LLAMA LLAMA

“Us animal lovers can sometimes create unbreakable connections with our animals, and sometimes these connections can become obsessive,” said Mary talking to her Llama. Mary was a 15-year-old who grew up in the country, she was always surrounded by animals and loved being around them. She grew especially close to a llama which she hilariously named Llama Llama. “Bring Llama to the city was a stressful process, but I made things a lot more complicated when I decided to bring Llama everywhere I went.”

“At school, I would leave him in the back of the school under a tree with food and water.” Llama was a spitter so she wasn’t worried about anyone taking him, and besides who would steal a llama? During, lunch Mary would sneak in the back of the school and eat lunch with Llama, which eventually caught the attention of the other students. “Of course, after this student had their comments some even made fun of me, but this did not faze me.” Llama was a gift from her aunt who had passed away and, in her mind, Llama was her only connection to home.

“As time went by the teachers found out about Llama and did not want me to bring him to school anymore. Llama had vomit projected all over the janitor.” Mary was told not to bring Llama back to school, but she refused, and her parents were contacted. “My parents met up with principal Mr. Frank and explained to him the attachment I had for Llama.” Mary’s parent made a compelling argument but was unsuccessful in convincing Mr. Frank. “When I found out I threw a fit and cried all night, no one understood Llama and I’s relationship. He had been with me since she was seven years old.”

“I refused to go to school after the events, but my parents refused to just let her education just waste away when she was such a good student. So, they recommended me to a therapist.” After a week of therapy, Mary’s therapist Ms. Poiter recommended to Mr. Frank to allow her to bring Llama to school every other day, which he agreed to after an hour of convincing. “After a few months, Ms. Poiter got to the root of my problems, and I eventually began to leave Llama home when I went to school.” Although Mary had problems admitting her problems, she eventually created a healthy relationship with Llama and realized that some of her behavior was harmful to Llama who was also going through stress from the move. Up to this day Mary and Llama are still close and now have a healthy relationship.

Kiwannae Johnson is a Bahamian author. In his spare time, he writes stories and music. You can follow him on Facebook @KiwannaeJohnson.