Gabriella flagged down a taxi, it would drive her back to the hotel in the burning heat and was only marginally better than walking back. The windows were rolled down to allow the maximum amount of breeze, into the boiling metal cage of the interior, but all that entered was a sporadic flow of hot, dust filled air and car fumes. The driver weaved through the packed traffic, honking his horn and often driving into oncoming traffic, to overtake equally battered cabs.

When she arrived, opening the door in relief, Gabriella was grateful to be alive. The driver waited in anticipation for his tip, congratulating himself on his amazing driving skills and got an extra five hundred Cameroonian francs on top of the meager fare of seven thousand, this was equivalent to adding seventy pence to the total. It was mainly to make the driver leave so she could escape into the air conditioned bliss of the hotel.

After washing the thick layer of dust from her body and coating herself in a fresh batch of insect repellent, she dressed in light clothing. Gabriella regretted wearing sandals earlier as the hike through the small patch of overgrowth had been dustier than anticipated but hopefully the pictures she had taken would be worth it. The sun had been so bright that she could only hope that they had been taken correctly, the small digital screen just couldn't compete in brightness, with the African sun.

Sitting directly under the cool air conditioning unit, Gabriella flicked through the images of bright and dull birds resting on branches and palm leaves, surrounded by strangely large and vividly green plants, that were familiar as sad struggling pot plants back at the London based office she worked in. Different sized lizards with brightly colored orange heads and tails posed as they sunned themselves artfully on natural stone and concrete walls.

She had also taken many photos of the stalls and shops, showing the brightly dressed people who lived and worked in the area and also the poverty that many struggled with. Children and adults begged in the road and along the path. People wove through traffic carrying baskets filled with various items for sale hoping to make a few hundred francs. The variety of products ranged from food like boiled salted eggs and small cling filmed pouches of brown, sugar coated peanuts, to sunglasses and the latest trainers.

Crime was rife here, it went hand in hand with the lack of any government support. The corruption was becoming more apparent with every day that she stayed here but it wasn't all bad. Gabriella often saw cars break down, it was a common occurrence as most cars were old and not built to handle the heat. She didn't think much of it when people stopped to help carry things, fix the car or take people away in cabs or motorbikes.

Assuming they had called someone for help, she thought like a European not an African. In the UK, most have insurance, breakdown cover and money to fix their problems. The police will come to sort out any legal issues, make the area safe and direct the traffic. If anyone is hurt an ambulance can be called to take you to the hospital and you are mostly safe from crime.

It surprised her to find out that none of these systems were in place here so people relied on each other, perfect strangers carried fire extinguishers in their cars, ready to jump out and help. Some helped out of kindness and others for a small reward, maybe a few hundred francs. Some made friends and gained a drink or a meal, making more social connections to help them survive this chaotic but beautiful place.

This was the seventh day of Gabriella's trip which was technically for work, for a travel agency which had sent her here to help decide which African country to add as an all inclusive package. Her job was to figure out the benefits and difficulties here. So far it looked like Cameroon would fail the necessary requirements, for now. But investing in the area would help set up the infrastructure so a package could be added in the future.

Frowning, Gabriella noticed a smudge on some of the pictures and wondered if the lens needed a wipe. Rotating it, she saw nothing as she had been careful that her camera was stowed carefully when not in use. Just as a precaution, she took out the lens cleaning wipes and reverently polished the small circle of glass. Plugging the camera into her laptop, she opened up her editing software so the smudges could be erased, they were probably just bugs flying across the screen.

Gabriella copied the photos to guard against mistakes and expanded the first image to remove the unsightly blur. But as she zoomed in to the area, she noticed a double image rather than a blur, it must be the focus. Gabriella sighed, this was trickier to fix than a small blur. Organizing the images, she separated the affected photos and saved them in a another file. There were seven in total and by comparing the timing, they had all been taken within thirty minutes at around eleven in the morning.

Separating the images would take some time so she stretched and got a cold bottle of water from the fridge and grabbed a packet of biscuits to munch on while she worked. Her software had some good tools so the first image didn't take as long as she thought to clear up. Pleased with the result, she flicked across to the removed image and gasped. Instead of a similar photo, it was completely different. Quickly getting to work, Gabriella separated the next six images and found a similar impossible scene in each one.

A tall man danced in a flower filled meadow, he wore the typical clothing of the area, a colorful patterned, loose shirt and trousers, which brightly contrasted with his dark skin. The material waved in the implied breeze as he moved. He wore a jewel and gold decorated cap, which seemed to be some kind of crown and wore leather sandals on his feet. He was not alone, strange creatures danced with him, making the scene even more magical.

