The Serval Brothers
“In the green heart of the Sub-Saharan desert, a storm raged violently, lashing the now arid land with relentless fury! The land concerned, voiced its complaints, tired of the never-ending struggle between the sun and rain.”
“Rain, you give me relief, but the unrelenting sun takes it all away,” the land sighed, longing for some balance between the sun’s scorching heat and the rain’s life-giving power…”
Adisa recounted one of his fascinating stories during an ongoing storm. His brothers listened intently to pass the time. The only place Ekon, Sefu, Vuyo, Adisa, and Lasisi could seek shelter was in an abandoned aardvark burrow tucked away from the river’s edge where they called home. They gathered close to one another, finding comfort in Adisa’s stories and in each other’s company as thunder and lightning tore across the sky.
Day came, and again the land begged, “Sun, your warmth saves me from the overflowing rain, but the rain either comes too late or swamps everything”, the land groaned, caught between the sun’s life-giving power and the unpredictable nature of the rain…” Adisa continued.
The storytelling became somewhat of a ritual to help their youngest brother Sefu who used to jump at every sound in this weather. Although the eldest brother Lasisi would never admit it, he enjoyed the stories too. It reminded him of their beautiful mother who was now too far to reach.
A memory flashed, Lasisi couldn’t erase the look on the Leopard’s face as she snarled her teeth at him with his mother’s neck placed between them. The serval brothers had been in hiding ever since.
Adisa, the middle cub, took after their mother the most. However, Ekon was the one who made it obvious he missed her the most, and Vuyo the fourth of the brothers, well, he was more of a wild card after parting ways with the way their lives used to be.
Yet, he loved his brothers more than anything in the entire world.
“What happened next, what happened next?” Sefu blurted out excitedly. His reaction had everyone else bursting into laughter.
It wasn’t their first time hearing this particular story, but no one ever said anything. They were happy to see their little brother growing up so well.
Before the story could come to an end, there was a loud thump from outside, like something had fallen.
Lasisi's ears immediately perked up on high alert, “Wait, I heard a noise.”
Even a pin drop could be heard in the cave that night, and the storm outside drowned the echoes of their voices.
Unless something was close, close enough to hear the thumping sound they just heard.
“I heard it too”, Ekon whispered as he made his way closer to Lasisi who was now at the entrance of the cave but far enough to not be spotted by anything approaching.
“Thump!”
This time the sound got louder.
“There it is again.” Ekon said to Lasisi.
All eyes turned to Sefu who was now behind Adisa and Vuyo. To show his bravery, Sefu then made his way up towards his eldest brothers, and both Adisa and Vuyo followed behind him.
“Wait here, I'll scope out the place and see where the sound is coming from”, said Lasisi.
“I’m coming with you, Lasi”, Ekon volunteered.
An agreement came with a nod as Lasisi told his other brothers to take care and not to step out no matter what.
On this turbulent night, the two brothers happened upon an unexpected sight. A human who would later be known as Luke, was lost and soaked from the downpour.
No, he was running away from something. The brothers approached warily, hiding behind bushes and light on their feet.
Luke, the human, was exhausted and confused, and the lightning strikes in his eyes seemed to reflect fear. “What is he running from Lasi, can you see?” Ekon whispered.
“Shh, quiet.” The observant Lasisi soon realized who the human was running from, a Leopard. “No!” Lasisi quietly exclaimed.
“Ekon, we need to get out of here, let’s go.”
Ekon then poked out his head enough that he met Luke’s eye, and despite their inability to communicate verbally, Luke and the young serval developed a silent understanding in the middle of the mayhem, so he followed.
“What are you doing Ekon, why is the boy following us?”
Ekon didn't say a word. The Leopard had suddenly stopped. Luke and the servals didn’t. They ran as fast and as far as they could in the opposite direction of the serval’s home.
Luke followed the serval cats through the wilderness not knowing where he was being led, until they slowed down pace. Lasisi quickly scouted ahead, making sure they were safe with his unmatched agility. Ekon stood watch, his sharp senses picking up on any impending danger. Lucky for them, they were safe.
However, the poacher that was trailing behind the Leopard and controlling it was bent on finding the boy. They would soon cross paths again.
“Uh Oh, what do we do now? The boy is beat.” Ekon said jokingly.
In between exhaustion and trying to catch his breath, Luke uttered a prayer of gratitude to the divine and turned his gaze towards the serval cats, his eyes showing a deep sense of appreciation.
