Dancing with the wind

​Barefoot, i carry on tracking. As the wind gusts i feel it on my skin, and turn to face it. Soon we are dancing together. I lose all sense of route or direction and drift through a maze of game trails, sandy grass, and Kalahari apple-leaf thickets. After some time i notice the backs of the herd in the high grass ahead, led by an old matriarch, her floppy ear draped over her head like a leathery curtain. I follow the herd toward a pan and sit in the grass a short distance from the waters edge. A young elephant begins to drink in front of me, completely unaware, as the herd forms a backdrop behind. Gently she sips from the surface and i hear the trunkload of life-blood tumble down her throat into her belly. Its been a hot day in the desert