Coypu Disease

It was just a peaceful morning in Southern France, I never expected this to happen…

I had just completed my exams, and my parents took me and my older sister Leanne on holiday to the South of France. We stayed in a gîte that was on the property of a lovely Château, which was surrounded by a wide vineyard. Me and Leanne loved it, every morning we’d go out for a walk and come back to go in the pool and then watch French cartoons until we dried off.

One morning we went out for a walk in the Camargue, it was a hot day and Leanne began to get quite drowsy. She complained nonstop about the heat and her level of drowsiness, which aggravated both me and my parents, who began yelling at her so loudly that I had to put on some music. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a Coypu wandered into the middle of the road. But strangely enough, we had seen many coypus whilst we were here, but none looked like this one. Its fur looked normal, with a few bald patches here and there. The eyes and buck teeth were the only abnormal aspects that I could see. The teeth were the normal amber colour on the top half, but the lower half were RED. I swear they were bloodstained. And its eyes were blackened, with glowing white pupils and blood was streaming from its sockets.

Leanne approached the coypu quietly, as it sat there leering over at her. Mum and Dad were looking at some ibises, so they didn’t see what happened next. Despite my pleading, Leanne reached out her hand to it, which prompted the coypu to bite Leanne pretty hard. The coypu pulled away and then ran off. Leanne started screaming and crying in pain, with blood streaming from her hand. My parents ran over and put a plaster on top. They began comforting her, and I went over and gave her a hug.

The Diagnosis
from it. Leanne assured Dad that she was fine, but then she looked back at her hand and began to regret saying that. Her hand had shifted from her normal pasty complexion to an indigo shade. Dad ran for the car as we sat her down and waited.

Once my Dad had got the car, we raced to the nearest hospital. Leanne was sitting the back seat, looking really scared. Once we got there, we described everything and they took her in for a few tests. About 20 minutes later, one of the doctors came and explained to me what happened, he said it to me in very good English and I walked out of the small room with a worried look on my face. I explained to my parents that Leanne had a condition known as coypuso viranoious, which meant “Coypu Disease”. Apparently it wasn’t life threatening, but it was virtually incurable. The doctor said that he had a vaccine that might do the trick, but it may cause severe delusions.

We insisted that she should be treated, and about 2 hours later, she had been discharged. We were overjoyed to see her well. She did look pale, and she claimed that she felt weak, so we went back to the gîte and let her sleep. 2 hours later, I went to check on her, bringing her a tray that was loaded with mom’s homemade chocolate cake, a tall glass of lemonade and some lemon sorbet. I also put some paprika flavored crisps on there. When I opened the bedroom door, she was sitting at the end of her bed, crying. I asked her what was wrong and she told me that the coypu was sitting outside, watching her. I looked out of the window, there was nothing there.

She was still crying, so it sat beside her, and gave her a consoling hug. She calmed down within seconds. I handed her the tray and she presented a small smile as she said “Thank you Max, you’re the sweetest younger brother I could ask for”. I began to blush, but suddenly mom called to say that my lunch was ready. I smelt a powerful whiff of her homemade vegetable and pearl barley soup. I walked out, leaving Leanne to finish her lunch in peace. We went home a day later, and ever since, Leanne has never been the happy-go-lucky teenager she used to be. And she is still having nightmares about the Coypu and strongly claims it’s still out there…

Epilogue
2 years later, Leanne took me back there, we stayed in the same gîte, and did the same old routine. On our last day, we spotted an enclave in an open area of the Camargue. We wandered in and were shocked to say the least about what we had discovered. It was the burrow of the coypu. It wasn’t submerged in the lake, it was in the ground. There was debris from gnawed bones, rotting carcasses of other coypus’, and a half eaten human. Leanne shuddered and ran off, terrified whilst I stood there trembling in fear. Suddenly, the coypu awoke from its nest, with those bloodied teeth and black eyes. It dashed over and then stopped in front of me. “What the fuck are you?!” I yelled. The coypu backed away slightly, and then dropped its head down as it said:

“I am the bringer of the illness, the one that delivers pain and suffering to children with dark hearts, those who can’t see the wonders of nature. Your sister wasn’t so lucky, she was infected with my disease, as I can see that she has never spoken against destroying our luxurious landscapes that most people take for granted. I will spare your life, as you clearly show a passion for nature. Those who believe that humans can live in harmony with nature are kind souls, but those who aren’t have selfish, egotistical needs that they need to fulfil. The ice caps are melting, bees are dying, lake water is being polluted, animals are being killed for their fur, shells, horns, skins and plumage, and building homes on lovely Greenfield sites, as they cannot see the natural beauty that was once there to make room for their homes! Do you agree that they should be punished human?” I stood there, with a look of astonishment on my face. I just simply nodded my head and the coypu presented a smile to me. “Thank you for your time human, as a thank you I will leave you and your sister alone. Goodbye!” The coypu said with glee.

I walked off to find Leanne waiting in the car, huddling the seat. I hopped in and told her everything. She was relieved to hear that, and since then, she had finally returned to her normal happy self.

Never underestimate the beauty of nature, because once it’s gone, it will never return to the same state that it was in again, and you will eventually face the consequences