Freya always has faith that something will happen. What that will be she isn’t certain, but it will be something exciting, she is sure of that. She has supplies to wait for a while. The tent is comfy and the emu is always on patrol. Another emu has joined the first one, so she feels even safer.
They settle down again for another night. After the hot glare of the previous day, the coolness is welcome. She has been occupying herself communicating with the emu chicks and minding them when their father takes a short break. But Sasha is always on her mind. It is taking so long for him to return. Perhaps the balloons have dropped him. Perhaps he is wandering lost and thirsty in this desert, wondering if he will survive.
Will she survive if he fails to return? Maybe she should have stayed with her protective humans in South Africa. The air seems full of questions. Freya tries to sleep, to block out her doubts. Finally she dozes off, not the usual deep slumber of night and full of dreams. And now she sleeps. She is back in her hometown, sitting on the knee of the young human, who is petting her.
She jerks awake and lies quite still, listening. The sun is just over the horizon, its glow lighting up the tent. Was that a sound ? Freya, like all cats, has extremely good hearing. She emerges from the tent, stepping onto the sand, still cold from the night’s chill. The emu must have settled on the other side of the tent. All is quiet. No, there is a sound. Somewhere up in the sky. She looks upwards, towards the west. Something is approaching. A small object, far up. A large bird? Should she return to the tent? There could be predator birds that might enjoy feasting on small prey. But the blob in the sky is getting larger. It doesn’t look like a bird.
And then something exciting happens.
Sasha looks worn out. The carpet had decided to be agreeable and folded itself up so they could fly through the air together. Sasha tells Freya it must be how a bird would feel. The rush of the air past him had been intoxicating.
After he returns they wait for the sun to rise.
