Search of the Surma

"Suavage, do not go outside the borders, and definitely not into the jungle." Suavage's mother said sternly. "There are tigers that will eat you, and bugs that could swallow you whole; the animals in there have no heart and show no mercy!" The mother tried to strike fear into her child, but Suavage's curiosity only grew; she wanted to see the dangers of the jungle for herself.

She practically pranced out the door, her tiger pelt skirt not hiding anything as it flapped loosely behind her. She hovered as close to the edge of the forest as you could, until curiosity won the fight against obedience.

She stepped into the jungle taking the time to study every little bug and the veins in the leaves. She ran her hand over a large flower petal examining its tremendous size and beauty. She felt a tickle and looked down to see a spider the size of her hand crawling up her leg. Instead of swatting it away she looked at it, then used a stick to peel all 8 of the spiders legs off of her.

The sun started to sink below the horizon, signaling that she should get out of the jungle. Too late for that though. The lofty trees provided a shield that seemed to last forever, no matter where you were in the jungle. She started to panic as it sunk in she wasn't getting home until tomorrow, at least. She screamed for help; her voice teetered, changing octaves every so often, but her loud chatter attracted a beastly guest. A tiger.

Sauvage stopped her pleas for help, briefly, so she could see what the sound was. She swiveled around and came face to face with a tiger. It was so close that their breaths mixed together in the one inch space between their faces. The tiger stared into the little girls eyes, and vice versa for her. The tiger readied its claws and hunched up his back, ready to pounce, but stopped mid-way in doing so; he looked at Suavage seeing nothing but terror and dread. She looked ready for death, standing there with no way of telling how she was feeling without asking.

She could feel her own heartbeat going livid in her chest, not sure what she would die of first, the tiger, mere inches in front of her face, or a heart attack. Either one was a painful way to go. She opened her eyes expecting to see the tiger pouncing on her, but, instead, saw just the footprints in the mud from where it was standing. Relief and panic flooded her body at the same time; relief because the tiger was gone, and panic from the fact he could be lurking, ready to pounce on her.

She lazily walked around the base of a tree wondering what she was going to do, and how she was going to get home, the thoughts bounced through her seemingly restless mind. Saying she was scared was an understatement, the word you are looking for is terrified. Having little to no knowledge of how to survive, she was clueless, paranoid, and terrified. An abrupt movement to her right made her jump. The tiger is back. "asseblief nie seermaak nie !" She shouted as a useless plea to not hurt her. The tiger raised her ears and then she walked behind her. She nudged her head on her lower back, pushing Suavage forward. She obeyed and let the tiger push her.

The tiger stopped pushing her after about 30 seconds, and she finally had the confidence to open her eyes. They were stopped in front of what looked like a huge den. Confusion settled on the girls features, then settled to shock when the tiger kept on pushing her onwards.

The tiger went into the far corner of the short cave and curled up a small little ball. She followed suit in the opposite corner. Suavage tried to sleep, but every time she was on the brink of unconsciousness, the wind would blow, racking her body with shivers. "sy koue" she said as if stating that she was cold would make her warmer. The tiger opened one of her golden eyes and perked up her ears at the sudden noise. The tiger looked the shivering little girl up and down, then got up, and curled up next to the little girl. She was surprised at first, then she settled into the tigers warm fur, trying to leech as much heat as possible of the animal. Both fell asleep warm in each other's embrace, and listening to the beetles that were chirping outside.

Sauvage woke up, then clutched the spot where the tiger once rested. Confused, she sat up right, scanning the empty, besides her, cave. As if on cue the click of the tigers claws on the ground broke the scilence. She dropped something in front of her; it was a dead rabbit. "Ek is nie honger nie. Just kan dit." She pushed the rabbit back towards the tiger, mostly out of disgust about eating a raw animal; she lied, she was starving. The tiger hungrily ate the rabbit. "Ek moet by die huis kom, of anders sal mense bekommer." She as unsure how she was going to get home though.

She decided to name the tiger Ama. She named her after the rainforest they were in; the Amazon. "wees versigtig. Enigiets kan spring uit by ons op enige gegewe oomblik , wanneer in hierdie oerwoud." I overheard people whispering warnings to each other. I ran a little bit further towards the voices. I entered a small clearing, Ama following close behind her, and her papa lower his bow. "Suavage! ons gevind jou! Het jy seergekry?" He kept asking her if she was hurt, and she said no. "Tier!" One of the men yelled, then pointed to Ama. All of them raised their weapons, and her father pulled me aside. "NO!" She screamed and pushed past her father, then stood in front of Ama.

They immediately stopped shooting, but one of the arrows landed in my foot. I paid no attention to it since it just merely bounced off of me. "wat doen jy ? beweeg uit die pad sodat ons kan dit slag voor dit jy doodslaan!" 'Ama would never kill me. She protected me last night like one of her own. Now I have to return the favor' she thought. "sy beskerm my laaste nag! Ek vries ro dood kan hê nie, maar ek het geslaap met haar , en sy laat my !" She said her previous thought out loud.

Her father thought this through, before he agreed to not harm the animal.

He made Ama stay in the jungle, where she belonged, it was her home, and said that he would let her visit the animal once a day from morning until noon. Her happiness dilated at this simple statement.

She was looking into the tigers eyes later that day. Suavage had a bandage around her foot where the arrow landed, and Ama nudged it with her muzzle. She seemed to know what Ama was asking.

"You saved my life and I returned the favor." Those were the first, and only, words she ever spoke in English.

By: Kyleigh and Alexis Davis