The day of the final submission for the wildlife photography contest was drawing closer. The winning photograph would stand a chance to attend the the Jaipur school of photography, and win ten thousand bucks. And, as an aspiring freelance photographer,
Sunil was hoping with all his heart, that this would be his big break. Presently, he climbed up the bus, which would take him to the Kabini National Park, famous for its exquisite black panthers.

The bus came to a screeching halt in front of a huge billboard reading “Kabini national park”. Sunil pushed out of his bus, and headed for his small bed and breakfast house. The next day, waking up early, Sunil got into a jeep with one more person, a guide, and a driver. Even after an hour of driving, there were still no signs of a black panther. Everyone was almost giving up hope of spotting one, when suddenly the chatter in the jeep died down.

The guide motioned everyone to stay quiet, and asked the guide to follow the rustling of the leave sin the bushes. After ten minutes of cautious driving, the magnificent beast finally came into view. There it was, its black tail facing the jeep. “This is it”, Sunil thought. He jumped out of the jeep. The guide was about to scream, and barely stopped himself, remembering that it would only bring more trouble. Sunil was focused on his camera, and his camera only, and went forward without a second look behind.

He angled himself, and clicked. The shutter snapped, and the photo was captured. But so was the panther’s attention. She turned around, and dashed at Sunil in a split second.
Sunil rushed too, but a second too late for the panther. She gashed at his knee and almost tore away his hand, but before any more damage could have been done, the panther was chased away.

He watched as his dreams went up in smoke and sighed, as he recalled his close encounter with death. If only he had listened, he would have been in the most prestigious photography school in India, and not in a full body cast in the hospital.

If only he had looked before he leaped…

ps:This, again, was an essay that I had written last academic session.. They might not be the best, but the comments and compliments on my school essays were always what encouraged me to keep writing..