No one was going to take myself away from me.

I thought about how we sweep dust under the mats and assume it didn;t even exist. How as we tilled the land,we buried the weeds with the hoes and our feet,imagining that they were dead forever. How we wronged our friends in elementary school, looked at each other the next minute, high-five and smile. It was over, we would forget. How mum beat me up with the hose-pipe at night and in the morning I kissed her, the first thing to do at sunrise. How the teacher at school would call you names in class for your misdemeanor and yet hover you with praises on parents day. The same way all these things were forgotten was how i wanted to sweep this thoughts under, forget they existed. Forget that they spoke the truth and live a lie. Forget that I knew and put on a cloak of ignorance, walk in it and live in it. Slicing through my heart, they were ice-cold, wrenching my heart out, making me forget who I was, who I wanted to be, .......................
My parents were looking over, pleading,"Please come with us. Give us a piece of yourself". Across the river my friends sat, their eyes solemn, their gazes unwavering. The magnetic pull in their eyes promising scorn, hate even if i did not cross over to them. And all around me, were eyes of strangers, ghostly eyes, with eerie shadows, with tinges of greed. Saliva flowing like a river. All here were baying for my blood. I felt trapped, like a sacrificial lamb whose fate is uncertain. I felt caged,like a parrot bird who sings in pain. I felt nude, uncovered, with the eyes of the world trained on me.
Far of in the distance I could here, a sound all too familiar, a song all too usual, i could here it. It was the voice of my dreams, the life that I yearned for. I broke down and wept, with the wall of people around me, with the death river right in front of me. I held my hands to my head, and covered my ears, and closed my eyes, and held my breath. I sank into an oblivion, but still I could hear,I could see the arms outstretched towards me. A thousand voices,"I will save you..", "I will give you my wings...........", "I will carry you over the river..." Empty promises that sounded so full. Lies that had the taste of truth. A death song that had the aura of a love song. In front of me was a well,dark and deep, starting at never and ending at forever. This is what I chose. Closing my eyes tight and garnering my loins right, and without a light, I chose to start the fight.No one was going to take myself away from me.

WILD LOVE FOR WILD LIFE.

An eerie silence seemed to engulf the two, as they stood in this place that had tied their souls together, a place that forbade their separation. It was on this hill, on that day that Mountain Bull got murdered , that they met. Their love for wildlife was what brought them upon the carcass of the giant elephant. Each lost in their own thoughts; the shrill ring of Don’s phone jolted them back to reality. He looked at the phone and muttered to himself, “It is him again.” Without being told who it was, Marina new. His ever-problematic dad, who was opposed to their love, as if he would marry his son himself. “Yes Dad?” Don answered the phone unassumingly, but she could not mistake the edge in his tone. “ Where are you at this hour of the night?” Dan’s voice came booming over the phone. “ I will be home in an hour dad, don’t get demented with worries.”   That was the best he could to garner some few minutes with his sweetheart. “ Just make sure you are here by 8 p.m. I know you are with that good for nothing girl turned detective. You are slowly killing me.” The words sliced painfully through Don’s heart as he looked at Marinna who stood there unbothered by the conversation.  This was not the firs time that she had heard this, and she knew what she was up against by loving the young man before her. “Dad thinks I am terrible two toddler?”  He took Marina’s hand as he said this, looked up into her dark mysterious eyes. He thought he saw some sadness in here, or was it fear? He could not define it. He held his long gaze to her for so long that they lost count of time. And she reciprocated by gazing into the eyes of the man who had loved her.  Emotions were boiling over in their hearts as their eyes locked. No words would ever replace the communication that their eyes made, talk without strain. And Don could see that she was afraid, very afraid to be precise, that he would leave her in obedience to his father’s wishes. She looked so tormented, with the combination of love and fear in her eyes, which mirrored the combination of love, confusion and pain in his heart. He didn’t want to lose this girl. NO! In happenstance, tears started flowing freely from their eye. They were both at their weakest, but one had to stand strong for the sake of their love. Don took Marina in his arms, and the silence embraced them both as he soothed her tearfully. “ It is going to be fine, my little princess. Hold your soul tight. I will be here for you always.” You could not tell the difference between the comforter and the comforted.  Their tears were their only comfort.

They had met through pure coincidence. Don, a private Investigative journalist was working on a poaching story, and her, a writer, was working on a real fiction novel based on wildlife. On that day that Mountain Bull’s carcass was discovered, they were there, each thinking to get more information on the items they were working on. By a twist of fate, they who came to look for information, got slapped a double portion in their face. Love, and the so much coveted information. It was, as they say, Love at first sight. And the bond of nature glued their hearts together.

            Don disentangled himself from their tear-oaked embrace.  “ Marinna, we have to talk. Let us sit on the grass.” Marinna spread her shawl on the coarse mountain grass and slumped on to it. They were brave, these two. In the middle of the jungle at night, yet they seemed in no hurry to leave. The moon and stars were smiling upon the earth, as if in admiration of their brave love. It was here that no one could bother them. It was here that they could empty out the feelings in their souls. And the wild gods seemed to have honoured their love, honoured their love nest, and they too, captivated by their courage. Roars of lions could be heard nearby, the laughter of the hyenas reverberated in their ears from a short distance away, and all other weird sounds to make their hairs stand on end. Yet, not even for one time did they get attacked. They held a command over nature that frightened even their own brave selves. But despite all this, they could not mock the fauna gods by coming here unarmed. Being licensed to carry private rivals, due to their affiliation to the Elephant Friend’s Centre, they could not test fate.

“ My love, I am worried that we are slumping in our work. We have an advantage that most people don’t know that we are involved in the conservation struggle. But despite all the odds against us, we will make it, I am sure. We will win this struggle for our children. And on this spot, we will build a memorial stone, for all the wildlife we have lost in our dear country,” Marinna looked adoringly at Don, he looked even more handsome with the streaks of moonlight shining on his face. She was brave and solid, she could rise to any challenge, and she was the Iron-Lady reloaded. But this fight was not for a single woman out in the jungle, she needed a pillar. And thankfully, Don came her. This are the words that she wanted to here, this was the pillar she wanted to see, the stronghold she wanted to lean upon. Somebody who understood her dreams and vision for the wildlife, who could readily wipe away her tears when she would break down upon the death of her friend, the Rhino.

They looked at each other and smiled, and in unison broke into some lyrics they had made up in the same spot a few days ago.

            We shout for our friends

            Who cannot speak or their own

            We shout for their lives

            We shout for their rights

           

            We shout ……………….

And on and on they carried on their beautiful song. The nocturnal silence created an ambience for their chant. The whole jungle seemed to have gone silent listening to the voices of their heroes-in-love. Only the occasional chirping on crickets beautified the aura of the song. Hand in hand, they trudged down the hill, their song of resolve on their lips, “We shout, we cry………………for our wildlife.”

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To be continued…………………………………