It was a case of mistaken identity. That may not be the most precise way to describe it- perhaps more a case of unknown identity. I was in the half-sleep half-wake bliss of a Sunday morning, drifting between dreaming and day dreaming, when I heard footsteps around the side of my house, then saw a man walk behind my house and sit down on the concrete steps. I could see him from my bedroom window but his back was towards me so he couldn't see me. I sat up, then lay down, not sure if I should pretend I was asleep, not home, or get up and make some noise so he knew someone was in the house. Around here, you never know if someone is carrying a machete or a gun or is unarmed, so I didn't want to startle him if it was one of the first two. I texted a friend with my dilemma, and after a few comments back and forth she said she was sending her husband over to make sure everything was ok.
I quietly got up and got dressed. Within seconds someone was pulling up on his motorcycle outside the house. I opened the door to greet him, and saw him conversing with the stranger from behind the house. "Hey Mackenzie...it's your gardener!" Sure enough, my trusty gardener was the mystery man. He was not wearing his hat or his boots, which he always wears, and had just had a haircut, and I'd only seen his back, so I can hopefully be forgiven for not recognizing him. After the initial embarrassment, I recovered enough to ask what he was doing here on his one day off a week. He was bringing his pet squirrel (ardita) to set it free in the jungle behind my house. Apparently there was no one at his house to take care of it appropriately, and if he released it in the village he was worried someone would kill it. He knew I wouldn't object to this adorable creature, and he'd seen other squirrels around my house so figured his pet would have friends.
What started as a nervous morning ended with a sweet story about my gardener who has a soft spot for animals.
I quietly got up and got dressed. Within seconds someone was pulling up on his motorcycle outside the house. I opened the door to greet him, and saw him conversing with the stranger from behind the house. "Hey Mackenzie...it's your gardener!" Sure enough, my trusty gardener was the mystery man. He was not wearing his hat or his boots, which he always wears, and had just had a haircut, and I'd only seen his back, so I can hopefully be forgiven for not recognizing him. After the initial embarrassment, I recovered enough to ask what he was doing here on his one day off a week. He was bringing his pet squirrel (ardita) to set it free in the jungle behind my house. Apparently there was no one at his house to take care of it appropriately, and if he released it in the village he was worried someone would kill it. He knew I wouldn't object to this adorable creature, and he'd seen other squirrels around my house so figured his pet would have friends.
What started as a nervous morning ended with a sweet story about my gardener who has a soft spot for animals.
