Pain,
gnawing emptiness, hunger so loud it dominated all thoughts, not mine--even
though I could feel it--it came from them.To them, two girls in a chariot must have seemed like easy
prey.I prayed they were wrong.
Never
had I felt any animal’s thoughts without first being close enough to touch
them.Thank God my gift grew
stronger when it did, otherwise they would have been on us before we had time
to run.
“RUN!”
I shouted.“Song and Laughter,
run!”My faithful horses obeyed,
jerking the chariot forward and causing Naelta, my tiny cousin, to topple
backwards.Catching her with my
free hand, while clinging to the railing, I looked over my shoulder and could
barely make out the four shadows obscured by the churning dust.They could run fast too.
“Susah,
what are you doing?” she said, “Why so fast?”
"It’s
okay.My horses are faster than
wolves.”I spoke with more hope
than certainty.
“Wolves?I don’t see any wolves.”
“Look
behind you.”
After
a quick glance to the rear, Naelta shrieked and wrapped her arms around my
waist.I concentrated on the
hungry wolves struggling to keep pace with us, sensing there were not just
four--there were eight.Frantically
I looked around the chariot until I finally saw the rest of them.
Off
to our right, a pair of wolves tried to remain unnoticed as they pushed through
the tall grass.The remaining two
had sprinted way ahead as part of a well-coordinated plan to trap us.I had never been hunted before.I didn’t like it.
Tears
rolled down my young cousin’s cheeks as she cried my name over and over.“Don’t worry,” I said trying to sooth
her, “We’ll be okay.”In truth, I
had no idea if we were going to survive.
My
chariot and team of horses plowed at the earthen trail.The subsequent dust cloud further
hindered the four wolves trailing us.Weary of fighting the thick grass, the two wolves off to the right
started leaping through the brush, dropping back to join the pack of four.For a moment I felt we had a chance to
outrun the fatigued pack, but then I saw that two sprinting wolves had made it
all the way to the wooden bridge over the shallow river up ahead.They blocked our only escape
path--facing us with their heads low.
“Go
away!”I knew I could control
horses, frogs, and even birds, but the wolves just snarled at my commands,
adding to my dread.What to
do?It would be folly to stop,
worst yet to turn back towards the six wolves chasing us.I couldn’t think of anything else
except to shout commands as we sped towards the wolves on the bridge.“Go away now!You don’t belong out here.Go away!”My
words only made them more determined to catch us.
Standing
almost straight up, the hair on their backs made them look even larger as we
closed on them.Teeth flashed
white in the sunlight.Foaming at
the mouth.Then somehow I knew
they planned to pounce on my running horses and slow them enough for the rest
of the wolves to join the attack.Naelta and I were on the menu too.How could it end like this?Just food for wolves.
I
prayed for my horses to be strong enough to power through their roadblock.Twenty feet from the bridge, I looked
into the eyes of a confident she-wolf, not just their leader but also their
mother.She wanted her hungry
children to eat.Naelta
screamed.I clenched my teeth.
“God
help us.”
As
the first hoof smote the wooden bride, an orange blur exploded from the
shadows, sweeping both of the wolves into the waters below.Our path was clear.I felt the wolves abandoned all
thoughts of my horses and us.Instead they only had fear.And their yelping submission earned them no reprieve.They were just food for a tiger.
Past
the bridge, I slowed my horses to a brisk walk and looked back.By then the six surviving wolves were
huddled together.Confused, demoralized
and leaderless.
Seven
times their size, an orange-striped tiger stood at the edge of the water with
blood dripping from his mouth.He
growled a warning, or maybe it was an invitation, to the watchful pack of six.Regardless, the disconsolate wolves
would have none of it.They
retreated to where ever they had come from.No doubt, hoping for easier prey.
“Did
you see that?”Wide-eyed and
grinning, Naelta pointed behind us.“Did you do that?”She
laughed.“You did!”Her eyes grew wider.“You made that happen!Is there anything you can’t do?”
“I
can’t control predators.”
“Right.”Naelta bubbled over with admiration,
but her voice was laced with disbelief.
“My
father built that bridge before I was born.He told me the tigers living there have enjoyed the cool
water and the abundant fish for generations.Other predators are never welcome.They don’t want to share the river’s fish with anyone.”
“The
tiger didn’t bother us.”
“We’re
not predators.We’re humans.Tigers respect us, as long as we don’t
linger, they shouldn’t bother us.”
Naelta
took a slow breath as she pondered my argument.“When your father built the bridge, he had to linger.Bridges are not built quickly.”
“My
father is different.Animals never
bother him.And he can build
things quickly.”
“He’s
still building on your house, like forever.”
Like
everyone else in my village, Naelta considered my father’s project a bit
odd.“It’s not our house, it’s his
project.You know it’s bigger than
a bridge.It’s even bigger than
our house.”
“You’re
right about that.It’s big.”Naelta, satisfied with my answer, still
glowed from her earlier surge of admiration.I never encouraged her flattery, but I liked to hear
it.My family never admired
me--not that little sisters anywhere are admired by their older brothers.But I was eighteen and I could do
things my brothers couldn’t do--things they didn’t understand.They couldn’t control animals like I
could.At least Naelta asked me
questions.
“Crocodiles
are predators,” she said.“Can a
tiger kill a crocodile?”
“If
it was the right tiger and the right crocodile.”
“Can
crocodiles chase you?”Naelta
looked a little worried, but I thought she was pretending.
“In
the water, sure.But not the way
those wolves chased us.”
“Yeah,
their legs are too short.”She
giggled.“Are we going home
now?My sisters must hear about
this.”
“Not
right now.There are more animals
I want you to see before we head back to the village.It won’t take too long.”Then in the short silence that followed, I imagined what
might have happened if the tiger had not been so conveniently present.We wouldn’t have returned to the
village at all.Father and mother
would have come looking for us after nightfall.They would have found us, or at least what was left of
us.Left of the chariot.As bad as that would have been, they
would have had to explain it all to Uncle Elak and Aunt Edna.They would have blamed me.
Me.
Fear
squeezed my shoulders.My hands
trembled.I felt small.Pathetic.
“What
if?” I thought.
“I
hope they’re not wolves.”Naelta’s
comment pulled me back to reality.We weren’t dead.Our
chariot and horses were perfectly fine.We were alive.
“You
hope who are not wolves?”
“The
other animals you’re going to show me,” she said.“I like zebras and giraffes better.Even the short-legged crocodiles are
okay with me.”To my amazement,
she suffered none of the effects of the chase.She felt completely safe with me.No fear.I
laughed with her, hoping it might help me to feel safe.I silently fretted that Naelta might
notice my shaking hands or possibly hear my fast-beating heart, which felt like
it was in my throat.I hate being
afraid.