SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

e’ve got the green light, I am so happy!” Amy was so ecstatic that Mark had to remove the receiver from the side of his head. He spoke into the mouthpiece while tilting it downwards to keep his eardrum safe, “When are we gonna do it?” She didn’t seem to hear him and was still hollering with joy.

He was pretty excited himself. This was his first chance to realise his dream and make a difference to the future of his world. Her voice tore him back to the present, “So, can you be there?” He realised that he had missed something. “Where?” he asked. “Typical male, never listening! At the airport for your flight here tomorrow morning, Mr. No-ears.” He made frantic apologies, “Sorry Amy, I am just so over the moon, I guess I got a little carried away. Of course I’ll be there, what must I bring?”
“Your toothbrush and a change of clothes or two. We’ll be leaving here on Wednesday morning to drive him down your way.”
He made a futile attempt to hide his excitement, “You mean you are coming with me?”
“Of course, did you think I was going to let my baby out of my sight for one minute? And with a complete stranger to boot, no way mister!”
“That’s great, so we will finally get to meet,” he threw in a bit of rhetoric to test her feelings. The response was disappointing, “Yeah, look I have to run. I’m emailing you the flight number, just pick up the ticket at least half an hour before check-in.”
“Sure, will you meet me at the airport?”
“Someone will, see you tomorrow,” came another let down.

Mark had come into contact with Amy when he started emailing all the conservation bodies, universities and zoos in Southern Africa to explain the plight of his charge. He had studied nature conservation in preparation for what he saw as his life purpose - to save the blue swallow from extinction in the hills around Barberton. Its previous plentiful grassland habitat had been all but completely destroyed by the planting of exotic trees for the manufacture of timber and paper pulp.

He managed to convince Mondi to sponsor his project and had identified three breeding pairs in his year and a half in the area. They had raised several successful broods between them. Due to the tiny patch of natural habitat remaining between the plantations, their surviving chicks all moved from the area. Mark could only hope that they had colonised other suitable areas and were also breeding.

It had all been going splendidly until disaster struck three months ago. One of the workers at the nearby logging compound had brought a cat with them. After the male half of one of the breeding pairs had failed to show up at the nest to feed his partner for more than a week, Mark had started investigating. He realised the emergency when he found one of the unmistakably long outer tail feathers outside the cat owner’s house.

He could have cried, but it wouldn’t bring the bird back. Instead he started actively enquiring about the possibility of males in captivity. Amazingly, Amy responded immediately. She had managed to hand rear a male, hatched from an egg that was salvaged after police closed down a wildlife rehabilitation centre in Zimbabwe. They were hoping to successfully introduce him to the widow in order for them to mate and sustain the already limited reproduction in the area.

This was not the only reason for Mark’s anticipation. Amy sounded very cute on the phone. He got to see what she looked like when they exchanged photographs relating to their respective projects. The aural picture he had formed of her was more than re-enforced then. He packed his bag quickly and prepared to drive to White River for his flight from the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport the next morning.

*

It had been love at first sight and they got on like a forest fire. She was even more beautiful in real life, and the swallow was in perfect shape. Although accommodation had been arranged for him, they rationalised ending up in the same bed by arguing that they’d be able to hit the road earlier on Wednesday.

She drove all the way to the South African border with the bird lodged safely in one cup of her bra. It was used to this warm hollow having been kept there during daytime as a nestling. Mark envied the bird. Once they were through Zimbabwean Customs, he took over the driving.

The accident happened not long after they had left the town of Mussina. They managed to dislodge themselves and get out of the wreck. Her car was wedged under the back of a stationary truck. When the paramedics arrived soon after, the front of Amy’s t-shirt was stained with fresh blood and there was more trickling from the corner of her mouth. They started frantically attending to her, but she indicated that she was fine and directed them to Mark.

They found him crouched next to the road and sobbing uncontrollably. He was gripping what remained of it in a bloodied hand. When he finally managed to pry Mark’s hand from it, the senior paramedic turned to his assistant and instructed him, “Get the stretcher, we have an emergency!”

After they had stabilised Mark and put him on a drip, they returned to Amy to thoroughly check her. Finding her perfectly fine except for severe shock, the senior paramedic had to pose the question, “What happened lady, were you…?” he let the rest of the question trail. She started crying and nodded. He helped her into the back of the ambulance next to the stretcher. She gripped Mark’s free hand and burst into a renewed shower of tears.

She had been administering oral sex to Mark, when it turned into a near-fatal emergency as they hit the back of the truck. The swallow had somehow survived unscathed. Mark was not as lucky. On impact, she had nearly severed the tip of his member between her jaws.

© Chris Smal – 26 September 2005