The big five

“A long time ago, all was right with the world. Prosperity and peace filled the days. The four strongest immortal species.

“Werewolves, weredragons, witches, and vampires lived amongst each other in peace and harmony.

“Great respect was offered to the weredragons and werewolves. Because apart from being able to walk in their human form during the day and night.

“They had the power to shapeshift into their counterparts’ wolves and dragons. The weredragons got their power from the sun.

“And the werewolves got their power from the moon. The dragons were strongest in daylight. And the wolves got stronger too as the day ended.

“Among the four races with predominate power, the witches held a special place. For centuries, the witches were the defenders of humanity.

“They kept everyone, including humans, with no superpowers, in check. They uphold ancient vows of non-interference between the two sworn enemies.

“The sworn enemies before the beginning of time were and still are werewolves and weredragon. The two most powerful supernatural beings that will always threaten the balance.

“A war between the two meant and will always mean the beginning of the winner as the most powerful supernatural being and the end to the losing species being completely eliminated on the surface of the earth .”

That was Iyya’s childhood favorite story. 'The Legend of werewolves and weredragons.' narrated by her late mother, 'Anna' to her. It was like a lullaby to her, and she wanted to hear it every night before she went to sleep.

In her childish mind, she always imagined her mother to be the last long-lost weredragon that survived until the end of that tale and has never been found.

At the end of the tale, one wedragon survives. And it was fortunate for her that the weredragon that survived had no legs or hands in her body, just like her mother.

She had always dreamt of a day that she would see her mother moving on her own without a wheelchair.

So Iyya had imagined her mother turning into a dragon one day and flying around the Zanzibar skies. Spitting fire out of her mouth into the Indian Ocean while Iyya stood at the beach.

The wish turning into a reality was so vivid in her mind and she always saw herself watching her mother with fascination in her eyes. While she jumped happily.

That tale, as of right now, at this moment, keeps knocking on her head. Not only that. But it is also accompanied by a reminder of the last conversation she had with her late mother on her deathbed.

In her current state, the tale brings her to tears because it reminds her so much of her late mother. The person she ended up growing to pity.

But she would rather occupy her mind with that tale and the painful memories that come with remembering her mother, however painful it is, more than what is happening now.

Right now she is in the middle of the forest and the thick forest waste and entangled grasses hold her back from running and putting up her feathered wings to fly.

FLY? Yes, fly. She laughs sadly at the thought. She is no longer in her human form but a colorful bird. ‘A useless one,’ if you asked her about her opinion on it.

It can’t speak and it has done nothing to help her turn back to her human form.

How she wishes she could get back into her human body in this moment and be able to shout for help or run with her own two legs.

But no. The violence and fear of the world have followed her around all her life. She is a second example after her mother of someone she would pity.

She is scared. Terrified at the moment. But nothing can beat her biggest fear. Her biggest fear is never meeting her stepmother ‘Heina’ again.

To Iyya defense. She doesn’t know what she did so wrong to Heina. But she thinks it has been enough punishment given to her living in a peacock body for this long. She doesn’t know anyone who would help get her human body back other than Heina.

After all, it was all Heina’s doing.

Five years now. Five years leaving the life of a bird. She still sometimes does not believe this is real. That this is her life. She thinks it is a dream. She will wake up soon.

Heina had been her mother since her dad 'Khamsini' died and was her only close friend and relative. She was so supportive and loving, the only person who made her dad truly happy after her late mother.

‘What happened?’ is a golden question Iyya would love to know the answer to. Such a drastic change. That made Heina hurt her this much.

Iyya wants to plead with Heina to forgive her and let her have a bit of normalcy in her life.

Today, she is miles away from Zanzibar where her stepmom resides, and she is now abandoned in the middle of nowhere in the middle of a Safari Park.

Home to all dangerous animals.

She has been here for a few hours …... She craves Zanzibar. The place that holds answers to her redemption.

Everywhere her face turns, there is a thick forest and lots of bushes.

She is in Serengeti Park, and from what she remembers from her class five Geography books, this is supposed to be more of a treeless grassland. But it is not. It is a clouded forest.

The increasing sound of an animal running toward her draws Iyya’s attention fully back to her reality. The dangers surrounding her in the park.

Her heart jumps high with fear of what is coming after her, her ears are pointed high.

The trees swaying and branches clicking are some of the major disturbances she doesn’t want to hear right now.

Because she wants to track the animal’s movements and be able to hide.

Sunrays that are protruding through the tall trees are not helping either, as they show her enemy exactly where she is heading.

Then she hears car horns about one kilometer away and what would have been a good sign while in a human settlement, but here. It is not a good sign.

They are the tourist cars, and they are after the ‘Big Five’, which include either a Lion, leopard, Rhino, Buffalo, or Elephant.

That also means the big five are around here and around her.

The big five means more danger to her. She doesn’t want to get crushed or eaten at that moment.

Bad territory.

Coming face to face with these animals would be the end of her. In the animal form of a bird, she is in. She is an easy target, even for weak animals. She keeps reciting her go-to words in her head.

‘I NEED TO SURVIVE,’

‘I NEED TO LIVE,’

Then the car horn sounds are heard again and the intensity of the sounds. It shows the cars are too close. Catching her full attention again, this time, she thinks maybe going after the tourist cars wouldn't be a bad idea after all and would save her.

But she needed to get to the main road first, ‘but which direction is the main road?’, she wondered, her eyes searching from right to left.

Maybe some tourists will take an interest in her.

Most people who saw her on display at ZALA had an interest in her. Like the Commissioner that brought her from Zanzibar. Whether it’s poaching or buying her legally, she doesn’t care.

Right now, her top one biggest need is to get out of this park before she turns out to be a meal for the animals here.

And foremost, the one chasing her.

And now it is all over.

The ground is shaking, and the tree branches and leaves are being crushed, telling her how fast the animal running after her is running. Any second now.

She starts to tremble, she trips and falls, she tries to look back at the danger after her, and comes face to face with a wolf.

‘Oooh!!!! My God… it’s a giant wolf,’ she shouts in her mind after she is face to face with the animal. A giant wolf with sharp teeth, bending to her neck, ready to tear her apart. She tries to get up but can’t.

Roots like cobwebs are around her legs. She tries to scream, but she has no voice. She says her last prayers and lets the darkness completely consume her.