When Ezekiel had become Jewish, it was a new life for him. He had hope that he would be saved. But he also understood that his past sins needed quite a bit of forgiving. He knew the God of the Old Testament could be vengeful. In order to secure his spot in Heaven, he made sure to go to the local synagogue as often as possible. He was there almost everyday. And he always came with one of his many leopard accessories. Ezekiel didn't care that leopard skin kippahs weren't in style.
On this particular Saturday, Ezekiel was early to services. He showed up at least 30 minutes before sundown. He would have shown up earlier, but he waited in his apartment for the torrents of rain to slow to a drizzle before he dared step foot outside. The time passed slowly and Ezekiel yet again sat thinking through his guilt. The things I did were bad things. There's nothing I can do to change the past. All that's left for me is to ask God for forgiveness. Even He won't forgive me for this. At least this leopard didn't die in vain. He rubbed the leathery inside of his kippah.
Before the service ended, a deranged man burst through the front doors. He needed a shower and a razor. His shadow of a smile was eerie, as if he knew something that no one else did. Ezekiel tried his best to ignore the interruption, but he could not look away until the man left. Only then could he continue his prayer. The things I did were bad things. There's nothing I can do to change the past. All that's left for me is to ask God for forgiveness. Even He won't forgive me for this. At least this leopard didn't die in vain...

Ezekiel Lott was hungry. There was not much to eat in the small community around Watershed Heights. There was an especially small amount for a vegan, which meant that being hungry was nothing new for Ezekiel. An overgrown rooftop garden sat atop the apartment building. Since he had moved in, Ezekiel had wanted to start to grow vegetables there, but he did not have the drive, or the green thumb to actually take on this endeavor. He hoped someone else would take on the project and he could simply reap the benefits. There was a woman who he saw near the basement who seemed very intent on some mold. Perhaps she would be able to garden. But alas, the crazy woman had not yet proved to be helpful, so Ezekiel put on a leopard skin hat and walked to the Grocery Stop-and-Shop. He bought a bruised banana, which would have to fill him up for now. He needed to get back to sewing. He still had three leopard skins left to turn into handbags.

Ezekiel Lott had just woken up form a terrible, recurring dream. In this dream, he is running through the wilderness in South Africa near his home village, directly outside of the boundary of Kruger Park. Kruger Park is a wildlife reserve. He is running because he is being chased. He is being chased by something terrible and wild and vengeful. He knows what is chasing him. It is a leopard. And then it is two leopards. And then it is six. And then it is every leopard that he has ever killed, which add up to quite a few. As he runs, he sees a fork far in the distance. Not a fork in the road, but a silver fork used to eat solid foods. It is sitting on the ground, covered in dirt, but the gleam catches his eye. He knows that if he reaches the fork, he will be free from the terrible, wild, vengeful leopards. But he can never reach it. The dream always ends too quickly. The ending to the dream varies. Sometimes he trips and the leopards eat him. Sometimes he jumps the fence into Kruger Park. Or, as in many dreams, there will be a sudden change in location and he will find himself safely somewhere else. In this particular dream, Ezekiel finds himself teleported from the edge of Kruger Park back to the Jamaican Restaurant down the street from where he lives. At this point, he wakes up. He looks around his room at his many leopard-skin accessories and can't decide whether to sob or scream. No one would be able to hear him either way, even through the paper-thin walls of his apartment. It was, after all, a dark and stormy night.