Sajira - Chapter 1
Walking slowly across the beach, Caala sniffed the form lying in the sand. It was unlike anything she had ever seen. It's coloring was pale, and it's fur, if you could call it that, was a bright reddish orange. It had some kind of pelt wrapped around it's body and Caala couldn't understand how it could walk on it's limbs. They were disproportionate. There's no way it could use all four of them. Caala sniffed again, then stepped back as the form began to move.Slowly, the young girls eyes flitted open. She was in pain and couldn't focus. 'Mommy' she thought, closing her eyes. 'Where's my mommy?' An overwhelming sense of grief settled over her, although she didn't know why. Once again she attempted to open her eyes. As they began to focus, they also began to widen. She sucked in her breath and held still as she possibly could, hoping the large beast would move on.
Caala looked at her intently, wondering what she was. Somehow Caala instinctively knew it was a girl, and that she was scared. Looking into her eyes, Caala realized she was still quite young. The innocence and naivety shone bright through the girls green eyes. Hesitantly Caala nudged the girls leg with her head, trying to be reassuring. The girl only tensed more. Caala walked a few paces away and sat down to keep an eye on her. There were other animals on this island that would not be reassuring.
The girl watched the animal, and tried to make sense of what she was seeing. It had the form of a cat, but it was about twice as large. The animal was pure black, except for what appeared to be two purple lines down each side of its body. 'It's gorgeous' she thought, also wondering what it was. As the girl watched with a look of awe on her face, the large cat stood up and walked back over. Tentatively both the girl and the cat moved toward each other, until the girl was lightly rubbing the cat's head.
"My name is Caala."
The girl jerked her arm back and looked at the animal in front of her. "What did you say?" She asked, her voice sounding loud and empty on the island.
"My name is Caala. I am speaking to your mind. I can't talk, not the way you can."
The girl sat there for a moment, tears welling up in her eyes. 'I want to go home' she thought, and then remembered she didn't have a home. She began crying softly, wanting everything to go back to the way it was. She knew it couldn't, but she wanted it so badly.
Caala tried to console the girl. "It's alright. Whatever it is, it will be okay. I'll take care of you…"
"No!" the girl screamed looking up at Caala. It was then she realized that the girl was not as innocent as she once thought.
"I don't want anyone to take care of me. I'll make it on my own." 'Somehow' she added silently. The girl quickly ran away, hoping Caala would not follow.
Caala laid down on the beach, watching and listening where the girl went. The large animal let out a sigh, knowing the girl needed help but was unwilling to accept it. 'She's probably been hurt, or misguided in some way. She's young and naïve. I'll have to slowly build up her trust, and hopefully her love.'