What I see and feel:
There is a jaguar haunting a remote property. It seems to live there. Danger is in the air.
There is a deadly predator lurking on the estate... Will death follow?
Quinten sat by the fireplace, sipping his chamomile tea. His book was still sitting on the coffee table, untouched.
The older man was still thinking about the tracks he had seen in the garden the other day. They were almost as large as his hand, without any claw marks.
Only one animal could have made those tracks: a large jaguar. And if he wasn't mistaken, Quinten knew this particular animal. He didn't blame or hate the big cat, but he also felt no love.
How could he love the animal who killed his son? True, Rick had tried to kill the big cat for sport, despite his father raising him to respect all living things. A brash young man, he wanted to impress his college buddies.
When Christmas came and Rick invited three friends to spend the holidays, Quentin was pleased. The family home was several miles from the nearest neighbor. It was good for his son to have friends sharing the holiday season on the isolated estate.
His pleasure was short lived. Roger, one of the guests, had a rifle. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Roger. However we don't allow hunting here." Said Quentin, firmly but kindly.
"No problem, Sir. I just couldn't leave it on campus."
Several days later, Quentin heard a shot coming from the jungle. Watching from the window, he saw his own son walking towards the house with the rifle. His friends were close behind.
He greeted the small group at the door. "What happened, son?"
"Dad, there's a big jaguar on the property. I thought it would be wise to kill it, before it hurts someone."
"Son, we have always lived peacefully beside the big cats, and all of the wildlife around here. It's their home too. Did you forget so easily?" Said a very worried and sad father.
"Of course not Dad. But the new housekeeper you hired is elderly, and would be an easy target for such a large jaguar."
"We have never had a problem... Please, if you missed just live and let live. If not you will bury the body out of respect."
"Bury a valuable trophy animal like that?!?!?!!" Exclaimed Roger.
"It's my property." Quentin reminded him gently. "Son, is the cat dead?"
"No, I just nicked him I think. He ran off." Said Rick.
At this point Quentin looked up from his tea, holding back tears. He recalled taking the rifle and making them show him where it happened. He found blood, but not enough to follow the elusive predator. He knew he had to find it, and see for himself if it was badly injured.
He also remembered sending Rick and his friends back to the house. All had argued that it wasn't safe to track a wounded jaguar alone. Eventually they left. Later he learned from the others that his son had felt bad, and decided to go back alone to apologize.
Unknown to all, the injured animal had circled around. It ambushed Rick, and fatally mauled him. Quentin found his son as he returned home from an unsuccessful hunt.
Later he learned that the jaguar had been shot in the hind leg. Unable to travel and hunt big game effectively, it stayed fairly close to the estate. Quentin fired the housekeeper for her own safety, and posted no trespassing signs.
He also carried a pistol now, which he hated. But he knew he might have to defend himself should the cat cross his path when hungry. A loud roar interrupted his thoughts. Quentin looked out the window, and saw the cat walking across the yard with one of his best laying hens in it's mouth.
Fingering the pistol, he shook his head. "Live and let live..."
Image made in Canva using free images from their gallery
Gee, what a strong conviction the gentleman had, he did not break it or the death of his son, live and let live is a beautiful phrase, it will be nice if we all put it into practice, the earth would be a paradise.
Yes... As you can see, he would have killed to protect - but never for revenge. There is a difference between stopping a bad action and causing harm when there was no evil intent on the jaguar's part.
Oh no, He shot the jaguar.
No, he said live and let live. This means they have peace with each other :)
Such a great picture and story -- I'm going to link to yours along with your photo credit!
Wow, thanks so much :) I can't wait to read your story about the picture :)
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I must say this story is fascinating! Rick was careless and lost his life that way. Even more, he made the Dad a hermit in his own house because he had to watch his back so the jaguar doesn't maul him too for dinner! Nice! Kudos on a well written story.