The Ink Well Prompt #70
TITLE: TOO BIG AND TOO SMALL.
Ivory stood beside her mother with her stomach already producing it's own unique Opera Sounds. Sometimes it sounded like a grumbling sound and other times like a thunderstorm. Her mother was trying to reach for a leaf branch between two rocks. It was in the midst of all this that Ivory heard some chatter and as the sound came closer, she saw a group of calves strolling past them and she quickly raised a foot to cover her face. She didn't want them to see her.
A year ago the elephants in the forests of Kalungu were happy and living their lives with no duress. But suddenly that all changed when the locals there began to indiscriminately cut down trees that served as food and shelter for the elephants and also ruthlessly began the Ivory trade. Scores of Elephants in the forest were either hunted down, killed and their husks harvested or they had to Migrate.
Ivory and her mother were among those who were lucky enough to be alive to migrate.
They migrated to the not so nearby savannah fields of Bougu after days of travelling. They didn't want to travel in a crowd, the attention a crowd will draw will be too dangerous, so they travelled all alone. Only the two of them.
When they finally arrived Bougu they were discriminated against because the Clan there, were all bush elephants while Ivory and her mother were forest elephants. The Grandmatriach of the clan wouldn't accept them but a leader of one of the family groups, Matriarch Jaguar, had pity on Ivory, who was then a frail calf, the long traveling had taken it's till on the poor calf. So she took them in to her own family group.
Matriarch Jaguar was a huge elephant, she was 20years old, her trunk was looking all wrinkle and her ears were like a collapsed canopy that stands once in a while. Her family group was one of the least dignified in the Bougu clan. They were assigned with digging waterholes and also bush clearing.
Ivory was then a year old and 6months when she joined the Bougu clan. Matriarch Jaguar was able to get her admitted to the only calf school in the clan. In Bougu, Calf education was free for all family groups in the clan. Ivory was excited to be around other calves since they left the Kalangu clan.
But a particular group of calves soon began to mock her and she'd always feel embarrassed and soon going to school wasn't so exciting anymore.
Forest elephants were the smallest, in size, of all elephant species. They had smaller, rounded ears, thinner and straighter tusks than bush elephants. So Ivory with all these features was different from all other calves at the school who were all bush elephants. And she was constantly reminded of them and embarrassed of them. Even the calves in the Matriarch Jaguar's family group often looked at her in a weird way although they didn't say anything as Matriarch Jaguar was someone who doesn't condole such behaviors.
So one of the mornings while Ivory's mother was trying to get her breakfast between two rocks, Ivory saw those particular groups of calves that make jest of her at school and immediately rose one of her foot to cover her face. But Inspite, one of the calves stopped her groups chatter and said "hey guys, say hi to small ears" and they all chorused "hi small ears" as they burst into laughter and moved on.
Ivory's mother was still busy reaching for breakfast while all this happened, although she heard some noises. She was finally able to grab and break the branch and lay it down for Ivory to eat but soon noticed the countenance of Ivory had fallen. "What's wrong, baby" she asked "nothing ma, it's all good" Ivory replied. She didn't want her mother to Know of the matter else she'll go to school and make a scene, which only embarrass her more or so she thought.
Ivory's mother smiled at her and said "tell me what those calves earlier said to upset". Ivory tried to hide the matter but after a while told her mother all that had been going on. To Ivory's surprise her mother wasn't angry as she thought instead she burst into an hysterical laughter. "Ma, why are you laughing" Ivory asked with a look of Confusion on her face as she slowly used her trunk to put a leaf in her mouth.
"Let me tell you a story" her mother said.
"You can't be serious" Ivory said looking at her mother to get a confirmation that it wasn't some Joke. "You mean back at Kalangu, other Forest elephants called you big ears??" "Where did the big ears go, ma" Ivory asked.
Ivory's mother laughed all the more and told her that her ears had not shrunk but were still the same size. But the only difference was that she was in a different environment were she had smaller ears compared to the rest elephants.
Ivory's mother told her that in Kalangu other Forest elephants would have also made jest of the big ears of the bush elephants that were making jest of her. "It's just that these bush elephants see big ears as normal and a thing of pride, when they leave this savannah and meet a clan of forest elephants they'll know otherwise" Ivory's mother said "So Ivory, love yourself for who you are, you're not weird, you're just different and it's okay to be different".
Ivory used her trunk to hold her mother's foot in a show of affection. She was relieved to hear all her mother said. She felt no longer embarrassed by her features.