Luke blurted out, “I can’t thank you enough for guiding me,” acknowledging the two cats whose guidance had been crucial to his escape from the poacher. But before they could enjoy their brief moment of relaxation, Lasisi’s piercing gaze shot towards Ekon, a silent warning for jesting at such a dangerous situation.
“We have to keep going. There’s a poacher nearby trying to kill me.” Luke clarified in a worried tone, “He’d be more than thrilled to chance upon rare serval cats in these savannahs.
“I used to believe that the extremes of the four seasons had driven your kind extinct. The poacher controls the leopard that was after me. The poor thing has a shocker around its neck.”
The shaky partnership between the human and the cats created a survival bond in the dangerous Savannah, with each member depending on the other for safety as danger approached.
They faced an uncertain fate in the unforgiving wild due to the impending threat of the poacher and his leopard.
“That’s right, Adisa didn’t finish the story,” said Ekon, breaking the silence.
Lasisi rolled his eyes at his brother’s remark and pondered out loud, walking back and forth.
“A poacher hunting with a leopard that has a shocker around its neck…”
He was trying to make sense of it all.
“Is that the new name for a name tag?” Lasisi concluded.
He then looked at Luke with confusion as did Ekon.
“Shocker, the boy doesn't speak serval cat.” Ekon said.
That’s when the memory of his mother and the Leopard flashed again before Lasisi’s eyes.
That Leopard had an owner too it seemed, for she also had a name tag around its neck…the shocker.”
Luke proceeded to tell the servals stories about shockers and how cruel they were—devices meant to cause pain to helpless creatures. Ekon held back on any jokes after.
Then Luke got up, his desire to get away from the poacher driving him with an increased level of determination. He started to cross the river with a steady step, a calculated move to avoid the poacher’s impending threat. The cats followed as they listened on. Luke retraced their steps down the other side of the shallow river, planning to get completely ahead of the poacher, possibly unseen.
The more the storm raged, the more obvious the poacher’s evil intent became. He set out to capture the boy with the leopard in the storm. Since poaching was illegal, he had to get rid of the boy for chancing upon the act.
Even so, the leopard had no ill intentions in spite of it being in charge of capturing the boy for the poacher.
So when the unceasing rain revealed a distinct trail—the serval cats’ paw prints, along with the boy’s shoe prints—destiny weaved an unexpected thread through the events that followed.
The leopard felt a sudden and strong surge of anger at the sight of the animal prints.
The poacher’s avaricious eyes were fixed on the prints at the same time, a green sparkle in them. He finally hit the jackpot.
The poacher, pulled out the button for the shocker from his left pocket, the one fear-inducing tool for the leopard. He held a long-range hunting rifle in his other hand. The leopard was alert and nervous; it could feel the growing danger from its wide-open eyes and twitchy fur.
“Leopard, show me the way,” the poacher said, breaking through the noise of the storm. He held up the shocker, a frightening weapon that hinted at harm and control, and said, “Find them.”
Fear took the place of anger as the terrified and cornered leopard’s eyes begged for help in the pouring rain.
“I-I can find them,” the leopard stammered, its voice shaking with dread as it searched the terrain, desperately attempting to avoid the poacher’s cruel torture.
At the sound of what the poacher heard as a low, guttural growl, he knew that the leopard understood.
Back in the cave, Adisa continued his tale, attempting to calm the nerves of his brothers.“
“…The land realized that it wasn’t the sun or the rain’s fault for unknowingly causing havoc—it was the interference of some very bad men that disrupted the balance, until the good guys came to the rescue.”
On the other hand, the leopard followed the poacher’s instructions and started to walk in the path that Luke and the two servals had taken. The three had taken cover in a nearby tree as the rain persisted, intending to hide their footprints. Luke knew that hiding their footprints would be their only chance as he peered down at the sodden earth.
“Stay quiet and don’t make any sudden movements,” he whispered to the servals. Their uneasiness was evident from the rustling leaves above, as their huddled shapes attempted to blend in with the branches. The poacher trailed closely behind the leopard as they approached the spot warily.
The poacher looked around, his eyes narrowing. He mumbled, “They must be close,” as he moved forward cautiously. The tension in the tree grew. Aware of the danger lurking underneath them, the servals exchanged concerned glances. Luke leaned against the tree trunk, hoping that their hiding place would remain intact. The poacher heard the disturbance and looked around.
“There! He shouted, “Up in the tree!” when he noticed a slight movement among the branches, but a bird flew out in view.
As he saw what was happening take place, Lasisi’s breath seized in his throat. He exchanged a strained look with the startled leopard who had found them by their scent. He felt a wave of conflicting emotions. Panic enveloped them all, and the bird’s distraction offered a little respite.
