SUMMARY:
A
short, yet powerful story that proves to Kiaan, a young adventurous Indian orphan,
how life can test you in the most unexpected ways and possibly even have the
power to change your destiny in mere seconds for better or worse.
_______________________
Life at the campsite was mostly peaceful as
usual. Everybody had its respective chores to do and the children always went
out to play near the forests whenever it was vacation time. Everyone there
lived in cozy medium sized tepees and never failed to know each other out of
common acquaintances.
The
tepees at this small Indian community were surrounded by giant never ending beautiful
leafy trees that formed thousands of forest hectares. There was also one main
river which crossed the community and let the people there take water for their
supplies.
It
was a time when there was no electricity yet, where people didn’t depend upon
technology and cellphones to live comfortably, and where climate change wasn’t
even an existent term in the world of humanity. There were still missing a
couple, if not a dozen decades for that fairly known time to arrive.
But
that was one fact that Kiaan wouldn’t ever be aware of. He was just a 15-year-old
boy with a passion for adventuring in his small Indian home community. It
didn’t matter if it was the breaking dawn or the darkest of dusks, he was
usually so rebel to obey his tutors that he always went outside in search of
adventures or to just stare at the breathtaking landscapes one could simply
find by just searching and staring at the horizons on the outskirts of town.
Kiaan
was an orphan. His parents had died some years ago at a local Indian war which
they had gone to fight, but had never returned. That wasn’t a subject which the
Indians at the village very much liked to mention, yet they always tried to
stay positive and aware so that no more wars or losses would ever be presented
again.
Kiaan
was not the only orphan at the community. There had also been a couple more
kids that had had the same misfortune and fate as him. Nevertheless, there were
others who had had not. Being that the case, the Indians had decided to get
together to arrange frequent campfire meetings so that everyone would feel well
at company with others and so that everybody could try to forget the horrors of
the past and dare to create bright futures ahead.
Usually
on the days Kiaan went to adventure alongside the community forests, he always
tried to come up with new adventure paths, daring not to repeat the ones he usually
took and trying to find new crazy animals or stuff. He himself had learned how
to climb on trees and how to swim across small rivers. Hunting was not his main
strength, yet he usually tried to catch fish on strong currents with his own made
polished spear. It was no wonder that
he had clearly inherited his parents’ unique adventuring and survival skills
altogether.
Even
though he liked to take different strolls every day, it is curious and
mesmerizing to mention that at the end of each of his adventurous days, he
always ended up standing and staring at the very same location: on top of a steep
hill that overlooked at the thousands of forest hectares before him.
One
could say that it was no wonder that he stayed long periods of time over there,
for the view was certainly quite breathtaking. You could see the mountains at
the very end, with their tops covered in snow and the clouds hugging them just
at the very tips. Birds flew everywhere, sometimes in circles and sometimes randomly
chasing each other. Everything was such a perfection that no one could ever really
be capable of drawing or portraying such a landscape whilst managing to
conserve the same exact beauty proportions.
It
was at that same spot where he always also took some minutes to think about his
parents and remember what happy moments he had lived with them. He liked to
watch the sunsets every day and sit just over the corner of the hill to think,
a pretty amazing feat considering the imminent danger of falling meters below if
you ask me. Those were the peaceful moments he so needed in his life to feel at
ease and serene with himself.
“Be
careful, Kiaan,” a little voice coming from a 7-year-old girl some meters behind
Kiaan echoed through the hill, waking him up from his usual daydreaming state
at his favorite spot one sunset.
Kiaan
turned his head to the little girl and smiled at her as he stood up and began
approaching her.
“It’s
alright Anika,” said Kiaan to the girl, “I won’t fall from the hill, you don’t
have to worry about me.”
“But
I see that it is very steep!” exclaimed Anika. “My Mama told me that it definitely
was deeper than 4 meters in height.”
“Oh,
I can assure you that it indeed is more than 4 meters in height, Anika,” Kiaan
nodded at the little girl, now bending over down to her to gently pat her back while
holding his spear in the other hand, “that is the reason why you shouldn’t come
so close to the edge alone, you know that right?”
“Yeah,
I know that,” Anika responded a bit disappointed looking down at her boots, “but
it’s that I’m so curious at what you are always doing over there each sunset,
Kiaan. You could trip and accidentally fall down over there anytime.”
“I
was just hmm… thinking,” Kiaan answered while turning to look at his spear,
“and staring at the landscape. Don’t you like the landscape, Anika?” He turned
to look at her with a smile.
