"Conflicted"

I trekked through the forest, looking for the camping spot Mary, the forest ranger had assigned me. Both my hands were occupied. One of them was holding a map while the other firmly grasped my sister's hand, ensuring that she didn't get lost. May's known to do that sometimes.

Somewhere in the wilderness, May and I heard a wolf's howl, but we weren't the least bit worried. If the wolf found us, well, it wouldn't be the first time we encountered one, but that's a story for later.

Anyway, we had finally found our spot and were pitching our tent when we heard a small whimper. It kind of sounded like the sound our cats would make when they were injured, so we decided to check it out. Big mistake.

"Be quiet Kat" my sister whispered. I nodded. We didn't want to make any loud noises, because not only would it aggravate whatever was wounded, but it would also attract the attention of some less-than-pleasant creatures. No-one wants to end up as a bear's dinner.

Just as I suspected, the wounded animal was a Malayan tiger. "He's beautiful" I muttered. "She" May corrected. "It's a she".

I nodded, my eyes fixed on the majestic beast in front of me. The injury was worse than I expected. A large tree branch had fallen on the tigress's paw, and it was bleeding profusely.

I was conflicted. Half of me wanted to help the tigress but the other half, the cowardly half, wanted to run away. I turned to my sister for help but she was stuck in her own problem- literally. May was slowly sinking in quicksand and there was nothing I could do but watch. If I made any sudden movements, the tigress would feel threatened and would attempt to attack, making her injured paw even worse. But if I DIDN'T do anything, my sister would drown in quicksand and I would be depressed for life.

How did I get out of this situation you ask? Well, it turns out some forest rangers were scouting the area and heard the tigress's distressed roars, so they came to check it out. It took them a few minutes to notice May, but when they did, she was saved immediately. The tigress was taken to a rescue center to be treated by specialists, freeing me of my internal battle.