Savages to the Left, Africa All Around

They turned left. She was English, he Australian. Tired of the safe, typical tourist route through South Africa ̶ Cape Town up the coast to Kruger then across to Johannesburg ̶ they drove into the country's interior.

Hours later, they stopped in a small village to ask about the nearest gas station. While he spoke with some guys on the corner, a man approached her. There was menace in his walk. His eyes were yellow. His cheeks were scarred. He locked her into a stare and walked slowly.

She wanted her husband's attention but was afraid to look away. She cleared her throat but he didn't hear. The man kept coming, his face a stone. She wanted to run or scream.

The man stopped right in front of her and spoke: "We're not savages, you know." Then he burst out laughing and apologized. She laughed, too, and they stayed for hours.