Shadows danced merrily on the stone walls as the cold winds threaten to blow out the ever feeble fire from the wood it consumed. Maral mindlessly fed a couple more branches to his only source of warmth and light from the raging tempest outside the cave. Unconsciously, his right hand crawled inside his satchel and felt the crisp dry leaf inside it, pulling out a ricecake wrapped in dried banana leaves brought him memories of Maanya, and gave him a smile with a bitter taste of irony.
It's just in case you can't manage hunt anything
It wasn't because Maral lacked the skills in hunting but instead the impossibility to hunt in this weather that he had to resort to his emergency provisions. Slowly he took a bite and savored the sweet soft rice, its flavor mixed splendidly with the aroma of the banana leaf bringing him memories of Maanya that warmed him up just enough against the cold winds the typhoon brought.
As soon as he was finished with his meal Maral approached the mouth of the cave and marvelled at the strength that nature could muster. Strong winds blasted everything around while torrents of water rained down from the sky, it was a scene of pure unadulterated power with a slight shade of beauty and at the same time plants fear in the hearts of men reminding them that there are forces outside their control.
Maanya told Maral a tale once between two individuals competing in the middle of a storm, it was about the proud and strong Narra and the weak and thin Kawayan. The Narra would always boast everyday how tough and strong he was that no beast would dare bend him and that no blade made by man could ever scratch his tough bark and all the while he berated the Kawayan for being too soft and easy to bend against others all the time. It was until the storm came before Narra realized how wrong he was for so he thought that he was so strong that he could endure the vicious winds it brought until he was violently uprooted from the ground he stood and fell with a mighty thud. Kawayan on the other hand bent and danced along with the wind, he was enjoying the very wind that painfully tore every leaf on the Narra's already broken branches.
However amusing the story was it was something the he could not agree with for bowing down is a sign of weakness and one who is strong must be strong to the very end even if he must break like the Narra.
Seeing as the storm showed no sign of leaving any time soon Maral retreated back inside the cave to rest and upon reaching the bonfire he realized that he was but a trespasser upon someone's home. Near the fire was a wild cat with a coat of golden brown adorned with uneven stripes of black nestling her young with the warmth of the fire. He knew of this beast for they were hunted long ago for their intricately designed hide until almost none of them were left nor could they be found.
Maral tried to offer his host with some of his kakanin but it seems that the fire he brought was more than enough as an offering for they paid no mind for his food, Maral then lay to the opposite side of the cats to give them space and slept the rest of the day for tomorrow.
It was not the loud roaring of the winds nor it's cold breeze that woke Maral but instead the complete lack of it, he opened his eyes and stood up to find the fire burnt out and the cats gone along with the storm. Maral ran outside the cave to see if the sky has cleared up but saw dark clouds blanketing the sky, it seems they were inside the eye of the storm where the wind is calm and a sign that the storm has passed halfway through. Maral decided to take this opportunity to look for food may it be fruit or meat.
Maral ran through the forest jumping over the fallen trees and past their foliage, it seems that the passing of the storm did not bring ruin to the forest like he imagined and instead it felt serene. Only few of the trees were lying on their sides and the others were just leaning in an angle, it seems that if you're strong enough you really can withstand even the strongest of winds. Maral could not help but smile as he thought that you really can't rely on stories and fables to teach you about reality.