“It is pretty,” Anika said, hopping twice in
her place, “Mama and Papa like to stay outside the tepee to just watch the
stars over the mountains sometimes at night.”
“I
don’t blame them; it must be quite amusing when there’s a Full Moon in the sky
just over the forests,” added Kiaan. “Talking about Mama and Papa, wasn’t your
Mama supposed to call you at 6 for you to be at home by now? You know it can
get dangerous here with the coming and outgoing wolves every once in a while…”
“I
was supposed to be at the tepee at 4, but I decided to be as adventurous like
you and go outside to try and climb trees,” answered Anika very excitedly, “or
try to catch fish at the river like you so easily do.”
Kiaan
laughed and stood up while resting his body weight against his spear.
“I’m
not an expert when it comes to hunting or climbing, Anika,” said Kiaan. “But if
you want, I can teach you tomorrow how to fish with a small spear. Would you
like that? But only if you go back home with Mama right now, alright?”
“Yes!
I would love that!” Anika exclaimed. “Alright, I’ll go now then.”
And
with that final statement, Anika didn’t hesitate a second to return back to her
family tepee located just at the entrance of the Indian community some 200
meters away from where they had been talking. Kiaan didn’t take his sight off
of her until he saw her enter the wooden fenced community borderline.
Kiaan found Anika’s short life quite
peaceful and free. She, unlike him, was surrounded by her two wonderful parents
who loved her very dearly. He found Anika’s rebel attitude pretty entertaining,
yet worrying sometimes. How she envied him and his supposedly inherited talented
warrior qualities. If only she knew the burden and responsibilities he had at
just 15 years old of age…
Anika seemed just so innocent and
vulnerable, that was the main reason why Kiaan probably worried about her when
she sometimes came up with ideas of trying to be adventurous and rebel like
him. The world wasn’t as safe as what she probably believed it to be in her
head, but she was just so stubborn to listen or understand at all.
As he turned to look back again at the
mountains before him, he could hear a distant howling echoing through the
night. It wouldn’t take the wolves long to start hunting again somewhere at
night.
…
Over the next couple of days, as promised,
Kiaan had begun to teach Anika how to fish using a spear he had crafted
specially for her size. To his surprise, she had been quite the big learner. By
the end of that week, she could manage to catch a couple of fish daily and
either take them home for dinner or give them to her Mama for her to sell at a
local Indian store she owned at the community. Kiaan was undoubtedly quite
proud and satisfied with the work he had done with Anika.
“Why don’t you take the next couple of fish
to our next campfire community meeting to share your new ability with everyone,
Anika?” Kiaan suggested one day to Anika, smiling contently at her.
Anika’s faced shone with happiness. If Kiaan
had pretended to not make Anika any more rebellious, he had actually done quite
the opposite by now.
The following day, while Kiaan was
peacefully looking over the sunset at his favorite place on the hill, a horn
echoed through the forest followed by some sweet flute sounds above it all. It
was the signal that the campfire meeting was just about to start.
Kiaan stood up and rushed into the forests,
daring to climb into some trees and swing from branch to branch until reaching
a burning fireplace at a wide open spaced area now beginning to be surrounded
by dozens of appearing Indians from his community.
Yet, out of one of the darkest corners of
the forest appeared a tall, old man: The Master Chief. His distinctive majestic
crown of feathers showed a sign of respect and pride from his community, and
his face portrayed years of wisdom and experience like no other man could
behold out there. After him, 4 Indian warriors appeared from behind, each of
which went to stand in a different spot surrounding the meadow just to maintain
guard during the campfire. The rest of the Indian population then began to take
their respective seats on top of some tree logs and greet each other in pure
kindness and peace.
Kiaan remained crouched on top of some tree
branches. He preferred to remain between them with the nature surrounding him so
he could get better views of the campfire. A moment later he saw that Anika and
her parents had just arrived.
Anika was turning her face upwards apparently
looking everywhere for something, but just when she had caught Kiaan’s glance,
she had stopped searching and had given him a huge smile while happily waving
at him.
Kiaan waved back with a mild smile in return.
Tonight was going to be a special night, for
it seemed that The Master Chief was going tell legends. Yet, to Kiaan’s
disappointment, tonight’s legend was going to be a repeated, famous one he and
many Indians knew by heart. Nothing new.
