The Plains Of Africa

The story you are about to read is beyond your wildest imagination. And when I say ‘wild’, I mean you are making the story now, near a baobab tree in Africa. Imagine you have hold of red mud inside a rare dried up gourd, and you are painting a story on the skin of the baobab. That story is about two inseparable friends off on a journey of a lifetime - one is a lioness cub, one is a wizard from Trolla, and then the place where he’s cruelly abused, Eternia. Then, he lives a happy life here on Earth. They are siblings.

Furaha and Orko lived a happy, freedom-filled life in the plains of Africa. They didn’t care what other, grumpier animals said, they marched to the rhythm of their own drums and dedicated all of their time to having fun, while experiencing the softness of nature. Now, usually you’d see Orko with baggy sleeves with gold bits wrapped round them, but in this story, he is bare-armed. It shows the spirit of Africa exists within his smooth blue skin, safe and snug in his little Trollan heart. The two were inseparable and played together in the long grass every day.

They would climb up trees and swing from the branches. Orko would easily get up trees, because he could float. They would play with the younger animals - elephants, flamingos, crocodiles, rhinos and especially lion cubs. I don’t mean cousins from Furaha’s family in another universe, I meant native cubs who spoke in another language, and Furaha thought of them as her brothers and sisters. But none was the best brother ever than Orko, who would play games like tag and hide and seek with her every day. Sometimes Orko would creep up behind little Furaha, and then a full on tickling would sound off, with Furaha’s squealing laughter echoing through the plain. Almost every animal could hear it - even the elephants with their big flappy ears. When they went to the water hole to take a drink, they would gaze at their reflections, then dive in and relax and splash each other in the cool, inviting water, which was free of crocodiles and piranhas, making it perfect for such little friends like them. And when the two were tired, they would sleep next to each other in the shade of a baobab tree, Furaha snuggled peacefully on Orko’s soft red cloak.

Oh, they were so happy in this wild paradise. To think about them leaving would be impossible. And to think about separating them would be even worse. The wild was their natural home. Their habitat. The perfect place for friends to live.

One morning, Furaha woke up with a funny feeling in her head. She had a dream last night where there was a whole lot more Africa to explore, and she saw a whole pride of lions waiting for her. The pride had cubs who were begging to play with her and her brother, but they seemed a long way off. She gently shook her brother awake, and to her surprise, he told her he had the same dream too. This only meant one thing: there was a whole lot more Africa to explore, not just grass and trees and animals. After a few slow-paced stretches, they decided to set off immediately.

The two made their way through the plains, following each other and sometimes holding each other paw in hand so they wouldn't leave each other behind. Three days did their journey take, and I’ll tell you about it right now. On the first day, they walked for miles and had to stop for a rest. Furaha’s legs were aching, so Orko magicked up some fruit for them to share. It was so succulent and delicious that Furaha was too full to beg for more. When they continued on their way, Furaha had to ride on Orko’s shoulders, and she couldn’t stop squealing and calling out, “Wheeeeeeeeee!!!” On the second day, Furaha and Orko found a huge hill, and wanted to roll down it. Cries of “Wheeeeeeee!!” and laughter were heard as the two siblings rolled down the hill, feeling joy and freedom as they rolled. On the third day, they passed a waterfall. It was a huge, beautiful waterfall, one they’ve never seen before.