Night and Day

Off in the distance, the cries of some exotic evening bird warned its neighbours of a dangerous intruder into its territory. It might have been another bird, or a big cat, or a monkey; the tropical preserves of northern Kenya were still a wild place, being kept that way by well-equipped park rangers and assistance from various international funds. There, in the dim light of dusk beneath the rainforest canopy, any number of threats might rear gleaming eyes, or slither through the underbrush—at arm's length, yet entirely unnoticed.
The great tree had appealed to Anonye; she had laid one smooth tan palm upon its skin, and felt the vibrancy of the wood that lay beneath. As with any natural rainforest, there was plenty of space between the tree trunks, but this old man seemed to demand extra personal space—and, all around his base, over the thick, rich black soil that covered his roots, there was a bed of large, thick leaves laid down over the years. Anonye loved to lie upon them; she had laughed when Dr. Roberts sprayed the entire area for insects, but there was light in her big brown eyes when she laughed, and she had clapped her hands together for sheer joy.
Dr. Roberts—despite his selective love for the local fauna—was also smiling. “Your eyes...”
He stumbled, for a moment; the doctor was not a romantic man, but this beautiful woman deserved something more than his usual clumsy, tedious advances; “Every time you look at me, I see the flash of your eyes... it's like a storm,” he tried, and was rewarded for his efforts with a shy look askance, allowing him to trace the curve of Anonye's neck and left shoulder with his own eyes in turn. “Like a flash of lightning, at night, that makes the whole world clear for just a moment.”