´The Giant Tambo´ legend. This legend tells
about a mystical, giant creature that only appears in aid of those who prove
themselves to be good and worthy in life. No one has apparently seen the furry,
goat-like creature in many centuries, thus it is said that it takes quite the
feat to summon it to existence. But once emerged to help the lucky bearer, the
legend says that it brings glory and luck alongside it, as well as its
everlasting assistance until the bearer dies or passes away.
The only privileged bearer to be said to
have existed was one of The Master Chief’s long lived old relatives, who had unfortunately
passed away by natural causes some couple of centuries ago.
“… And that is why we should always maintain
our heads high, brothers and sisters, for the light will always try to follow
those of pure hearts and make shadow for those peace disrupters who only want
to create chaos overhead,” The Master Chief narrated, “yet we must always try
to enjoy our lucky existence in this…”
“Let us summon it, then,” a harsh voice
echoed from between some branches on the other side of the trees where Kiaan
was crouched. Out of nowhere, a young Indian warrior some 10 years older than
Kiaan jumped from the trees and landed with a thump before the campfire flames.
“What is it that makes everyone wait until more wars come to us maybe today?”
Voices gasped everywhere. The Master Chief
had turned to look at the Indian who interrupted him with a disgusted look on
his face. The Indian on the other hand had turned to face everyone around him
with a questioning, yet fearless and serious grimace.
“Ehh?”
he made questioning sounds.
“It is only a legend, Gatu,” Kiaan echoed
from where he now stood on top of a branch. He jumped to the ground with ease
and faced the Indian while keeping some meters of distance between them. “Yet,
you have no right to interrupt our Elder this way whatsoever.”
“Who are you to talk to me this way,
orphan?” answered menacingly Gatu.
“Kiaan is right, Gatu,” The Master Chief
scolded Gatu, “I’m sure that with your imminent attitude and positivism we will
all be able to survive what’s probably coming against us in the future.”
Kiaan turned to look at The Master Chief,
who in return stared at him with quite the curious look on his face. It was no
surprise to sometimes find The Master Chief looking at Kiaan this way, for it
seemed like he saw something in Kiaan that no other Indian could sense.
Everyone turned to look at Gatu with
disgusted faces, as if they wanted him to be dismissed from this meeting as
quickly as possible.
“We’ll see who will save this community from
an upcoming war,” concluded Gatu with a confident glance, as he backed off and then
went to approach a tree to climb it and fade into darkness.
…
Kiaan kept thinking about what had happened
that night during the next following days. The fact that one could unexpectedly
find people with multiple dark personalities such as Gatu’s throughout the
community, certainly freaked him out sometimes.
Not everyone is what it seems at first.
Then, one day as Kiaan was staring at the
sunset, he unexpectedly heard a woman’s cry someone from the village. Kiaan
turned his head sideways in shock.
“Anika! Anika!” someone cried.
Without hesitating, Kiaan stood up and
rushed to where the voice emanated from, just to find Anika’s mother looking
everywhere around, whilst standing alone in the middle of the field that lead
to the community.
“What’s wrong?!” Kiaan called at Anika’s
mother, reaching up to her and examining her expression alarmingly.
“Anika’s gone. I can’t find her anywhere.”
Anika’s mother answered distressingly. “Isn’t she with you, Kiaan?”
“No. I thought she had gone to have dinner
with you…” answered Kiaan. And at that moment, a fire arrow flew
straightforward into the night sky from the community, illuminating it with a
bright red flame. Kiaan and Anika’s mother halted and turned to look as it flew
in the distance. His stomach had turned to guts.
Then, out of the forest treetops, a big horn
sound echoed through the fields: the emergency and evacuation alarm.
Suddenly, fires and spears were lit up
everywhere and one could hear the footsteps of the community’s warriors getting
ready to come out to fight. Something was coming deep from the forests.
Kiaan told Anika’s mother to return and find
refuge as he would try to do something about Anika’s disappearance. She then
began to rush back to her tepee and seconds later disappeared out of view. He,
on the other hand, grabbed his spear and began to look all around him for signs
of what to do next.
Out in the distance, wolves started to
appear; yet, they didn’t seem to rush into the now lightning fires coming from
the community, but into one specific side of the forest. Someone was there at
the forest.
Anika.
Kiaan
began to run with all his power, crossing the giant field straight into the
depths of the forest. Once there, it didn’t take him long to find an already
lit campfire without anyone surrounding it. Footsteps were then heard coming
from behind him.
