in Bin Laden's compound

in Bin Laden's compound

fiction
edward w pritchard

Bin Laden kept five full sized tigers in the compound behind the residence. All five were sick like him but the white Bengal, Osama's favorite tiger, was near death.

The white tiger although very ill, spent most of the time, climbed high up in the trees along the South border of the compound. When the white tiger walked it moved too much side ways and it was in obvious intense pain through the hips from it's illnesses.

The other four tigers were not so sick as the white Bengal but still seemed listless and off as they paced about the barren grounds of the compound.

I was secretly afraid that Bin Laden was too ill himself to control the five tigers. I was especially worried today for two of the neighbor children age four and five years old had come over to see the tigers and I was afraid for their safety. Although he was suffering with pain Osama bin Laden awkwardly walked down the sloping yard toward where the children and I stood. I could see Osama bin Laden was carrying something probably Swiss chocolate for our leader enjoyed delighting the neighborhood children with small gifts.

I had barricaded the children and myself behind the small wooden pic-nic table to try to provide them some protection from the tigers; particularly the white one which was high up sprawled in the trees watching the children intently. The white tiger was rumored to have nearly frozen to death once and this made him especially dangerous if in captivity. I reached out to greet Osama bin Laden all the while watching the treed white tiger and the four other tigers which were slowly following behind Bin Laden as he approached the children with the chocolate bar which was now visible to me in his left hand.