Every Little Life Matters

A Elephant's Story

Here's a short story that I wrote to explain the lives of elephants in the circus!

The Story of My Life (No, not the 1D song)

Liberation from Abuse

Hello, my name is Nirmala, I'm a cute little elephant from Burma. My life began so, so happy. However, I was taken from my herd. I was painfully broken to perform painful actions. My story is mostly hidden from people or they won't go to circuses. However, I will make my story heard so that others who are not as lucky as I am will be heard. Now, on with the story of my life...

So the first thing that I remember in my life would probably be in the home I was from. I was from the warm, luscious jungle of Burma. Amay (that's mom in Burmese) would always be patient with me no matter what would happen. You see, I was very active and the other elephants didn't always like that. I would splash and run and do all that. In fact, when it was time to sleep, the only things that made me sleep was Amay. She would forage with me to find special plants in the jungle. Amay knew what kinds of plants would make me drowsy. Then she would manage me to sleep. She was the best mom in the world.

"Amay, how do you know what plants are good and bad?" I asked one night.

"Oh Nirmala, my amay would tell me what it is when I was young." she said with a smile.

"You're so smart!" I said, I was grateful for a good amay like her. She once told me about other things like snakes who don't even see their moms when they're born. They just are expected to know their way she says. I'm glad that I'm not a snake, Couldn't live without Amay. After taking my medicine, I snuggled with Amay as she blew air on my neck to cool me off. Amay does so much for me, she always put my priorities before hers.

That was my life. A few weeks later I had so much fun. Amay and I went off into our secret retreat away from the rest of the herd. We splashed in the little lake with a waterfall. I was still practicing drinking with my trunk. It feels weird but Amay says that will go away. My trunk is just softer since I'm so young.

"Watch this!" she exclaimed. Putting her trunk in the water, she blew and a ring of bubbles appeared.

"How did you do that?" I was mystified by one of her many talents. I tried that. I only succeeded in making splashes. Then we heard a trumpet sound.

"I'm sorry, we've got to go back to the herd, it's snack time."

"I love snack time! Maybe today they've got some mangoes or papayas." I exclaimed. I haven't eaten them in days. One of the reason I'm so happy is because of Amay.

Then as Amay once warned me: all that goes up, must come down. I knew she meant that everything that is happy will not going to always be good. I figured that since Amay is my happiness, I will never be sad. But I found out I was right, unfortunately. People, as Amay called them came. Amay says most of the time, they're nice, they give us free food, the food is weird. It tastes like soft wheat and grains that is mashed and stuck together. I actually like it! Amay calls it bread. But they make me pass lots of gas so Amay says not to eat to much.

Then, when I was bout, maybe a little over one years old, came the day when people came with weird vines, they were unbreakable. They chained up Amay. I couldn't believe it! How could anyone hurt my mom. She didn't do anything to them. I rushed to her. I held her trunk. Then they wrapped me with it also. They dragged me and shocked me with what's called and electroprod. "Amay! whats happening?" Amay never told me about this. "Nirmala, you must let go or you will get hurt more." she instructed. I did so and they used the prod to force me into a crate. Amay was finally let go. She ran as fast as she could to me. "Amay!" I could see her eyes, so full of grief and she sank to weep. I was going up in the air. I had no idea how it was happening. I didn't care, I felt as if I could no longer see her again. That was the worst day of my life. I just lie down in the tiny crate and wept for Amay. I could picture her doing the same.