The Fire Orchid

My little Calf

...Maybe not.

Hello, my name is Alphonse Bridget of Aldebaran, a Spotted Hoof with a desire to be a human hero! Yes, yes, I know that sounds a bit too fanciful, since to be a human hero I need to be... a human? Well, that's my goal anyway and only a miracle could change my mind!

Besides, you came to know my story, right? Well then, I'll tell it to you as if it was a few hours ago that it all started. Which isn't too difficult, since I was born with a great gift that can be said as a blessing or a curse depending on the moment.

I was born with a curse to remember the most painful memories I went through and a blessing so that I never forget the most amazing moments I could share with the people who filled my life with color. To put it bluntly, I was born with the gift to never forget.

That's it! I remember everything I have lived! From the first seconds I came into existence in this world, the first phrases of love coming from my mother and how sweet and warm her milk was. I even remember the moment when I learned that the date of my death sentence was being discussed a few minutes after my birth.

The reason?

I was born during the fall, in a calm and frosty weather at the end of April. The first scents I could smell were of wet earth and the smell of my mother, who for some reason, unknown to me to this day, smells of chestnuts and mint. I remember her lifting me up in her arms, brushing her ear gently against my nose and breathing a sigh of relief when she realized I was breathing.

Her first words to me were "Welcome, my little calf", and she carefully placed me before her bountiful bosom for my first meal.

About the tent where I was born, I imagine it was a comfortable place. Perhaps with some huge battle axes, food stored in clay jars, a fire in the middle of the room and a bed of straw and rags where she put me to sleep to the sound of her heartbeat.

Unfortunately, or not, it took a while before I could see. So, I hope this doesn't bother you, but I will only say what I could see with my other senses. At least only during this part of my story.

I would like to say that my first days of life are the best memories that come to mind every time I look at that hazelnut-colored fur that covers my mother's entire body. Unfortunately, I know that never happens, with all those scars it's hard to deny that I'm to blame for most of them, being that those were moments when she had to risk herself to protect me.

I was lying down, still on the straw bed, when I felt everything around me starting to shake harder and harder as he approached our tent. With such heavy footsteps, he already entered announcing his arrival, even if it wasn't necessary with all the noise. My mother only had time to put me in his arms and greet him.

Her heart was racing so fast that each beat felt like a gentle push on my face. Even though she tried to disguise her heavy breathing, it was obvious that his presence was so frightening as to knock the air out of her lungs. If it were my mother alone, dealing with him, she would certainly not have any of these tremors, but when it came to me and my conditions, it was inevitable.

I felt her moving and then slowly arching her back, she had sat down by the fire that kept the cold of the mountain peak away from us. I didn't understand how a guy like that could fit the description of Estefan C. Butterfly, with every movement, especially when he sat down on the ground, everything around us shook to the point that it looked like it was going to collapse.

The Tribe Chief scratched his throat, breaking an uneasy silence between the two of us.

— It's been a week and she's still too small and too thin. You know what must be done. And make it short, I don't want rumors spreading to every corner and tribe of these mountains about us having a weak and filthy cub living in our territory.