Chimanunda Nngoby, a young long-distance runner from Nigeria, landed in a university in California, USA with a scholarship in track and field. One late afternoon, after attending all his required classes, he went out to the local mountain trails for a few kilometers of practice run. His coaches had warned him not to go alone for practice run, especially when dusk approaching. Various wild animals had been spotted during that time on the mountain tracks. Chimanunda, one of thirteen siblings, from a poor village in Nigeria, had his sight set on competing in the Olympics to bring glory to both his country and family. Like many African youths of his age, he attended his high school by running daily about 7–8 kilometer each way. He was bent on practicing as hard as he could to achieve his goal of becoming a national hero like many of his famous predecessors.
This day, just after he finished a five kilometer stretch, his sixth sense heightened. He felt that someone had been shadowing him. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed a male mountain lion, prevalent in the area, had been following him, maintaining a short distance. He realized that the animal had been waiting for Chimanunda to stop for a break to make his final move. And that’s when his loving granny’s smiling face, singing a childhood lullaby to him, flashed in his mind:
A lion wakes up in the morning
He thinks if I don’t run my fastest today, I will go hungry.
A gazelle wakes up in the morning
He thinks if I don’t run my fastest today, I will become a lion’s food.
Chimanunda accelerated his pace remembering that a few weeks back, he met a caring older couple who had built a house on a cliff overlooking the ocean at the distant. They invited him for a cold drink. Then, after listening to his life’s mission, they showed him how to open the front-door of their gated compound from outside, in case someday he wanted to take some rest on their porch, while they were away. Today, Chimanunda sprinted like that proverbial gazelle, found the couple’s house, unlocked the gate, entered the perimeter and re-locked the gate. Soon, standing on the porch, he heard the scratching sound from the mountain lion on the other side of the closed door, trying desperately to find his disappearing prey.
The sound stopped almost after half an hour. Only then, Chimanunda took out his cell-phone from his back pocket to place an emergency call to the Park Rangers Office. Soon, a rescue helicopter started hovering over the house, eventually lifting him out of the danger.
This day, just after he finished a five kilometer stretch, his sixth sense heightened. He felt that someone had been shadowing him. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed a male mountain lion, prevalent in the area, had been following him, maintaining a short distance. He realized that the animal had been waiting for Chimanunda to stop for a break to make his final move. And that’s when his loving granny’s smiling face, singing a childhood lullaby to him, flashed in his mind:
A lion wakes up in the morning
He thinks if I don’t run my fastest today, I will go hungry.
A gazelle wakes up in the morning
He thinks if I don’t run my fastest today, I will become a lion’s food.
Chimanunda accelerated his pace remembering that a few weeks back, he met a caring older couple who had built a house on a cliff overlooking the ocean at the distant. They invited him for a cold drink. Then, after listening to his life’s mission, they showed him how to open the front-door of their gated compound from outside, in case someday he wanted to take some rest on their porch, while they were away. Today, Chimanunda sprinted like that proverbial gazelle, found the couple’s house, unlocked the gate, entered the perimeter and re-locked the gate. Soon, standing on the porch, he heard the scratching sound from the mountain lion on the other side of the closed door, trying desperately to find his disappearing prey.
The sound stopped almost after half an hour. Only then, Chimanunda took out his cell-phone from his back pocket to place an emergency call to the Park Rangers Office. Soon, a rescue helicopter started hovering over the house, eventually lifting him out of the danger.