The interruption did not last long. The poacher’s attention snapped back, and in that crucial moment, the leopard, recognizing a familiar sight, a cub it once knew, hesitated. The memories of the cub’s helplessness and frailty returned, filling the leopard’s eyes with sympathy.
The leopard acted instantly after realizing that this was no ordinary situation. Determined to keep the cub it had known safe, it made a bold move and darted off to the side, leading the poacher away.
Their motions were masked by the rain, but it was clear that the poacher was determined to keep going, and the leopard was trying desperately to distract him. Though confused, Lasisi felt a lot of conflicting emotions at seeing a reminder of his mother’s end that he bitterly blamed the leopard for. He froze at the sudden turn of events. He cast a quick glance at Luke and Ekon, who were still poised precariously in the tree, their eyes wide with fear, Ekon, with excitement as well.
“That was close,” Ekon said, his voice barely heard over the raging storm. As he spoke, a deep revelation struck and left both confusion and surprise on his face.
Lasisi sensed Ekon’s bewilderment; it reflected his own. His voice became more urgent as he asked again,
“Did you see who the leopard was?”
The storm appeared to mirror his discomfort. Lasisi remained quiet.
“I wonder why she did that," Ekon added. Although Luke could not make out what they were saying, he could tell it had to do with what the leopard did as he too was surprised. The leopard clearly spotted them.
“Let’s go home,” Lasisi said firmly, a hint of unease clinging to his words. As they began descending from the tree, Ekon voiced his concern, “What about the boy?”
Lasisi’s gaze lingered, contemplating, before he replied, “He can come along.”
But before they could fully descend, Luke’s voice carried in the wind, “Wait up!”
The urgency in Luke’s cry struck a chord, and Lasisi hesitated, a ripple of worry crossing his face. The shout inadvertently caught the poacher’s attention, who, alerted by the commotion, swiftly turned back, setting his sights on them.
With the leopard at his side, he charged, determined to reclaim his pursuit.
“Run!” Lasisi shouted, the intensity of the moment urging them into swift action. All Lasisi could think of was that, “one time may have been by luck but what about a second time?”
It didn’t help that he was now leading them straight to their hideout.
The wind howled around them as they scrambled, adrenaline-fueled, hearts pounding with the leopard and poacher closing in.
“Thump!”
“Adisa, did you hear that?”, Vuyo whispered. The boys were startled when they heard a small sound in the cave during the storm’s pause.
“Thump!”
Vuyo and Adisa exchanged worried looks, and Sefu, who was pretending to fall asleep, admitted that he had heard it.
“It’s getting louder, like before.”
“Perhaps Lasi and Ekon are back,” Vuyo speculated, his voice barely above a whisper.
Adisa and Vuyo looked out as the disturbance got louder, anticipating their brothers’ returning home.
Lasisi and Ekon’s forms were visible through the heavy downpour, but their warning cries were muffled by it. Sefu, sensing that they were approaching, decided to meet them halfway.
All of a sudden, in the middle of the storm, they noticed the others behind their brothers: a boy, a man armed with a rifle, and the leopard trailing behind them. Vuyo reacted quickly, snatching Sefu by the scruff and scurrying back into the cave. Adisa stood, transfixed by the unfolding chaos outside, frozen in disbelief.
“Wait here,” Vuyo instructed Sefu, leaving him sheltered within the cave. With a voice full of wrath, he returned to the fight and faced the leopard upon recognizing her; “How dare you show up here?!”
All four brothers were now together, and the boy stood behind them to protect the entrance of the cave. Sefu, the smallest of the servals, was in the cave.. The poacher let out a loud laughter at what he had found. He was going to be far richer than he had ever imagined.
As the commotion escalated, the truth unfolded—a chilling revelation. The serval brothers discovered that the poacher, not the leopard, had ended their mother's life. The leopard (their mother's friend) had suffered unimaginably for hiding her body in a place the poacher couldn’t desecrate.
The leopard pounced as the poacher’s shocker unbuckled, hitting the ground, saving the brothers and herself. Calm replaced the raging storm. The serval brothers, along with the boy, stood awe-struck by the majestic sight of the leopard, now at peace. The leopard, having been taken prisoner, was now free.
Their eyes met—serval and leopard—acknowledging the shared pain. The sound of freedom rang across the savannah, ending the poacher’s reign of terror as the storm finally seized.
THE END.
Events dedicated to Poaching Awareness : "World Wildlife Conservation Day (Dec 4), World Wildlife Day (March 3), and World Rhino Day (Sept 22)."
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