Essay: An Unforgettable Incident

  "Bang!"The deafening sound of gunshot resounded in the air. My heart trembled and I satwide awake on my bed,gasping for air. The incident three years ago still relentlessly haunts me, every single night. For all these years, I had been trying to let it go, heaven's know I tried,but still it plagues my mind,even till now.

  It was the school holidays. My classmates and I were on an outing, camping at Taman Negara as a school trip after the school exams, Personally, I thought it was a golden opportunity to relax ourselves after our stressing studies, and of course, have some fun! Later that day, my fellow classmates and I set out looking for butterflies for our school science project. Besides, we enjoyed jungle trekking anyway and we did find some rather interesting and exotic butterflies along the trail. Lee, who loves biology, was totally thrilled by the wide variety of flora and fauna there. We, on the other hand, simply rolled our eyes and shook our heads as he looked all around him, sometimes stealing a glance at us,saying "What?" However, I have to admit, the place was pretty cool.

  The smell of the rainforest and soil seeped into our nostrils. The leaves of the great big rainforest tree rustled at the afternoon breeze as we rested below its shade. Some rays of light managed to shower in and greet us, but still it was quite dark. Our clothes all stuck to our skin as we gulped down our precious water greedily. Only Lee paced about. He was getting impatient. "Come on! Can't we carry on now?" Muthu wrinkled his nose but said nothing. The rest groaned while I struggled to get up. Soon we were on our way again. All was quiet, except for our ragged breath and the droning of bugs. Everybody was dog-tired and desperately wanted a rest, but Lee insisted we continue.Daniel was not pleased about this and I could hear him muttering something under his breath. Then Ali piped up, breaking the silence, "Hey, aren't we venturing a bit too deep into the forest? We might get into trouble!" Lee scowled, and said that we can find more special and unique stuff around here. I wanted to fire back, but i held my tougue. However the others have already started an arguement.

  Just then, we all jumped in fright as a deafening roar reverberated in the air. We all hid in the bushes as quick as lightning,  Crouching low, the frightened boys and I found ourselves whispering urgerntly,all with the same question playing in our minds, "Is it approaching us?" We stared in shock as a ferocious tiger, standing high and tall, emerged out of the thick undergrowth. A tiger! Roamingin the jungle! Out of the blue, a phone rang. My phone. I cursed as soft as I can as I fished the brand-new Samsung out of my pocket. A sense of dread rushed over me. We were doomed  Who would have known that we could get a telephone signal here amidst the woods? To our utmost horror, the deadly predator was now headed our way. I could here twigs snap as it came closer and closer. I looked at my friends, only to see them staring back at me, as though reprimanding me for bring along the phone and wanted me to take care of this mess. The fear in their eyes were unmistakable. I gulped. Our hearts raced and we had our heart in our mouth.

  Then Lee lost it. He could not hold it back anymore. He got up and ran, as fast as a cheetah, yelling and screaming gibberish at the top of his voice, like a lunatic on the run. I would have laughed, if my life was not threatened by a 11-feet tall cat. Shaken by Lee's outrage, we all got up on our feet, scattering in all directions. The tiger growled menacingly and gave chase, tailing us as we made for an escape. To our dismay, Muthu tripped clumsily at the root of a tree. "No!" I let out a shrill cry.We all turned back, only to see the ugly sight of the tiger, sinking its jaws into Muthu's neck. It roared, as if declaring its victory then looked at me, straight in the eye. I saw its hunger, its anger, its deadliness.
Then I looked at Muthu's lifeless body, sprawled on the ground. I choked back a sob as the tiger began its feast.  Still sobbing, I fell onto my knees, unable to register what had just happened before me.Following the disaster, was the sound of gunshot. Then, everything before me, blacked out.

  When I woke up, I was at the ranger's station. "The kid's awake. Can you hear me? Are you alright?" Without hesitation I blurted out, "Where is Muthu?" The only respond of my companions were mere silence. The atmosphere was dreadful. After quite a moment, a ranger stood forward and explained. One of the rangers saw us in trouble. He fired his rifle, but not at the tiger, as it is an endangered species and is a protected animal. However, the sound of gunshot did scare it away. He brought every single one of us back to safety, all except one. Muthu did not make it. For all I know, Muthu is gone. I did not notice  the others' expressions but I see Muthu's parents crying their eyes out, resulting in red and puffy eyes.

  I never forgot that hearth-breaking moment. If we did not go so deep into the jungle. If I did not bring the phone. If we did not even go to camp. So many if's , but what is the use. We cannot alter the truth. Muthu is dead, because of me, because of us.