Sangoma 06: Distraction

by Red Wolf

Declán walked across the park, a plastic bag in hand.

He'd talked to Wolf again while he was hunting up the local African cuisine. She'd found bones and other animal parts in Mrs Mzizana's garbage that were inconsistent with food scraps and he passed on the noticeable lack of family photographs he'd seen in the house and the beads that were tossed on the coffee table. He hoped something more concrete would come to light after Wolf's meeting with Professor Barnes.

Passing through the thick copse where he'd played hide and seek earlier, Declán walked out of the dense shrubbery on four legs, the carrier bag in his mouth. Heading down to the oval where the boys were finally winding up their game, he sat on the fringes of the game and waited for Samuel.

The boy was obviously dreading the game finishing and tried to cajole the other lads into staying, but dinner was calling and empty bellies were winning out over football. The last of the players left once the owner of the ball succumbed to hunger and Samuel was left alone, his shoulders slumped in dejection.

Samuel kicked at the ground and, jamming his hands in his pockets, dawdled off in the same direction as the others. Declán noticed he was heading away from his claimed home, at least he wouldn't have worry about keeping him from going there.

As Samuel kicked another imaginary rock, he was surprised to see Declán appear at his side. He threw his arms around Declán's neck and nuzzled his face into his fur. His face lit up when he discovered that his furry friend had come bearing food.

Once the boy had detached himself, Declán took the chance to start leading him away. He knew a place that would do to crash and wanted to get Samuel fed and settled before dark.

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15 Minute Ficlets — word #97: undeniable
Moonbeam's challenge — declán and a child

Published Babble Horde — 15.03.2005
Published FictionPress — 22.03.2005

declán | fiction | original fiction | samuel | wolf

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