Our
parents teach them...
Our grandparents tell them...
We
think about them often...
In our days and dreams…
We
experience them every day…
But it takes those with open eyes
to see them happening in front of them…
Everything ages to
end but stories age to live for a long time, their ideas are
immortal, contagious and unbreakable. Passed from generation to
generation with valuable lessons. Lessons that aim to remind us of
our human values. Values that intend to keep us alive and remind us
every day to live truly and truly live.
This
is one of my collection of stories. Perceived differently by every
pair of eyes, emerging different conclusions out of different
perceptions, but only time will tell which of the various conclusions
will give rise to the strongest and lasting values of all.
The Dove, the Fox, the Owl and the Lion.
Two mountains rose high with
pride in a faraway land which humans
have forgotten
about.
In
between slept a large forest condensed with every kind of plant the
planet could carry and the most vicious animals alive. Every day a
charming dove with bright blue feathers flies in search for food for
its newly born siblings and its old mother resting on
top
of the mountain. One day the dove was flying to across
from one mountain to the other when suddenly a rock
hit
its
head forcing it to lose focus, vastly throwing it to the ground and
shutting its eyes into a coma.
Nine hours later, the dove woke
up with
no clue
as
to
where
it was or what exactly happened, but it was only sure that its left
wing was no
longer able to fly.
Crying sadly in
despair for its family who
have
spent
almost half a day without food, the dove forced itself to use its
weak, untrained
legs to find its way out. Crawling with confusion (due
to the large number of trees in the canopy which gave no clue what so
ever about the correct direction to the mountain),
the
dove came across a hungry fox. Freezing with fear
the
dove stayed quiet for a while hoping that the fox wouldn’t
see
it and run away, but the mesmerizing colours of the doves wings
captured the fox's eyes immediately.
"Well,
well, well. What
have
we here?", the fox said victoriously.
With its heart
beating faster and not knowing what to do, the dove stood
in
complete
silence.
"You
must be new here! Your wings look as fresh as the water in the
running stream, and your legs seem as weak as a dying animal! I
assume you recently fell from
the
high sky?" The Fox continued while rotating combatively around
the dove with a smirk on its face.
"As you may know,
I am higher
up in the food chain
than
you, you
poor creature;
which
naturally gives me the power to do whatever I want with you. However,
since
you are new here and given that I am not considered to be a mean fox,
the rules of nature force me to be a bit hospitable. Therefore, I
will give you two options, you can
either
choose to live happily ever after in my starving stomach or to be
under my command for the rest of your sad life, doing all what I tell
you and obeying every order of..."
"PLEASE! HAVE
MERCY" The dove finally interrupted with fear "I have a
family to take care of! They cannot survive without me!! I get them
food every day; today I was flying to find them some
until…"
"SILENCE!".
Intimidated
by
the dove's strong will and courage, the fox stopped and powerfully
interrupted it, making
insects nearby fly
away and the dove
lowering its head to the ground.
"If you wish to stay alive you better NEVER interrupt me again!
The last thing I want to have in
my sight is a worthless creature like you raising its ugly voice over
me; your freedom period has expired! You will call me master, and you
will obey me with loyalty or I swear I will eat you and your family
in a bat
of
an eye, IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?".
"Yes, master."
The poor dove replied with a sorrow voice, a voice that was no
longer fresh,
and a voice which once used to excite any creature which had its ears
exposed to it.
Months passed by, the fox got more powerful and
got
used to this life of luxury.
For the dove was obedient to every single command it was given.
Growing more desperate, the dove uselessly tried to communicate with
any flying bird possible, hoping to beg it for help or just to notify
its family about where it was, but
who could ever think to look for a singing bird on the ground?
With
every silent answer came more sorrow and more loneliness, and the
poor bird forgot what
it was
like
to fly and to be free.
The
fox and the dove were walking in the forest during one of the sunsets
after waking up from a very long nap. As
they were walking they were surprised by an
owl that suddenly stopped flying and stood on
one of the nearby tree branches.
The fox ordered the dove to continue walking and not pay attention as
this
owl was a cursed animal detested by everyone in the forest. However,
the dove couldn't help but wonder why the owl was
staring at
it with a deep gaze in its eyes.
Having broken
the
gaze and trying not to give it attention, the dove's random thoughts
were suddenly interrupted by the voice of the owl saying: “Your
other heart may
be burning
but you will swim in the sky again and it will be safe”.The
dove turned around and mumbled “What?” in curiosity, but the
freaky owl had already flown away, out of sigh.
“Crazy
old owl! It is despised by all
creatures of
the forest!” the fox elaborated with confidence.
Confused by
these two sentences, the dove didn't know which words to think about,
the ones spoken
by his unmerciful
master or that of the globally cursed owl. Although
confused,
the dove had it inside its heart that the words of the owl were not
merely
words.