“But
what should an Indian like you be doing here out in the middle of the forest
instead of going to fight out there like a true warrior, may I really ask?” a
familiar voice asked with a worryingly voice tone.
Kiaan turned around alarmingly and saw that
it was simply Gatu.
“I’m looking for Anika. She’s gone missing,”
answered Kiaan calmly.
“Why, but isn’t she there sitting on the
treetops?” Gatu pointed upwards, and to Kiaan’s horror, he indeed saw Anika
tied up at a tree’s trunk, apparently unconscious and with a visible bruise on
her face.
“What did you do to her?” growled Kiaan.
Gatu raised both his hands up. “I didn’t do
anything, boy, calm down. On the contrary, I saved her when she had
‘accidentally’ fallen some meters from a cliff nearby.”
Kiaan gasped and tried to approach the tree,
but was blocked by Gatu’s arms on his shoulders.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You see?
It’s my task to save her, to do good!” Gatu exclaimed. “Isn’t that what’s all
about life, boy? To do and make good?”
Gatu chuckled and then proceeded to climb
the thick tree. Once he reached its top and began to untie Anika, Kiaan began
to hear a growling sound nearby.
He glanced backwards and saw that some
wolves were beginning to approach the tree where Anika and Kiaan were on top.
Kiaan climbed the nearest tree he found and waited.
“All done,” Gatu laughed, “she is safe. Now,
isn’t The Giant Tambo supposed to appear somewhere for me now?” Gatu gave a
malicious smile and continued laughing. Anika was left on the border of the
branch, untied, just about to fall.
Suddenly, one of the wolves hit the tree’s
base with its body and made Gatu stumble until he was left clinging for his
life on the tree’s branch with both his arms, only two meters from falling into
the thirsty wolves below.
That had been the moment when Kiaan had
taken action and simply gave a big jump from his branch to save the now falling
Anika from colliding hard with the ground, not taking into account the height from
which he had actually jumped from at all.
He waited for the collision, for the pain on
his body to strike. Yet, to his surprise he had actually fallen onto something
furry and fluffy instead. An animal perhaps? It didn’t really matter, for he
was saved and Anika was right beside him: unconscious, but in one piece.
The giant thing set itself to a run across
the woods. It had taken some seconds for Kiaan to later realize that the wolves
had left Gatu alone and were now chasing after them.
Back to where the wolves had been, Gatu dropped
into the ground and landed with both his feet. A hateful expression then formed
on his face. Seconds later, beginning to appear and surround him from behind, a
hundred Indian warriors with red hair started to approach him.
“The Giant Tambo is alive. Destroy the
community and then find the boy. We didn’t plan this for nothing,” Gatu simply
declared.
There were loud warrior shouts and then the
sky was set ablaze with a red bright color. Smoke had begun to emanate not from
so far away…
…
25 years later
Kiaan was looking at a map. Crossing and
circling various communities on it whilst he was sitting on top of The Giant
Tambo, making his way across a big sunny field.
“After all these years searching through
many different communities and fighting multiple treacherous Indians, Tambo,
this should be the one where we can at last find The Master Chief,” Kiaan told
The Giant Tambo.
The Giant Tambo made some low howling sounds
and wiggled his head in circles.
“I don’t know if I’ll get to see her, Tambo.
Time and circumstances can change everything in minutes. I had to leave her
with someone safe. The whole community had been totally destroyed. We need to
find and defeat Gatu now,” responded Kiaan.
As they had finally reached the new
community entrance, some Indians with blue helmets had begun to approach them,
making them come to a total halt.
Kiaan looked everywhere around until he saw
one tall woman approaching him from afar. As she came nearer, she took her blue helmet off
and let loose her beautiful long hair whilst wearing a familiar majestic crown
of feathers on top of her head. A beautiful warrioress.
The amazed Kiaan took a second to realize
the sad striking truth.
Anika stopped and stared at Kiaan, gasping.
Kiaan gazed at her in return and smiled, “Long
time no see, Anika.”
…
________________________________________________
"The Giant Tambo." by Ana Vassallo won in the ~ 4thewords Fire Legends of Gantsu Writing Contest ~ !!!
Having ranked from among the 4th to the 13th winning places, from a total of 54 participants, she won a 3 Month Free Membership at the (www.4thewords.com) writing website!!
!!! -> The Short Story's Image Cover was used with permission from ~ https://www.4thewords.com/ ~ for inspiration in the "4thewords Fire Legends of Gantsu Writing Contest." where Ana Vassallo participated.