A green and gold snake coiled it's body and wove in complicated curves, most amazing of all was it's size as it towered over the man. Next came a cow sized reddish gold cockerel with glossy dark green tail feathers, strutting and flapping his wings. More fantastic creatures followed, an antelope like creature which was as tall and slim as a giraffe with clawed feet, then a lion with a blood red mane and a bright yellow body which shone with an inner light. More beasts followed behind, trailing away from a small village in the distance, containing some ordinary looking but richly dressed people mingling with other African creatures.

A strangely out of place old woman, beat a drum as they undulated across the images. Birds of many different shapes colors and sizes flew, hopped and preened themselves nearby. Giant dragonflies and butterflies zipped and fluttered around the animals, joined by massive mosquitoes and other insects as large as birds.

In the background, a jungle filled with many varieties of tree and shrub grew tall and dark, shading the happy setting. Glints from green and yellow eyes watched, hidden in the foliage, with vague silhouettes showing their possible identity. In the last photo the man looked straight at her, beckoning with a grin, his almond shaped eyes sparkled and his handsome features made her feel a connection.

Gabriella expanded his face, which seemed familiar. Had she seen him before? This made her search the other photos and one by one she discovered the man hidden between others on the street and in shop doorways. Tracing him back to the first photo of the day, she wondered if anything had been captured from the previous day. Soon Gabriella was mesmerized by her discovery as not only the man showed up in them but some of the magical animals too. Even on the first day of her holiday he showed his presence when she had taken some selfies on her phone.

Fear started to take hold, did she have a stalker? But it made no sense, Gabriella distinctly remembered taking these pictures and he had not been in most of them at the time. Where had she seen this man, if it hadn't been through a camera lens? It came to her in a sudden rush of memory, how had she forgotten him? During her first day in Cameroon, this man had thanked her and Gabriella had admired his looks for a split second before he was swallowed by the crowd.

There were many wild hens and cockerels roaming the streets and something unusual happened just before they met, she had spotted one on the path which hadn't fled when it saw her. Wanting to take a picture, she approached cautiously, not wanting to scare it. The cockerel stared back at her boldly, with no fear in its eyes and stood its ground. She flicked through the images on her camera and found the magnificent bird with its shining green tail and glossy gold feathers which looked very similar to the giant bird in the last image.

It seemed much larger on the digital screen than it had in real life. Opening the file on her laptop, she found that it contained multiple images. The first was the original, a simple image of an ordinary but beautiful cockerel, immobile and reluctant to move. The second was similar to the cow sized bird that she had seen in the dancing photo, which confirmed her suspicion. The third was the tall good looking man who had thanked her. This made Gabriella wonder what she had done for the man to approach her.

She examined the images carefully and noticed something in the second and third image. The giant bird was surrounded by a circular wall of blue flame, yet she had felt nothing when she stepped across it. She remembered walking around the bird, along that exact path, in a strange coincidence after taking the photo. In the third separated image the man pointed to a building, where glowing red eyes could be seen. She checked the next photo and found that it was just a blurred chicken foot. The next clearly showed her path in the dust and once again held two images.

Using the software again, she found that the first image showed the ordinary cockerel but once the layers were separated, it was almost transparent. In the second layer the view of this photo showed the house in the distance, where the man reached into the window to grab something. A strange smoky form seemed to struggle in his grip. After taking that photo she remembered looking away from the bird but when she looked back it was gone, she hadn't seen anything unusual herself.

Later on, walking along the dusty road, the man had gained her attention and thanked her, which was the first time she remembered meeting in person. He touched her shoulder and waited until they faced each other, she should have felt uneasy about being approached by this strange man but she didn't. His face and touch had caused her to blush, not that you could tell under her sunburned skin. As a single woman in such a dangerous situation, she had felt safe. Even though he thanked her in a language she didn't understand, Gabriella knew what he was saying and when he left, she felt a sense of loss. She should have stopped him, got his number or something. But she thought they would never meet again so had put him out of her mind, it would never work anyway.

She weighed her thoughts to figure out what was happening. Could it be a prank? If so who was the prankster? Was her camera actually able to see another layer of reality. If that was the case maybe there were legends and stories about this person. If her camera was able to do this, maybe others had taken similar photos. Gabriella felt like she was intruding on some supernatural world, or was she losing her mind? 

____________________

Thank you for reading. Don't forget to vote and comment. Here is a question for the readers.

What do think is happening to Gabriella?