When
the wing of the dove began to look healthy and
was using it more often,
the fox sceptically noticed
the dove’s
more
vibrant condition. Looking
back at the dove, he said with wonder:
"I
hope your wing feels better".
Looking
up at the fox
in
surprise
and hoping to see more mercy and kindness coming out of it, the dove
replied back with a sweet voice: "Yes! Thank
you, it feels a bit stronger!"
Fearing that it might lose
its power the fox pounced
violently
at the dove
before
it
could finish its sentence, grabbing its recovering wing and ripping
it off its body, scattering its blue feathers over the forest floor
and leaving the dove in agony and in severe pain.
Feeling
totally authoritative again, the fox knew that the dove could never
think of escaping, and it will remain under its power for as long as
the forest would permit.Days
passed by and the fox grew more brutal,
frightening and intolerant.
The dove had no more tears to pour, no more hope for seeing freedom
in the skies of the future and no more blue feathers to remind it of
the happy old days.
During one of the nights, foxes, wolves
and all the horrible animals of the forest howled loudly to arrange
for a meeting the next morning. The dove decided that it should take
the chance and look for any animal in the audience that may
seem
compassionate
enough
to help it escape this tragic life.
The
next day, as the fox and the dove were heading towards the river side
where the meeting was being held, the dove tried to think of all the
possible ways in which it could escape by itself. But given the bad
physical conditions it was in, its body couldn't fly, run or do
anything that would give it a chance for a successful escape. Fearing
that it may
not
find any
sympathy
amongst
the vicious creatures and ignoring the fact that one of the other
foxes may jump on it and eat it alive, the dove decided to stick to
its master for the time being.
The dove's situation could
not have been any scarier, until it reached the river side. It could not believe its eyes; every fox, every wolf and every mean
predator at
the
meeting had
a
different
species of bird under its control. Some birds with chains around
their necks and feet, some with a broken wing or two, and some with
broken legs.
The dove's wild blood began to flow through its
small, rigid veins, feeding every single part
of
its body and every
bit of its spirit
with
energy, anger and resentment.
Despised
and disgusted by the way its kind were treated, the dove forgot all
about its sad condition, its history, its present and its uncertain
future, and was determined more than ever to find a way out. The dove
began to look for a solution that would stop this tragedy, focusing
on what was given to it at that moment:
The dangerous group of
omnivores…
The useless flock of weak birds…
The
running river…
The faraway sky separated by the dense
canopy…
And the only properly functioning part of its body,
its legs…
"May the power of the forest guide me and
stay with me with what I am about to do" The dove mumbled to
itself, hearing its strong angry voice covering its doubts and fears,
which,
in return, raised its confidence.
"Master!
I think we should stand near the river edge!" said the dove out
loudly. "Shut up you ignorant fool! Don’t you dare talk to me
in front of my tribe or I will make you their prey!" interrupted
the fox with a low threatening voice.
"I am afraid that
some of your enemies realised that you are present, hearing them
mumbling about teaching you a proper lesson for all the food you have
stolen from them!" the dove elaborated with
confidence.
"Food!? What food? I never stole food from
any one! You’re lying! What are you up to, you stupid creature!?" the
fox continued, fear and confusion being projected in his voice,
finally.
"Remember,
master! Remember 5 days ago when you found a dead rabbit just near
the cave of your enemies and we stole it and ran
away? I
think
your smell got stuck on the nearby trees!"
The dove
continued confidently, knowing that the fox was getting older with
an increasingly poor memory and low ability to connect things
together.
"What? That is not possible! I don't remember!
Who did you hear talking about it? Why are you…?”Realizing
that the fox was starting to become scared, the dove knew that the
fox was finally under its control.
"We
should go near the river, master! You will be safe there since no one
will attack you from behind!"
the dove continued intelligently.
"Yes, you may be right!
Let’s go" said the fox with hurry.
After reaching the
stream, the fox stopped and started being alarmed and aware of the
creatures around it, forgetting about the dove standing next to it.
The dove then looked at the still river, took a very deep breath, got
its focus sharp and started to walk quietly towards it while saying
repeatedly in its mind:
"Invisible creatures of the forest, hear
me
well!
Guide me to
the
other side of the river if destiny
means
for
me to be there, otherwise I will accept my death with complete peace
and may you have mercy on me."
With no hesitation, the
dove walked right into the river, slowly getting to deeper and deeper
regions making two steps back and seven steps forward, until its body
and head were fully immersed with water. Keeping its concentration in
place and sticking to the peace inside it, the dove continued walking
through the deep waters where
the
surface was getting further and further away from it, moments of
panic started haunting it which made it run
faster
in
fear.
Less
than half the distance later the dove felt that it was slowly being
lifted by the water pulling it away from the bottom of the river and
lifting
it
towards the surface. The dove was hopeful that the water might
actually make it float on top and it
will be
able
to get a breath of air to re-energise.
