no longer flashing skull in my hand, I knew that it was not yet time for me to return to the 21st
century. As they say, there was a purpose to reach.
The motherly instincts of a dinosaur, gentle and caring, bewildered me. Even love can be
found in most legendary of creatures. Just then, a ferocious roar shook the ceiling of the cavern
and induced a shiver in the mother Apatosaurus. It planted itself more firmly onto the eggs in the
foliage-made nest, even though it was reduced to a shivering bunch of scales. The ground seemed
to rumble and it was as if thunder was fast approaching.
When I looked up again, the entire sky was blocked — by a looming creature. My mind
told me, by the head structure and the canine appearance, this was the greatest of the greatest
dinosaurs — the
Spinosaurus.
The sharp claws of the
Spinosaurus
seemed to yearn for the mother dinosaur’s eggs in the
nest. As the mother dinosaur looked on with undeniable fear and sad resignation, her small figure
no comparison to the
Spinosaurus,
an overwhelming sense of pity consumed me. For another
species. On impulse, I decided to risk my own wellbeing for the sake of a dinosaur. How stupid
was I? Very. Stomping like a madman onto the dense undergrowth, I brandished my—torchlight—
and shone it into the
Spinosaurus
’s eyes, only to see it change its target towards me, unperturbed
by the light, yet fascinated by foreign me.
Just as it bared its canines and I could feel its hot, bloody, meat-laden breath contaminating
my clothes, my hand wielded my last weapon - the laser light - and directed it into the
Spinosaurus
’s eyes. Prepared to lose this last battle, I winced as it inched closer and closer, and…
suddenly it was gone as fast as it had arrived. When I opened my eyes again, it was fleeing in a
disoriented manner. Meanwhile, the eggs were safe and sound beneath the petrified herbivorous
Apatosaurus.
As the mother Apatosaurus looked into my eyes thankfully, I smiled with a quiet, blissful
contentment. I felt the infant dinosaur skull pulsing in my pocket once again. As I grasped it
tight, I felt myself hurled into that same dizziness and everything became light again.
16th July 2002.
As I stepped out of the cave, my eyes settled on Ada and James, whom I waved at. Yet as I
walked towards them, a little smile crawled up onto my face. As I clasped the fossilized egg in my
pocket and the fragment of the infant skull that had tucked itself into my jeans pocket, I knew,
that it was my secret to keep. My little souvenir, to remind me, that dinosaurs were like any other
creature—caring, loving—had the exact same emotions as humanity. I had understood that creature
like no other human would ever do, because I was blessed with the fortune to do so. That, was the
essence of adventure:
Revelation.
