He had been waiting an eternity for a glimpse of the almost mythical creature that lived in the mountains in Asia.

Seeing it on film was one thing, the chance to see one alive was something else. And time was running out – this old male was the last one left.

A hush of wind through the trees, a moment of pause, silence descended. Everything else in his life filtered away: and there he was.

The sleek Snow Leopard padded across the rough stone and gravel. It stopped and looked around, sniffing the cold air, sensing he was being observed.

The old man held his breath, staying as still as he could. Carefully he raised his camera, framed the large cat, focused and hit the rapid fire button.

The last of his kind and the old man held each others gaze before the leopard turned and slunk away through long grass. A magical moment the man had waited for his whole life.

A tug at his arm broke the spell. ‘Grandad, can we get a hotdog now?’ Maxwell whined.

‘Sure,’ he said, turning away from the mesh fence. ‘Let’s go.’

They pushed their way through the noisy crowd towards the cafe enclosure.

Written as part of Sunday Photo Fiction. Write a story of around 200 words based on the photo prompt given (above). Hosted by Al Forbes. For more details visit HERE.

To read more stories based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE.

Feature image: Copyright WWF.