But sadly, with time,
the muddy river of the evil forest became cruel enough
not to lift up any living thing that would step under its
surface.
The slowly fainting dove reached a point where it was
halfway between the two banks and midway between that surface of the
river and its bottom.
It was running
out
of breath, it started to lose focus, to lose its
consciousness and was too weak to think of what to do next,
its heart beats were slowing down until its body stopped moving and
its eyes were transferred into darkness.
After a
few
seconds
in that state, the dove exhaled
its
last breath as bubbles ran
towards
the surface. However, just
before
the
last bubble left
its
mouth, a blast
of
memory
flashed by its eyes, a memory of a time when it was flying freely
with all its beautiful blue feathers fluttering against the blue sky,
a memory that felt so real which made the dove literally feel the
effect of the strong wind lifting it up as if it went back in time,
making it more powerful and giving it a bit of strength to be
able
to move its only wing, hoping to feel the imaginary cold breeze of
wind that was recalled by its mind one last time. With this random
wing movement the dove moved slightly upwards towards the surface,
the peace inside it grew more powerful giving it more patience to
survive
with
no air, sticking with this memory and the sense of freedom it once
had gave it power to resist fainting and keep
pushing
the
water downwards, and with one wing, it finally managed to rise above
the surface, taking a deep breath and gaining
back its consciousness.
Excited
to have reached the surface, the dove breathed with shock mumbling
with a tired voice “Thats it! The owls prediction! I was swimming
in the sky!”, still not believing its realisation but feeling
accomplished the dove looked back to check what went on meanwhile on
the other side, to find out that the fox was still in a cautious mode
checking and screening any creature in the meeting that could attack
it. This gave the dove enough time to swim to the shore
comfortably.
The dove continued,
pushing with
incredible
strength and determination the dirty water guiding it towards the
other side of the river, getting
there
sooner
than it thought.
Shivering,
from the dirty, cold water, and still not believing the thrilling
experience it
just went through,
the
dove whispered with joy "What a victory!"
As
it was about to continue in
its,
apparently destined, mission, a distinct female voice behind it
screamed:
"SONNNNNNNNNNN!!"
The dove looked back and
without any expectations,
thinking
that
things couldn’t
get
any worse, its mother was shouting from across the river. Questioning
this sudden scream, the fox and the other creatures turned their
heads to realize that the fox’s
slave had
escaped.
As wild as it could become, the fox shouted with rage: "YOU
WORTHLESS LITTLE CREATURE, I WILL EAT YOU! I WILL EAT YOU
ALIVE!!!"
The meeting turned into chaos and every
creature present ran
towards
the connecting bridge that was a couple of miles away from
where the meeting was taking place.
Fighting with its thoughts and emotions and
not
knowing whether it
should
go
back and be with its mother or continue and get help, the dove
decided to keep its focus and run as fast as it could towards the top
of the mountain where it would get help from all its tribe.
While
fading inside the trees as sneaky as it
could, the dove couldn't
help
but wonder
about
its mother; mumbling to itself: "How did my mother end up there?
Could she possibly
have
been
searching
for
me all this time? Is that what the owl meant by “your other heart
will be safe”? But why didn't I hear her calling for me before?
What happened to my siblings?". The dove faced many questions
but decided to keep them
aside
and
focus on getting
help
until they are both safe and everything returns
to
the
way it used to be.
After
running wildly for a while, the small dove was stopped by this
incredibly gigantic, unusually amazing figure with white hair
covering all of its body. Stopping with fear, yet still feeling calm,
the dove asked: "You are strangely beautiful! Who are you? Are
you an angel?"
"I am a white lion, uncommon
of
my kind and beloved by everyone. I devote my life to maintain peace
in this forest and to keep its circle of life healthy
and fresh."
"MERCY! HELP ME YOU BIG CREATURE! Angry
and insane animals are ruling almost half of my species on the other
side of the river and my mother is amongst
them!
I escaped hoping to find help and they're running after me now,
probably getting closer and closer! Have mercy on me and my tribe and
fight for our freedom!"
Right after the dove ended its
statement the white lion stretched its long white claw, grabbed the
dove and placed it on its head.
"Stick with me, you brave
soul! It’s going to be a tough fight but you will receive your
victory and get your freedom back".
_____________________________________
The tale stops here,
for your imagination creates the best ending.
Some may think
that they are the dove in this story…
Some may think that
they are the fox...
We may conclude that we are brave white
lions…
But a real thoughtful person admits and realizes that
we are all foxes, doves and lions at different stages in our
lives.
The real insight is finding out which stage you are in at the moment and paying attention to every owl on the way for they maybe the keys that open the doors of these stages for us.
A real victory lies
behind
knowing that you successfully transformed from one stage to another,
ready to help anyone on your way
who is
seeking
this great magical transformation.
May your life be filled with
magical stories and long living tales.
Thank you for reading.
Written by: Issa Gammoh
Edited by: Farah Barakat