Oneita

I always bring a strand of my hair when I travel. I do this so animals know I'm not here to hurt them. I worked at a zoo for almost 7 years. In that time, I had to do a lot of things that hurt a lot of animals. It was tough. I saw a lot of good friends die in front of me. This job was the last straw. <br><br>I'm in Guyana, working with sloths. I have a lot of experience with them. These sloths are sick. Theyve been found on the road, or picked up by people and kept as pets. We're trying to reintroduce them to the wild. I volunteer at a few places. This place is the only place I found that understands the process of reintroducing an animal the correct way. I met a woman named Oneita. She has a pet sloth. A fully-grown sloth. This sloth was probably picked up when it was young and now is used to human interaction. The sloth is named Selenite. Selenite has been Oneita's pet for years. I can tell Oneita loves this sloth. Whenever she's around, she's always giving it food, usually leaves. It knows when she's close by. If I'm holding it, and it hears Oneita come by, it squirms around and tries to get out. It knows whenever she is close by. <br><br>Oneita asked me if I would like to see her village. I hadn't had much interaction with people since I had been here. I decided to go. She brought Selenite along with us. Oneita's village is deep in the forest. We had to drive for almost an hour before we started walking. We had to walk for about another hour. It was a small village, like the ones you see in the movies. The people were all very friendly. They welcomed me with open arms. They loved Selenite. They were all amazed by how big the sloths were. They all petted Selenite. They all loved Selenite. <br><br>Oneita brought me into her home and offered me food and drink. I politely declined. I didn't want to be rude, but I have had very bad experiences with eating in other places. Oneita understands. I spend a few more hours here. I can see why Oneita keeps Selenite when I look around the village. <br><br>The village men all go out to hunt. The village women stay home and tend to the children and cook. It's a very traditional village. I feel bad that the children won't get to experience what it's like outside of the village. Oneita asks if I would like to stay the night. They have extra room. I politely decline and tell her I have to get back to work. I don't want to intrude on the families. Oneita understands. <br><br>As we walk back, Oneita asks me if I can take Selenite back to the center with me. She doesn't want to leave it alone at her house. I agree. This is the first time Selenite has been away from Oneita for this long. I put some food in Selenite's cage and it doesn't seem to care. I give it some of its favorite leaves, and it doesn't seem to care. I hold it. It squirms around. I let it out of its cage. It runs down the hallway. I run after it. <br><br>It's almost morning. Selenite is still not in its cage. It's not hungry, thirsty, or tired. It wants Oneita. I decide to take Selenite back to Oneita. I get in my car and drive as fast as I can. I drive for almost an hour before I have to walk. I walk for another hour. I see the village. I see smoke. I run towards the village. <br><br>The village is on fire. All of the houses are burning. There's no one in sight. I keep running. I have to find Oneita. I run through the smoke. I see a house. It's not on fire. I run towards it. The door is closed. I slowly open the door. I see Oneita. She's lying on the ground. She's not moving. I run towards her. I see Selenite. Selenite is eating Oneita's insides. I see the rest of the villagers. They look like they've been dead for days. They are all being eaten by sloths. There must be at least 50 sloths. I slowly back away. The sloths look at me. Selenite looks at me. <br><br>I run out of the house. I run as fast as I can. I hear the sloths behind me. I run faster. I don't see the tree. I run into it. My head hurts. Everything goes black. <br><br>I wake up. I'm in my bed. I look at my phone. It's 12:26 PM. I fell asleep at 8 AM. I look around my room. I see blood on my clothes. I get out of bed. I slowly walk to the bathroom. I look at myself in the mirror. I see a gash on my forehead. I see scratches and bruises all over my arms and legs. I look at my clothes again. I see small claw marks going through my clothes. I slowly turn around. <br><br>I see Selenite. Selenite is standing on my bed. Selenite is eating my hair strand.