Disappearance act

At noon we had a nap under the thorn trees by the swamp. Beyond the lush grasses, a few bathing hippos, and further still, a lone elephant bull.

I was weary. I felt strangely hollow in the still afternoon heat, but restless as I was, I was kept awake by the harsh midday light.

At my feet, the undecipherable development of two African jacanas’ social life. They eventually vanished amidst the reeds, for no other reason it seemed than a tiny absurd change in the pattern of things.

I too felt I somehow also had gradually vanished somewhere in the flat landscape. I no longer threw a shadow.

The long bewitching walk had reduced me to a dumb eye.