The God Of The Forest

Hamza is surrounded by vast forests. The forest serves as a means of food and wealth. They make their wealth through the forest, as the breeze of the forest always blows good tidings towards them. They only have the intuition that the forest can always make them happy. This is why they always worship the forest on a certain and set date.

Francesco Ungalo

A prophecy was brought to the people of Hamza that a child would be born who would be the forest god. She would be the one who would save everyone and would be the one who would bring the need of the forest to the hearings of every individual and native of the land of Hamza.

Marimba was a girl everyone knew to be rude and unmannered. She has the habit of abusing everyone in the village. Her abusive tongue forces her to marry someone at a higher level. She was still having an abusive tongue even after marrying the well-known chief of the land. Everyone had thought she would change her tongue after marriage, but then she kept on worsening day by day, not until she got pregnant.

After nine months, she gave birth to a baby girl who was named Zina. Zina grew to be a beautiful girl, but she was the opposite of her mom. She was loved by everyone in the village.

One day, when she was 5 years old, she went missing. Everyone began to search for her, and they searched everywhere, but all their searches turned out to be abortive.

Chief Gohan is the father of Zina, and he adores her. He can never do without having Zina by his side. He organized a search team to search for Zina, but she was not yet found. The village became quiet, just as if they had lost an important being.

After three days of searching, Zina appeared just like a ghost to her father.

“Where have you been?” Her dad asked, feeling in the realm of joy.

“I was just out to the forest to see the one who sent me.” She was so serious as she spoke out the words.

Her dad was so shocked to hear her say, “She went to see the one who sent her.”

“I don't seem to understand you, my child, my love. What do you mean by those words you just altered?" Her dad asked her in a surprising tone.

“I was sent here by the goddess of the forest. She had been the one protecting our land through the forest,” Zina said.

Chief Gohan called Marimba, her wife, and Zina's mother to come to hear what her daughter was saying. She came and was not surprised by those words after hearing them from Zina.

“My husband! I just tried to remember the prophecy from six years ago. It was revealed that a child would be born who would be the forest god. She is our god; the forest dwells in her, and she is in the forest.

The news got to the public that Zina had been seen and was now the forest god. So many people could not believe Zina would be the chosen one, while others were not surprised as she was a nice girl even though her mom had the worst tongue ever.

A year later, calamity befell the land of Hamza. Their water turned red, while the farm produce turned yellowish in nature instead of greenish.

“What would cause this great calamity?” Zina asked, soliloquizing, as the villagers were on the verge of dying. She passed by the villagers and saw everyone remaining in a state of hunger.

She went to the forest, trying to seek the cause and solution to their immediate problems. As she went deep into the forest, she sat under the foot of the largest tree in the forest and started seeking the face of the goddess of the forest. She was quite deep in thought while seeking help. Immediately, a whirled wind began to blow, which came with a calm voice.

“You don't need to come before finding the solution to what has befallen your land. You are now the god of the forest in human form. Your people can get saved through you," the voice came just as she expected.

“I'm still a child who is still learning. The task is just to tell me what I should do, Zina replied to the voice.

“Go, the solution lies before you." The voice faded as the wind calmed.

Zina began to walk home, just like someone who had been defeated. She hit her left leg on a stone and fell. Immediately, she saw seven pieces of round stones. This gave her a hint of what to do. She was so happy that she found a solution to their immediate problem.

As she got home, she gathered all the villagers. They looked up to her as their saviour. Those who were still doubting came to witness her greatness and wonders.

She asked the villagers, “How many routes lead to the forest?”

“Seven," the whole village answered.

“Now, the oldest woman should step forward," she requested.

The oldest woman of the land stepped out, and she handed the stones to her and asked her to throw them in the direction of the seven routes.

Immediately, every one of their withered plants, the river, as well as the wells, became normal.

The withered leaves became greenish as before. The atmosphere everywhere now looked normal, even more so than before.

Everyone now saw her as the advocate of the strength of intuition, as she brought more calmness into her land.