11/08/2026
She had been excited about seeing a lion all morning.
Then one finally appeared.
The little girl stopped talking.
A few metres from the safari vehicle, a male lion rested in the grass, lifting his head occasionally to watch the plains.
The girl held her binoculars with both hands, staring quietly through the window.
“Is he looking at us?”
For a few minutes, nothing else seemed to matter. Not the long drive. Not breakfast waiting back at camp. Not even the camera in her mother's hands.
Only the lion.
Years from now, she might forget the name of the lodge or the road they travelled.
But she will remember the first time she looked into the eyes of a wild lion.
Some childhood memories begin on safari.
