Msafiri/Story: Difference between revisions

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Though Msafiri wondered… why did the fish soup at the bonfire party that night taste a bit too salty?

|s4_title =

|s4_title = A Long, Long Time Ago

|s4_reward = 400

|s4_text =

|s4_text = It was an evening ten years ago.

"One, two, three..."

"One, two, three, four, five..."

Young Msafiri, who had just learned to count, was squatting on the ground and enthusiastically tracing the geometric patterns his mother had drawn around their camp. Three points, in groups of five — he shared the pattern he discovered with his little brother, who was still too young to speak. His brother tilted his head and twitched his ears, listening intently even if he didn't understand a word.

The tantalizing smell of roasted meat from the campfire teased young Msafiri's nose, and his empty stomach growled shamelessly in protest. ''Nope, no food until I learn this!'' he silently vowed.

...

Msafiri twitched his ears and wrinkled his nose as the memories came. The wild winds indiscriminately assaulted all in its path, chilling travelers to the bone. It had been three days and three nights, and Msafiri still hadn't tracked down any prey. The memories of roasted meat could no longer make him salivate. Forget about exploring the planet under these conditions — it was much more likely for him to end up a desiccated corpse and become one with this wilderness.

Msafiri could draw beautiful and elegant geometric patterns by hand now, but the question of his survival hung by a thread.

Could those patterns truly evoke ancient protection...? Msafiri wondered as he found a branch that could barely support his rest. He stared into the seemingly unchanging starry night and recalled another memory.

It was another day, ten years ago.

After finishing the night patrol, young Msafiri sneaked behind the tent again and, imitating his mother, picked up a stone and scratched a few wobbly triangles on the ground. His attempts almost seemed pitiful when compared to his mother's refined string of shapes, and that made him curious as to how exactly she managed to draw such straight lines.

As he carefully traced those lines with his stone, he caught a sudden "thud" from behind — his toddler brother had fallen. With a body that reacted faster than his mind, young Msafiri turned and rushed to scoop up his brother, not realizing that the beautiful triangles had been cut in half by a long, grave scratch.

"HISS!"

Caught in the moment, young Msafiri couldn't tell if his father was angry or simply concerned. Maybe it was his loud hisses, or maybe it was the hypnotic dance of the campfire... either way, Msafiri couldn't remember what exactly happened after. He vaguely recalled his mother telling him a story while pointing at the stars in the sky. A story about those geometric patterns.

Perhaps it was time to visit home after this expedition? It had been long since he last went back. But for now, Msafiri felt his eyelids grow heavy, and allowed the night to gently shut his eyes. Just a brief nap... a micro-nap that won't do any harm, he comforted himself. Frost began to form on top of his lashes as they quivered in the wind, but the bonfire in his dreams was simply so warm that he didn't want to wake up.

"Once upon a time, a long, long time ago..."

He could hear his mother's gentle voice again, but it jolted him awake instead.

Reflected in his bright pupils, several stars in the dark sky formed the shape he knew by heart and blinked to a pulse, as if responding to some query.

The stars were silent, but Msafiri felt as though he was under the watch of tender eyes. Beautiful memories weren't meant to be traps on his unwritten journey. They should be the strength that keeps him moving forward.

Msafiri finally climbed down the tree. ''This is not the end yet'', he thought to himself. And to his delight, another passing wind brought him the scent of prey.

}}