Orko lived by himself in a beautiful, peaceful tropical jungle. He knew he had pride in his heart to take care of all the animals in the jungle, and never hunt them. Instead, he ate fruit from the jungle trees. He enjoyed rolling about in the leaves, napping in the lush greenery, splashing in the lake and most importantly, climbing trees, mainly to his treetop nest. Although he can climb to his treetop nest, he can float as well, so he’s the only creature in the jungle who can float - as well as the fireflies, of course.
But there was one thing missing from his life - a friend. He had tried making friends with all the animals in the jungle, but since they viewed him as a hunter, they just turned away. He lay in his treetop nest all alone every night, praying that someone would come down from the heavens and answer his wishes of wanting a friend.
One day, however, that wish was about to come true.
On that day, Orko was out on the beach, looking farther out towards the sea, wondering what sort of things would be out there, like cars, buses, traffic, houses, lollipops. Just then, he heard someone crying from nearby. Orko was curious to know where the crying was coming from, so he followed his ears towards a little Moses basket hidden in the leaves. When he approached the basket, much to his surprise, he was shocked to see a line of pawprints covered in blood. “Who killed her parents?” asked Orko, for he knew what ‘Her’ was - a baby lioness cub, crying under a silk blanket. When she saw Orko, she looked up at him and smiled. Orko knew instantly that she would take to liking him, so he gently lifted her out of the basket and cuddled her. The baby began to laugh with Orko as he cooed, “Aaaawww, aren’t you a little goofy-woofus? I can’t just leave you here. You might die. I know! I think I’ll name you…Furaha. It’s jungle language for being the prettiest soul in the universe.”
The next morning, Furaha expected to wake up in her parent’s cabin where they took shelter for the night, but she remembered. She was in Orko’s treetop nest. For a baby this small, she had a lot of memory. Orko yawned and stretched and gave Furaha her first hug of the day. Then he placed Furaha into the leaves and rolled about, laughing joyfully. Furaha saw her big brother rolling and decided to do it too. She began rolling in the leaves as if she were a dirty, stinky street urchin playing in the mud. How our two friends laughed! When our two friends have fully woken up, Orko placed Furaha onto his back and floated across the jungle, as the baby lioness cub squealed in joy. Most babies might be afraid of heights, but for a baby this small, she wasn’t afraid at all.
“Hang on, you rhymed!”
Thank you, Orko. Now, Orko sat in a quiet place in the leaves by the waterfall and cuddle his baby sister for hours on end…
“It’s minutes, Mrs Narrator.”
Minutes? Oh, sorry Orko. Okay, so Orko cuddled his baby sister for minutes on end, and sometimes produced fresh milk from his sleeve and fed his baby sister well. When Orko went to the lake to catch fish, he fed Furaha well with them too, but Furaha at this age didn’t know how to catch fish because her paws were too small. So Orko had to hover over the water and dive in to catch the fish as they leapt out. With his velvety cloak all wet, Orko had finally caught a flappy fish, which he fed to Furaha. Fish were filled with proteins and carbohydrates that make a baby’s bones big and strong.
The leopard was the only animal Orko could trust in his jungle home, and he would come to visit his friend every day to show him his little sister. Since he had complete trust in his friend, the leopard dared not eat the young lion cub. Instead he sang him his ‘Song Of The Spots’ which he sang for his people every time he attended a family gathering or another family event. When he did, the leopards sang in complete harmony, as if they were a family…or even better, a pride.
When it rained, Orko and Furaha would sit in a clear spot and feel the rain land on their skin and fur, as if they were having an electric shower outdoors. Baby Furaha loved the feel of rain on her fur, and she shook herself so Orko was covered in it. How they laughed! When they were tired, they would take a nap in a safe, leafy spot where predators won’t get them. The leaves felt soft and downy, almost like complete luxury to them. In the background, they could hear water falling into the lake and tropical birds singing their song. It was so peaceful, at first they forgot they were in the jungle…until they played hide and seek when they woke up. Since baby Furaha didn’t understand the rules of the game yet, she would crawl around looking for Orko, who would often hide in the leaves or behind the trees. Then Orko would slowly peer out…and “BOO!” Orko would leap out and surprise the cute little cub, resulting in the little wizard sweeping Furaha up in his lanky arms and cuddling her. Orko helped Furaha over to the lake, where they went for a nice, refreshing swim. They splashed each other, and Furaha would flap her arms, splashing water everywhere. Often, Orko would do his favourite part of him swimming in the lake - letting Furaha lie on his chest as he floated on his back in the water, watching the world go by. It was so relaxing, and yet he was glad to share it with Furaha, who was just as relaxed as him.
Then at one point in the day, Orko sat on the banks of the lake and touched Furaha paw in hand. Their touches were so tender that Orko softly said, “I know we’re different, and we come from hunter territory, but outside, we’re not hunters. We’re people of innocence, and with me, I carry innocent magic.” And with that, he hugged Furaha to his chest, in tears over finding someone that stayed true to his loving heart.
When he got back to his tree, he got out a piece of sharp rock and carved a picture of baby Furaha into the tree, making her an official part of his ‘family’. Then he saw Furaha rubbing her eyes in a crude manner and yawning. He picked up Furaha and hugged her again. “I see you’re feeling very tired. Let’s get you to bed.” He floated all the way up to his treetop nest and settled in the leaves, cuddling Furaha gently. He then sang a lullaby in Brazilian, which goes a little something like this. It’s important to know that Orko spoke Brazilian because he learned from his leopard friend, who was once an entertainer for the king in his palace before he ran away to the jungle:
“Minha pequena Furaha, ela é minha famÃlia
Patinhas doces e um rosto rosado
Ela ainda não aprendeu sobre a vida na selva
Mas por enquanto, ela está segura em meu coração.”
With those words crooned out to the tired baby, little Furaha fell asleep in her brother’s arms, as he snuggled into the leaves and closed his eyes, dreaming about another day of fun in their lovely jungle home, for it is the bond between brother and sister that make jungles like theirs a nice place to thrive in.
THE END.
