MASAI MARA 1°25’40.3”N 35°10’25.4”E
MERCHE LLOBERA
“I have seen that nature takes life to create a new one somewhere else”
our story began in the shadows of an acacia tree . My brother and I were born under the open sky in a silent night, accompanied only by the light of the moon and stars. We grew up fast under the protection of our mother, Ishara, and were raised by her alone. Every night she told us about the pride, the group of lionesses we belong to, our aunts and the coalition, our father and our uncle. She told us about the hunt, about the growing and shrinking rivers and about the others that inhabited our lands. She told us about life, and we were naive enough to think we were ready to take it on. Her roar echoed across the grasslands, I heard it fade away towards the horizon. There was no answer. My mother raised her body, the sun was getting low, and I could feel her aura and knew that tonight was the night. We would not hear another story about our ancestors, or the other animals – tonight was the time to go. We walked through grasslands and followed a small river. The world grew bigger with every step we took. I watched my mum walk gracefully through the bush towards the land of her pride. Following in her spoor, I felt smaller and smaller with every step. Suddenly I felt the earth vibrate. I saw the pebbles on the ground jumping up and down again. I jumped around and saw a herd of giants, passing behind us, they didn’t even look at us, just kept moving forward. It looked like they were moving in slow motion, but they moved fast. Giants with huge ears and tusks, and between them were little giants. With every step, the earth vibrated and I couldn’t help but stare at them as they passed us by. That must be the elephants, that my mum had told us about. Never hunt an elephant, I could see why. We walked further and the sky was turning into insane colours: from light pink to the deepest red, yellow, and orange. I looked up while I followed my mother, and I wondered, who paints the sky? She stopped by a small rock on top of a hill. And when I reached her side, I could see them below. She laid down, her muscles tense, and she roared again to announce our presence. I hid behind her, while my brother just kept walking down the hill towards one of the lionesses. I watched as my mum raised her body gracefully but powerfully and determined. I could feel her tension, and I can feel her fear that something may happen to him. I watched my brother getting closer to the other lionesses, and behind her, I saw him, my father. Surrounded by lionesses, but his eyes were locked on my mother.
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MOTHER VOLUME ONE
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