||The Legend of Taavi ||

|protect us|

            Taavi spent the next few days in recovery, letting her wounds heal properly before she returned to her family. James spent most of his day sitting next to her cot, reading to her and feeding her. He would teach her lessons when she wanted, but sometimes they just talked. James started teaching her American sign language to help her distinguish words apart and to link hand movements to her vocabulary to help understand the English language. Taavi always felt the fluttery pink feeling when she awoke from her pain-killer induced slumber and found her friend dozed off in his chair. Her wounds healed nicely, and within a week and a half, she was able to move around without fear of damaging anything.

On the twelfth day of staying at the camp, Taavi decided to return home, to let her family know that she was alive. She finally had enough energy to make it to the nests, and when she arrived, the gorillas were going about their day. All except Kala.

Kala sat in her nest, hunched over, and nervously nibbling a piece of passion fruit. Taavi knew she did this when she was anxiously waiting for something. Taavi approached her, and Kala turned around, her eyes bright.

"Mama," she said, smiling.

"Taavi, my child." Kala ran towards her and embraced her, holding her close, and causing Taavi to wince at the strain.

"I thought you were dead," Kala said, examining her daughter's wounds and bandages.

"I'm okay, Mama, I promise," said Taavi, brushing her mom away gently. "How are the others?"

Kala smiled sadly, "We didn't lose any, but they're still recuperating."

Taavi cocked her head to side in concern, knowing her mother was keeping a vital piece of information to herself. "And?"

Her mother's eye glinted mischievously. "The only thing that Sabor did to Kerchak was wound his ego."

Taavi laughed out loud suddenly, surprising herself. It felt good to smile naturally around her mother, it had been a while.

"Can I go visit him?" Taavi asked after a moment.

Kala nodded. "Be careful. He hasn't been in the best of moods lately."

Taavi accepted the answer, and took off to her father's hidden cove.

Kerchak's hidden cove was deep on the outskirts of the gorilla's nesting grounds, shielded by thick, long ropes of leaves from the trees towering above. Sunlight barely seeped through the canopy, and so the cove was coated in shadows, hard to spot to the naked eye. Only Kala and Taavi knew of Kerchak's secret place; a place he would hide when he was making a decision, or when he was just plain sad. Taavi wondered which it was this time.

She soundlessly slipped through the curtain of vines, and saw her father's figure – usually looming and intimidating – cowering in the corner, slumped in what looked like defeat.

"Father?" she whispered, creeping up behind him. The figure didn't make a sound.

"Father, it's Taavi," she said again, planting herself only a few feet away from him.

She listened for any acknowledgement, but she felt as though her father heard her perfectly. She knew her mistake.

"Kerchak?"

The silverback grunted noisily. "What is it you want?"

Taavi paused, swallowing hard. She hadn't thought this through; what did she want? Comfort? Normality? Or maybe just a little bit of concern from her father, maybe that was all Taavi needed to survive. Unfortunately, she would receive none of these necessities.