We Have Awakened

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Zara and I sprinted through the woods crashing into leaves and branches. The birds in the trees began taking flight with us. It was that time of the evening when the forest winds began singing sonorous songs.The cold breeze blowing in the opposite direction sent sweet sensations to my body. “Hurry Hanan. Grandma is going to start her story now”. Zara yelled. She was running five steps ahead of me. It was getting darker but I didn't need a guide. I knew the forest too well. Then I saw it. It was the face of a big cat behind a tree. The hair on my body stood. I looked again but I saw nothing this time. I increased my pace and tried to catch up with Zara. I wasn't going to miss grandma Willows's story for anything in the world.

Every evening, we would form a circle around grandma Willow under the biggest mango tree beneath the moon light. We loved all of her tales because they made our minds travel far and wide filled with endless possibilities. “The world is big children. You do not know half of it”. She would laugh heartily. Her smiles were always so warm and inviting.

On cold nights. She would tell us about our favorite stories that we loved to hear. “Oh, children. Gather round now quickly. Close in the spaces in between. We don't want the shadows sitting between and eavesdropping now do we? This tale is a thousand years old saved just for you little ones tonight”.

We would always snuggle and sit with our legs touching each other. Smiling, giggling and filled with excitement. We lived for grandma Willow’s stories. They were the highlights of our days.

“Thousands of years ago in this land. Humans lived equally alongside animals in peace and harmony”. Grandma's voice was very firm yet soothing and serenading. “They shared everything. The land, water and all the resources of the land. Time went by and the population of both humans and animals began to explode. The humans didn't want to share the resources with the animals anymore. They feared depletion. The humans began scheming and conniving, whispering and plotting in the shadows at night. Until one day, they invited all the animals for tea.

The King then invited the human witch to brew a potion. They served it to the animals and made them sleep for eternity. When the Animal king realized the deception, it was too late. Some of his animals had already started falling into slumber. Himself, he began feeling woozy. In his staggering state, he said to the humans, “In a thousand years, on a wet night, we shall return and we shall claim our land. Your kind will be the doorway”. Since then, humans have long continued to populate this land. And here we are with you little ones”. Grandma Willow laughed again.

“What happened to the animals?” Zara asked curiously. “They slept little one. Some say they continue to sleep until this day”. Grandma Willow bent and her words came as whispers.

“So where are they, Grandma” I blurted out eager to hear her reply. “ Some say they were laid to rest. Others say that they sleep in the spirit world, their souls lurking in the forest.

A strange silence filled the air. Suddenly the cold began to make me shiver. I turned to see the other children shivering too. “Okay, now children. It is bedtime”. Grandma announced. She stood up and with her stick, she walked slowly into her hut.

I walked to my hut quietly thinking about Grandma Willows's story and the face I saw earlier in the woods. I kept looking over my shoulders as I walked briskly. That night, I had a very strange dream- I was in the woods running when I saw that face again. This time, I halted. The face slowly emerged from the thick foliage and revealed itself to me. It was a very big white lion. It looked so magnificent with fluffy furs. It's mane so thick it looked like it was breathing. Earth stood still and my breathing ceased. I felt so small standing in front of it. It had deep golden eyes that cast an intense gaze upon me.

It didn't move. It just stood there staring but I felt as though it was reaching out to me. Like a summon. My heart raced. I move forward cautiously until I was close enough to touch. With my throbbing heart, I lifted my hand slowly to touch it. As soon as I did, I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I screamed from the dreaming into the waking world. My parents rushed into my hut.

“She needs to stop listening to Willow’s nonsensical stories”. My father exclaimed and stormed out of the hut. My mother remained by my bedside until I fell back asleep.

The next morning, I ran to grandma Willows hut. I was going to tell her all about my dream. I stopped in my tracks when I met the village chief and some elders in her room. They were speaking to my parents in hush tones. “Come dear. Come on”. My mother quickly grabbed my arm while trying to block my view. She took me outside the hut. “You grandmother has passed”. She whispered.

I fell to my knees. Tears flowed freely from my eyes. Her funeral rites were to be performed that evening. The villagers had gathered and the young men in the village had dug a hole in the ground for her to be buried. When the final rites were performed, the weather suddenly began to change. Dark clouds started to form in the sky. Lightening struck and thunder vibrated. The earth began to quake and crack open. The hole that was meant to be grandma’s resting place began to sink deeper and wider until it formed an enormous sinkhole.

For a minute, the hole was pitch black and a resounding silence enveloped the air. Then we began to hear the Sounds-stamps and banging. There was roaring, trumpeting, hissing, howling, chirping and all sorts of animal sounds. Birds of different species emerged from the hole and filled the sky. Elephants, zebras, snakes cheetahs and all other animals of the world came out in their numbers from the same hole. There were hundreds of them and in no time. The humans were outnumbered. There were two animals to one human.

The last animal to appear was a lion. It was the same one from my dream in flesh. He leaped out of the hole and then walked majestically as he emerged. One feet after the other, his furs vibrated and glistened as he moved. He wasn't drenched by the rain. He then stopped and raised his head high. “We have awakened,” he said. He walked passed me and whispered, “I didn't mean to hurt you. You were just the doorway”. The animals began to disperse into different directions. The lion faced the people again and said, “Bury your dead”. He gestured towards the hole and began to walk away into the forest.