Tiger's Beginning

The air was crisp as I sucked in a breath before quickly puffing it back out again. I pumped my legs to the rhythm of my breath. Breathe. Step. Breathe. Step. Breathe. Step. I enjoyed the view of the lush tree line in the distant on this cloudy morning. Finally reaching the top of the cliff, I looked over to see the brackish waters crashing onto the cliff. It was a couple of hundred feet down, and it still made me a little dizzy even though I had been to this very spot countless times before. As I closed my eyes I felt the cool breeze caress my face. I opened them to find myself in the midst of a forest. I was at the base of a huge redwood tree, and I looked up to see a canopy above me. As I craned my neck to try and spot some sunlight, I heard rustling behind me, so I turned and saw fire, suspended in the air, in a circular form. Realizing I was having a dream, I walked over to the ring of fire. I reached my hand out to touch it, a delicate hand emerged from the flames and I stepped back. A beautiful woman in a red sari materialized out of the flames. She stood with her hands held together and seemed to be waiting for something, or someone. A few seconds later, a man stepped into the forest. He was very handsome, with dark hair and gold eyes dressed in black clothing. He had wrinkles around his eyes, showing he smiled often. The ring of fire behind them began to vanish, but the couple did not seem disturbed by this. They just looked at me in contentment. I decided I needed to speak so being the brilliant person I am I said,

 “That was a neat trick.”

The woman smiled while the man chuckled softly. He said,

 “Anamika, I knew she was the one. Can’t you tell already? She even resembles her.”

 I looked at them quizzically and asked, “Were you looking for me?” The man became serious and gestured for us to sit. I looked and saw a wooden table with a pot of tea surrounded by three small chairs.

Well that’s convenient. I wonder if I could do something like that. 

Once we all sat down and everyone had poured their tea, the man spoke.

 “What is your name, may I ask?”

 “Grace.”

He nodded and was quiet for a little bit, sipping his tea before Anamika touched his arm lightly and whispered,

“We don’t have much time.”

He sighed and turned to me saying,

“Grace, I am Sohan Kishan Rajaram, once a prince of the Mujulaain Empire and the great tiger of the goddess Durga. I know you probably have many questions, but because Anamika and I were only able to come to you in a dream, we do not have much time. You will soon meet my brother. Once you meet him, you need to give him a message. Please tell him that a new enemy has arisen from the homeland of Lokesh. He needs to go to the birthplace of Rajaram and seek the ageless teacher. Also tell him that to defeat this new evil, he will need another key component much like those in the curse that was once thought broken.”

This supposed prince spoke so earnestly, I really hoped I would remember all of this.

“How do I fit into all of this? Why am I the one telling him, why can’t you tell him?”

Kishan, which he insisted I call him, explained,

“I wish that I could, but it would upset the balance of time and nature. I will talk to him soon, just not yet. And to answer your first question, you are one of the key pieces in this quest.”

I was very confused now, but nodded anyways. Anamika soon touched Kishan's arm, and he rose. I noticed the ring of fire had appeared again.

“Thank you Grace. And know that we will meet again in the future.”

He smiled briefly before he turned and the two vanished. I frowned and turned back to see the table gone. Curses and evil? I don’t think I like being involved in any way in this sort of thing. I looked back to the spot and saw only the forest extending as far as I could see. I gazed at the greenery, and started running. I looked ahead and saw a spot of black. I squinted and the spot got closer. It seemed like it was moving. Soon enough I saw four limbs. The animal moved to my right and kept up with me. I looked and saw a black tiger. It looked up at me, and I saw it had golden eyes. I wasn’t scared, and kept running as our feet beat in sync, as well as our hearts.

Thank you so much for reading! Let me know what you think about this take from Colleen's amazing story! :) Also I want to try something out! I will put a quote at the end of the story, and in the comments you can guess to who the quote pertains! 

"Be curious, not judgmental"-Walt Whitman