She knew it was just a silly phobia.
It all started back in her home town in Africa, many years ago. She was very young when it happened. She was taken to the zoo by her parents, and quite unnoticed, had climbed over a fence, the way small children do. She was intent on exploring one of the many animal enclosures. At first, she didn’t see the rhinoceros, but her father did. She was plucked into the air from behind and the two of them scrambled out to safety. The crying didn’t stop for hours and that night she had her first nightmare; the first of many.
The incident plagued her life growing up and eventually she came up with a solution of her own. She had finished her studies and accepted a job in Manhattan, with a partly furnished apartment in a high-rise building, not far from work. Naturally her parents were concerned that she’d be living alone in a strange city, but reluctantly wished her the best in her endeavour to rid herself of the ongoing trauma.
She settled into both her new job and the apartment quickly. She was sure she had made the right decision. She was consoled by the irrefutable fact that to be attacked by a rhinoceros in her newly found environment was extremely unlikely.
A few weeks went by, and returning late one evening was conscious of the feeling she was being followed as she walked the two blocks home. She eventually shrugged it off, and was put at ease by the sight of her front door. As she opened it she was pushed in and fell to the floor by a very real attacker. She was roughly picked up and carried in and dumped on the nearest sofa, where she was knocked unconscious by a savage blow to the head.
As she came to, she could see him opening and closing draws and cupboards. She looked around at the mess he had made when she spotted a large figurine that was barely in reach from where she lay. She managed to lift it and tuck it down beside her, out of sight. Several minutes passed. With her eyes closed she stayed very still. The intruder finally approached and bent over her. At this moment the object was swung at the side of his head, sending him crashing to the floor.
Within moments she was on her mobile contacting the police. When they arrived the thief was still unconscious when they snapped the handcuffs on him. They were delighted with the arrest as he was a known felon they’d been chasing for a while. They seemed to regard her as something of a heroine, and were quite happy that the blow to his head was fully justified.
Of course, due process took its time, with charges laid, statements taken and so on. Eventually the whole affair died away and she was left to carry on with her new life despite the disruption the whole business had created. In the main, she kept the entire thing to herself, determined to continue in her quest for a fresh start.
One evening, she remembered the evidence bag the police had returned. It didn’t contain much, but it was made heavy by the objet d’art that she had used. She casually noted that the contents matched the returned items against the list provided, when she was stunned to find an unexpected word. It was ‘rhinoceros’. The word was used as part of the description for the art piece. It was made of marble, white with blue streaking. It had been fashioned in a modern art style that left the ornament looking nothing like what it was meant to depict.
With a vacant expression, she sat looking at it for a long time before turning in for the night.
She never had the nightmare again…