The Tiger Inside

Chapter 1| Childhood as a Cub

When Flaw was a cub, her mother learned to protect and feed her children without a father to take care of them. Yes, the winter nights were cold and lonely when her mother had to leave to find food. Yes, some of the cubs died before the next spring. But Flaw was determined to stay alive. Somehow.

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When Flaw was born, it took her just two days to finally open her eyes. She was the runt of the litter and even she knew it. Her name explained it and her loner like actions when it came to meal time.

Let me explain something. When Flaw was born, twelve other cubs had already been out for a couple hours at the least. Her mother, April, had seen that Flaw was crippled in her left hind leg. So she named her Flaw because she wasn't perfect like the others when she was born. Sad I know. But the worst part was when mealtime came around. April had a limited suply of milk, meaning first come first serve, and the early cubs had known that to be the way of life.

Flaw on the other hand. Never pushed of shoved or screamed when she didn't get anything to eat or drink. She simply walked out of the cave casiously and drank some of the water in the puddle outside. And that was life for the young crippled cub.
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As spring turned into summer and summer turned to fall, most of the cubs had trippled their size. They understood that father was never coming back and that mother was the boss forever, or until they left the den. Flaw knew they had a father, he just never came. She knew if she talked to mother more than four times a day, she would get annoyed and force Flaw to sleep outside the cave. Flaw learned this the first summer when she talked to mother twelve times that day, earning a "Number one spot" under the stars. Though April never did this to her other cubs, she didn't like taking care of a crippled tiger cub and knowing any day could be it's last. She didn't want to deal with seeing a dead cub in her cave. And that's when she made the rule. And she thought it would work, the cub would want to talk to her more than four times a day and be sent outside every night, and most likely get taken away by another animal. But that never happened because after the first three nights under the stars, the cub got the hang of it and only talked to her mother four times a day.
Sad I know. Selfish, I know. Why would a mother want to do that to a cub? A crippled one at that? Was it worth not waking up to see a dead cub? Why not cherish the baby more than any other and make sure it's always healthy?
These options never crossed her mind because she was too scared she would lose her favorite cub the next day. You would think she hated her crippled cub, but it was her favorite, because she looked exactly like her father. And her father died trying to get April to saftey. And that's why Flaw was her favorite. She never fought and she always put others before herself.

But why name your favorite cub Flaw as in ' you have so many flaws that your name will always be that way to make you remember' ? Because Flaws father's name was Flam, and Flaw kinda sounds like Flam. And April promised herself she would never forget Flam. And that's why she named her Flaw.

Dumb, I know. Stupid plan, I know. But Flaw got the hang of it and never questioned her mother on her ridiculous logic. She learned to watch from the side lines and eat the left overs when everyone was alseep.
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As fall turned to winter and the cubs were old enough to eat real food, the mother would be gone for long periods of time to hunt the food they needed. Groups of six huddled together so they could keep warm and not freeze. Meanwhile, Flaw was following mother and watching her hunt so she could get up and moving, which keeps your body warm, and so she could be the first to learn how to hunt properly. Her leg almost never got in the way because she worked with it when everyone was eating and in her free time, she worked with it even harder. Her left leg was just as strong as her right leg, if not a tad stronger. And Flaw had something to be proud of.

As her mother stopped and stalked the bunnies laying ahead, Flaw also stopped to see what her mother was going to do. April ducked low, and Flaw coppied. She got in a pouncing position, and so did Flaw. But when it came time to attack, Flaw ducked even lower so her mother couldn't see her but she could still watch. That day her mother saw Flaw ducking low and asked why she wasn't in the cave.

Flaw simply replied,"I wanted to watch you hunt so I could try to be as good as you some day." That night she slept under the stars, not because she was forced to, because she begged her mom so she could see the winter stars.

April thought the young cub would freeze up and die like four of her others did, but when she woke up, she walked out to see Flaw stalking a baby bunny and then kill it just like she had done the day before. Flaw walked back with the bunny in her jaws and all the other cubs thought it was for them. Like I said, first cone first serve.

April saw that her favorite cub was going to get robbed by her siblings so she stopped in front of them and spoke softly but clearly and said,"Flaw has earned this on her own, she killed it and she will eat it. All on her own. And if I see you even breath on that bunny, you will get to spend the week under the stars."

It was about time to stick up for your favorite cub. And that was the only time she did. Flaw felt great, but hid her pride. She continued to do this throughout the winter, so she wouldn't starve to death or freeze. And I say good for her because she was one of the seven that didn't die that winter. And the next spring, she was four times the size than she was before.