelope before he could react once more. The antelope raced away from the cheetah, but his long graceful legs could not compete with the raw strength of the cheetah. The antelope continued to run, but the cheetah had already made its move. The cheetah pounced and landed on the back of the antelope. The antelope fell and the circle of life continued.