I felt the sand shifted under my haunches, the hot desert air ruffling my black and white mane and the searing heat of the sun above. I kept my eyes closed, filling my lungs with fresh air. My ears twitched, a white flash appeared in my mind’s eye. My heart began to start beating rapidly in my chest, my breath getting ragged as memories flooded over me.
In my vision, I heard the pleading cry of a young zebra colt. The colt was inside of a hut, in his mother’s protective embrace. The sky outside the hut was painted with scarlet red, screams of pleads echoed in the air and the smell of burning death wafted into the hut. Then, a silhouette figure emerged from the hut’s entrance, pulling away the mother from her child, mercilessly dragging her away. I saw the zebra mare’s blue eyes glistened by flames outside, pleading for the safety of her child and I remembered the markings on her flank; a glyph symbolizes the stars.
“Mother!” I screamed, opening my eyes in panic. I felt my cheeks dampened, tears ran down in rivulets, my breathing slowly returned to its relaxed pace. I cast my gaze upon my flank, looking at the markings on it – a symbol of the arrows of a compass, adorned my flank. I changed my gaze onto the sea of sand in front of me, feeling the ever-growing burning desire to search... for my long lost mother. “I’ll be with you mother. Believe me,” I whispered into the wind, hoping the gods above listened to my prayers.
“Nadir!” I heard a gruff voice screamed my name and I looked over my shoulders, seeing a figure slowly trotting towards me. The bracelets on my right hoof jingled as I stood up, turning towards the familiar approaching zebra. The zebra had a strong built body that could match the strongest of warriors, scars of war marked all over his body. His brown eyes locked onto me, smiling as he approached.
“Father,” I greeted as I gave him a bow.
“Nadir, why are you here?” He asked, looking towards the setting sun over the horizon, painting the sky in bright orange.
“I am always here whenever I meditate, father,” I answered, looking into the sea of sand before me, the desert breeze gently brushed against my coat and mane.
“This is a place of no safety, my son,” he replied, looking towards the orange sea above. “A griffon might sneak up on you and take you away,” he continued, looking at me with worry plastered across his scarred face.
“No worries, father. I am able to take care of myself as I am a grown zebra,” I answered with a wide grin tugged onto my face.
“I’m glad to hear that,” he chuckled. “Let us go back to camp. It is almost night time, and it is not safe to stand here in the dark,” he explained, turning around and walked towards the tribe’s camp. I just chuckled in response and proceed to follow my father from behind.
The sounds of laughter and the crackling fire filled the campsite. The flames in front of me danced as the cold desert breeze gently blew by. I looked at the food that was served before me; a bowl of dried wheat, sitting lazily in front of me. My stomach churned, having no appetite to eat for the moment. I slowly pushed the bowl away, looking towards my father, who was chatting with the tribe’s elders across the campfire.
“Father,” I spoke up, standing high within the crowd. Then everyzebra went silent. I felt the eyes of the whole tribe locked on me, making me feeling uncomfortable under the massive attention that I received. “I wish for a request,” I continued, stepping closer towards the fire, mustering as much bravery as I could, wanting to voice my request.
“What is it, my son?” He asked with seriousness in his voice, standing up as he looked at me with his deep brown eyes. The shadow behind him loomed over me, intimidating me with his presence. I took a step back, gulped down a lump in my throat.
“I wish to find mother,” I proclaimed, bracing for rejection that might come ahead of me, hearing the waves of whispers broke within the tribe members. I swallowed my anxiety and felt my heart hammering in my chest.
“No. I shall not give you permission to leave,” he replied, stomping his hoof as a frown tugged onto his face.
“But, I wish to find mother!” I yelled in return. My heart filled with disappointment for his answer. “I want to be reunited with her,” I continued, stomping my hoof, causing my bracelets to chime.
“Enough!” He screamed, lunging towards me. I felt a shock of pain exploded in my back and head as he tackled me onto the ground, seeing stars appeared in my vision. “You are my only family left in this world,” he whispered, his brown eyes glared down on me, glistening under the moonlit sky.
“But I wish to return to mother,” I whispered back. I felt tears started to brim in my eyes, looking up at my father through blurred vision. “Please, father,” I pleaded, my voice getting raspy. “I need to find her.”
“Aaarrgghh!” he yelled as freed me from his grip, walking away . “Go!” He screamed as his back was turned towards me. “Before I change my mind,” he sniffed, his voice cracked. He had his head hung low; his nose almost touched the ground as pearls of tears streamed from his eyes, looking into the distance.
“Thank you, father,” I whispered, quickly trotted into my hut. I opened a secret compartment in the middle of my hut floor, rummaging through an old chest. I pulled out an old saddlebag and quickly fastened it. Water parchment, a bag of jewels, two bowls of dried wheat and my stone spear, I thought to myself, making a mental checklist as I filled my saddlebag with necessary items for the journey ahead. I put on a dark maroon hooded robe, concealing my stripes from the world with the exception of my face. I strapped the stone spear onto my back as I looked back into the middle of the camp.
My father, along with the other tribe members, stood silently behind the crackling campfire. His eyes glistened with tears and regret as we made eye contact. I bowed for the last time, silently giving him my goodbye and my respect, eyes brimming with tears. I looked up towards the array of stars above, determining the direction of my destination. “West,” I muttered into the sky. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with the cool night air and mustered my remaining bravery. I took the first step, looking the sea of sand that stretched over to the horizon before me. “The journey begins,” I whispered into the wind as I took another step into the unknown.