Rays of light shone through the gap in the mountains, illuminating the camp and enveloping it in a warm glow. A young man, just 21, woke from underneath the primitive shelter, the sun’s rays forcing him to shield his eyes with a scarred hand. His face, once full of life, was now devoid of colour due to months under the cruel stare of Mount Kilimanjaro. A warm breeze shook him back to the reality of the real world. He would now begin the long trek back to his village. As his fleet stride carried him back his mind reflected on his past life. Dark memories enveloped him and even darker thoughts contorted his figures. He was destined to be chief and what a great chief he would have been. But his honour once as solid as a bar of iron had been scattered and forgotten like dust in the wind. His own tribe had dissed him.
As the chief of his tribe he was open to challenges, as was custom. He was expected to overcome these challenges boosting his honour. But if he lost then the challenger would become chief. This was now his predicament. Only the tribe’s elder, Zanara, believed in him and had advised him to keep trying. He had argued that he would be shamed again but the elder said “There is nothing more dangerous than an enemy with nothing to lose, which is what you have become”. His sole thought of restoring his honour is what kept the blood in his veins, his heart beating and urged him to take another step.
A trumpet, loud and clear cut across his thoughts. He froze. Again, he heard it. He scanned the horizon and saw a herd of elephants clustered around something. His better instinct told him to continue but his curiosity was just too great. He ran and stopped at a safe distance from the activity. He couldn’t between them so he crept forward and climbed a nearby tree. What he saw both horrified and amazed him. A baby elephant had fallen in some quicksand and the entire herd was gathered around, trying to pull it out. He watched, transfixed, as the calf was pulled up slowly by all members of the herd. The fight was between physics and the sheer will of the herd. Slowly the calf was brought up and into safety. What had seemed like a hopeless endeavour had turned out to save the calf’s life. There was hope. There is always hope for those who seek to find it, who persist. Those who try will succeed.
Simply amazing and beautiful and noteworthy.
Congrats from all of us.
Captivating and interesting. Well done👍🏻
Congrats & god bless you
Good Job. God Bless You
Such a good read!
Good job
Keep it up..
So well written !
Well done and impressive!! This is just a part of you and the more you write, the deeper are the hidden treasures within you. Good luck!
Very well written. Keep it up. Congrats from us.
Good job 👍🏻And congrats !!!
Great piece of writing. Vivid descriptions bring the story to life. The narration is fit to be a script for any movie, effortlessly helping the reader visualize the scenes. You definitely have a way with words. Especially liked the way you have left details of the back-story to the reader’s imagination. Keep writing!
Beautifully written and captivating. I enjoyed every descriptive word. Keep writing from the heart.
Wow – so well written – hard to believe he is only 12. Loved the message that there is always hope.
Great work Sanjay!! Keep going.
What a beautiful story. You are very talented. Keep writing !
Awesome job Sanjay. Way to go.. !!
Good story.keep the pen moving. All the best.
Excellent writing from you Sanjay, what a talent you have! Fantastic use of language to draw in the reader, well done!
Well written. Congratulations
Beautiful Sanjay. What an incredible gift and what hard work to create something so vivid and beautiful. Would love to read more!
Congratulations Sanjay ! This is a beautiful piece of writing . I love the way you set the scene – wonderful use of language .to draw us into your story . I look forward to reading more !
Superb dear. Keep it up.
Good one. Keep writing and build up own style. Also start speaking. You have potential. All the best. God bless you.
Buddy. That’s brilliant.
Congrats Sanju! Keep writing and bring out the best in you. God bless
Good one, keep writing
Wow… fantastic …you will reach in heights sanjay… Such a great talent.👍
Excellent work adding up experiences and presenting them as a story. The way you paint picture with words is amazing.
Hoping to see more of it..
Beautiful story. Keep moving forward..
Well written Sanju. Congrats and hoping to read more
Amazing my dear. Superb.
Beautiful….the writing is simple and still captivating
Brilliant writing with a great message – well done
Congrats… superb
Great opening and a wonderful read.
An excellent presentation!! Fascinating till the very end.
Congrats Sanjay.
Very thought full and inspirational writing. Never loose hope and fight till you achive what you aim for. Well written Sanjay…
Good one… Keep it up!!
Great job Sanjay. Beautiful story and love all the adjectives
Good story, very gripping.
Very interesting, well done Sanjay !!!!!!!!
Well done Sanjay on this beautifully written story!!
Excellent story. I must say it was “vaḷare nallat”
Beautifully written story, well done Sanjay!
Amazing! Very well written! Keep it up… God bless you!