Arizona—Border Patrol agents, immigrants, and a wild puma unknowingly commingle on a harsh desert landscape, each of them aiming to avert the eyes of the next.
The female puma sleeps in a dense thicket of mesquite and acacia trees. Songbirds and owls occupy the branches above, while a rattlesnake lies curled up in a pile of rocks close by. Flies find the moisture hidden in the puma’s nostrils. As her body twitches, her ears funnel sound to her brain relaying information about her surroundings. The breaking of branches and heavy shuffling of feet disrupt the puma’s dream. She lifts a heavy eyelid and waits. Fifty yards from her day bed figures are seeking shade from the noon sun. They are loud and clumsy with their movements. The puma raises her head and watches. What she witnesses is not new to her. This disturbance is becoming more and more common in her daily existence.
Four people find refuge in the shade of a large ash tree. They are sweaty and tired, gulping dirty water from their half full milk jugs. They speak in soft tones and look over their surroundings. The puma can smell their fear. The first time the puma encountered humans she was intrigued with their awkward movements. She had followed the people as they walked a desert path. Their two feet scraped and stumbled under them while their arms swung and flailed in an opposing movement. The creatures fumbled so much as they moved across the terrain that they appeared to be injured. They were also loud, emitting noises constantly, and they sounded like they were both dying and claiming their territory at the same time. There were loud huffs, high-pitched squeals, guttural screams, and low moans.
The puma’s stealth and awareness allowed her to go undetected during her investigation. Her tawny body blended in with the land, vegetation, and rocks but the people stood out in their bright and dark skins. She was able to get close enough to smell the creatures. She memorized their scent. The puma grew leery of the two-legged creatures as she followed in their footsteps. Then, her instincts warned her to back away from their proximity. The puma’s curiosity was satisfied. The beings were not prey, and couldn’t be a predator. That was all that mattered.
Later, once again, the puma watches the two-legged creatures. This time from a distance.
Suddenly, something new happens; the strange beings begin to run. The puma’s ears prick up and her body tenses. There is a new sound entering the area and the two-legged creatures seem to be afraid of it. A loud rumbling comes toward the puma with the speed of an antelope, yet it remains hidden. The earth swirls and sprays about as a new creature emerges. Standing in the wide sandy wash that is a part of her home is a large, shiny being. It dwarfs any prey that she has encountered and has eyes that flash and its body is the color of danger, white.
The puma remains in her bed, hidden but agitated. Her heart rate accelerates and her wiry body pulls taut. She is ready to explode from her spot and flee if discovered. She looks upon the new creature as a possible competitor. The puma keeps her ears tuned to the rocks falling from the hillside where the two-legged creatures have gone and holds her eyes on the new creature.
Suddenly, the creature opens up and more two-legged beings emerge. They are of a different, uniform color, but have the same scent. The new versions of the two-legged beings chase after the others up the slopes that border the wash. They are just as slow and clumsy and make the same huffing sound, but also growl a bit. The chase goes on for a few moments and then a loud thumping sound is heard in the sky. The air above the puma’s head moves as if a storm is approaching. Her hair lifts from her body just as magnet shavings respond to metal, giving her the appearance of a cat before a fight.
It is too much for the puma. She springs from her position, leaping over the fifteen-foot arroyo and sprinting up the opposite hillside until her heart can take no more. Atop the ridge, the puma keeps a vigil over her lands until the chase of the two-legged creatures is over. She doesn’t have to wait long. The ones of the same color catch the others. Their technique is weak, even their pouncing on their prey is awkward. One misses. There is some struggle, but then the attack is over. The air goes calm and soft noises drift to the puma as the two-legged beings pace back to the large white creature. All beings are still alive—perhaps they were playing a game like she does with her prey on occasion? But then, the large creature swallows the two-legged ones. Death has finally come and the large being leaves her lands.
The puma turns east and follows a game trail to another section of her territory. She will never return to this wash again.