It was muddy, it was dark, we were in the middle of nowhere, and right then we had cows that were miles away. They had stampeded in every direction, and we could not protect them. So we came back to camp and made a big fire. I looked for my shoes and I found them. By that time I was bruised all over from the cows banging into me, and my legs were bloody from the scratches I got from the acacia thorns. I hurt all over.

We started talking about how we were going to hunt the lion the next day. I could tell my brother was worried and wanted to get me out of danger. He said, “Listen, you’re fast, you can run. Run and tell the people at the other camps to come and help. We only have three real warriors here; the rest of you are younger.”

“No way,” I said. “Are you kidding me? I’m a warrior. I’m just as brave as you, and I’m not going anywhere.” At this point, I hadn’t actually seen the lion, and I absolutely refused to leave.

Nighttime on the Savannah, or grasslands of Kenya, offers little protection from lions.