Must You Be So Cold?

I have never felt so ecstatic as on the last day of my being at the hospital. The doctor smiled at me, cleaned my leg one last time, and bandaged me naught. He proudly proclaimed that I would never have tocome back again. My mosquito bite had become a scratch, needingnothing more than a mickey mouse bandaid. And the best part was, hesaid I could be active again. I could run! I could jump! I could swim! And so it was. Later that day I decided to go for a long, hard run. I was finally getting my exercise, this which had been so ridiculously long over due by an embarrassing amount of time. I felt like a caged animal that had just been set free into the wild. I was breathing in the cool, glorious air so deep into my chest, my heart pounding loud and fast. I was finally free. It was heaven! I was faster than the wind! I was unstoppable! I was... too far from my hostel. Before I knew it I couldn't tell what neighbourhood I was in, I had been running so fast and so hard but with not one clue in the world as to where I was. I was so focused on the going, not so much on the where. I was Forest Gump. I started to re-evaluate, looking around for clues about where I had gone askew. The street I had been running down held not a single person, both sides of me festered with nothing but tall grass on uneven, decaying pavement. I decided to stop running and walk to think a little. It was then that I saw them. As if answering their cue, they appeared out of the bush and through the curtain of shadows. Two dogs. Well that's alright Bailey, you might say, they were just dogs, not like people, who could rob you. To which I might reply, well yes of course, they were just dogs. Dogs that were circling me like sharks. Dogs that were advancing and baring their teeth, barking at me as if I'd just killed their newborn puppies. I stopped dead, resisting my insatiable desire to run. I frantically looked around for something to beat them away with. Anything, a stick, a rock, a piece of styrofoam for God's sake. There was nothing. Only grass. I haven't the faintest idea about different kinds of dogs, but if there were a breed called, "Bear-Dog," that was what now jumped up on either side of me. Big, black, hefty dogs with monstrous teeth and massive claws. Their backs reached mid-thigh on me. They started talking to each other. "Hmm." Said one to the other, "What d'ya think, Fabio? Should I bite her? We can't have her getting away from us unscathed, she looks too healthy, too happy. Let's bite her leg, she doesn't look like she needs it anyway." And so the damn dog who wasn't Fabio, sank it's monster teeth into the back of my leg. He didn't even jump, he just stretched out his ugly, good for nothing trailer trash dog face and chomped down hard on my hamstring like it was a ham sandwich. My leg had just been split open, right underneath my butt, jabbed by steak knives. At that moment, I had completely maxed out my tolerance limit for bullshit. Fear completely dissipated from me. The reaction that came from my body was unlike anything I had ever experienced from myself in my entire life, I had instantly become another person. Another, angry person. There suddenly was an uncontrollable rage inside me and if I had been the Hulk, this would be the part where I would turn green and gain two hundred extra pounds of pure muscle, rip off my shirt and start killing people. It was a rage that started at the tip of my toes and ran all the way up to the top of my head. It boiled in my stomach, made the hair on my arms stand up and my face turn red. I turned around, looked them dead in the eye and screamed bloody murder with every ounce of my being, my entire soul was behind it. I advanced on them, showed them my fangs and raised my arms threateningly. I looked like Michael Jackson in Thriller. These hairy bitches had just handicapped me for another few days, pushed me back into the black hole of non-activity, and if they were going to continue attacking me they were damn well going to hear how upset I was about it. That immediately silenced them. They stopped so abruptly, looking at me and back at each other as if saying, "Wow, you see that Fabio? That was almost scary. I don't think she likes us. Well, we've already made our mark on her, ruined her week most likely. I mean, I think this one's serious, we'd better let her go." They retreated, walking back towards wherever they came from. Canine hell I was sure. It was a short-lived victory, for indeed I had driven them away, but the damage remained. Once I saw the blood streaming down my leg, I knew I needed medical attention quite soon. I called a cab, and before I knew it for the second time that day I found myself at the ever familiar emergency entrance. The english speaking doctor I had just seen that morning was still there, as if waiting for me. He took one look at me, emerging from the car all dirty and bloody like the walking dead, and laughed. "I thought I told you never to come back here?!" I fantasized every possible way of killing those dogs. I have never been one for animal cruelty, but this was a special case. I was going to get my hands on a gun and mortally wound them, causing a slow, horrible, agonizingly painful death. I was going to tie them up and stab them to death, cover them in gasoline and throw them into a burning building. And not one single shred of guilt or sympathy would I feel for them. Now now, let's not be hasty here. (I feel a need to apologize to animal lovers as well just now) I think this happened to me, just to be the cherry on top of the cake. Just in case I didn't already know how much I hated being injured. Well, I think I got it. I think the point has been made, it's pretty flarking crystal clear, any more clear and the blind could see it thank you very much. Cruel world, why must you be so cold? I had planned on going through the forest the very next day. It was the same trip which I had planned to go nearly 3 weeks prior. But, no. That was too much for my failing body to ask. The good news was there was no bandage on the front of my right leg anymore. The bad news was, now it was on the back. Neither here nor there, I still went on a day trip through the savannah. This day trip consisted of driving around on the highway, where I sat and took pictures of water and mountains. Not my complete idea of happiness, but it was a start. Turns out Venezuela is very beautiful. I am on the edge of Canaima National Park, which consists of a beautiful collection of deep canyons, innumerable waterfalls and streams flowing with pure, drinkable water, the unfolding savannah and table mountains emerging from the earth for your viewing pleasure. On my day trip, I visited a few of these waterfalls and vast look outs. It was glorious. I felt human again, I was finally out in nature. However at the moment, my dog bite has indeed set me back a few days more. Long enough to continue preventing me from achieving my initial goal, my real reason for entering the south of Venezuela. Well folks, be warned, I just got my rabies vaccine and now I am going to raise hell! I am out for vengeance! But really. You will hear about it next time, I will conquer my true heart's desire and tell the tale unless the world ends or I come down with rabies. Whatever happens, I won't forget to write. Cheers, to health, wealth and the hopes that somebody runs over the two damn bitches who ruined my week.

Bailey