Page 27 of Walk on the Wilder Side

“Oh! A kangaroo!” Doris nearly jumped out of her skin.

I froze in my tracks, shocked to see the animal under five yards away. “Oh, wow!” I whispered, my eyes bulging as it stared back at me.

“Look how close it is! So cool!” Sylvie said quietly from where she and the other Widows were—about thirty feet behind me.

“Careful, Marge,” Alice said. “Don’t get too close. That’s a wild animal.”

“You’re a wild animal, and I get close to you all the time. I’ll be fine,” I whispered back. I didn’t need to turn around to feel her glare. I stood in silence, watching the furry creature watch me. Its large brown eyes roved over every inch of me, and then suddenly, it hopped one step closer.

My breath caught in my chest as I stood immobile, waiting to see what it would do.

Another hop brought it closer. Then another.

I barely breathed as the curious creature closed the distance to me, each cautious hop bringing it closer and closer. Finally, it was only a couple yards away.

“Holy shit,” I whispered out the side of my mouth. “I’m taming a wild animal. I’m a freaking Disney princess.”

“You? A Disney princess. Oh, right,” Alice snorted, and the sharp sound made the kangaroo tense up.

“Quiet,” I whispered back, now determined to prove to her Iwas,in fact, a Disney princess.

With visions of little birds fluttering around me as squirrels scurried around my shoulders, I carefully stepped toward the creature. It tensed but relaxed once I stopped moving.

“Marge, this isn’t a good idea,” Doris called softly. “It’s a wild animal.”

I didn’t respond, ignoring her and taking this once-in-lifetime opportunity to interact with a wild kangaroo.

Another slow step brought me within touching distance of the animal.

Holy shit. Iama Disney princess,I thought as I stood immobile, letting it adjust to my close proximity.

I stared straight into its eyes while the feelings erupting inside me were unlike any I’d felt before. I felt so connected to nature, so calm, so peaceful as I stood watching it. Its large, muscular body moved with its breaths, and I started to breathe with it, connecting in a different way. Like me and the kangaroo were the only two beings on the planet.

My breath hitched in my chest when it hopped one step closer, and we were now only feet apart.

“Marge, get back,” Doris’s soft plea trembled with fear.

I ignored her words, knowing she couldn’t understand my connection with this animal. There was no danger from this kangaroo. He was my friend, and as I looked deeper into his soulful eyes, I felt our connection deepen.

Slowly and carefully, I lifted my hand toward him. He didn’t move away, instead leaning closer as I reached out to touch him. The world fell away when my fingers brushed against the thick brown fur on his face. The feeling of being granted permission by this wild animal to touch him was such an honor that I nearly burst into tears from the power of the moment we shared.

It was him and me. Me and him. Our souls twisting together in this beautiful moment I would cherish forever.

“Hello, my friend,” I said, stroking his face.

The moment I spoke, his eyes flashed wide, and before I had a second to react, his huge forepaw swung and connected with the side of my face.

“Oh!” The girls screamed as my ears rang from the pressure of the blow.

Before I could recover from the first hit, another landed square on my eye, sending me tumbling backward with a grunt.

“Oh!” They shouted in unison again as I fell out of the perfect bubble I’d been in with the creature and back into reality ... a reality that included me being told one thing repeatedly since we’d arrived.

Don’t touch the wild animals.

I started to catch myself and prevent a complete fall when I looked to see the angry kangaroo rock back on his tail and launch a powerful blow to my stomach that sent me flying backward into an awkward heap.

“Marge!” someone screamed, but I couldn’t tell who because of the ringing in my ears and the sounds of my loud, guttural moaning as I tried to inhale a breath that wouldn’t come.

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