The vehicle jostles around as the bus hits the almost infinite potholes in the winding road. Due to it being out in the grasslands, no one dared to face the wilderness to spend the hours to fix the road. Many locals knew about the fabled Bengal tigers, roaming the plains of Asia. Frightening many people away, it enticed people like Jennifer to come closer. She leaned against the metal walls of the eroding bus, accidentally smudging a bit of rust on her pale blue shirt. Almost wooing her to sleep, the sounds of the crickets chirped in unison, almost like a choreography of music. It was becoming dim outside, the sun dipping into the ground, melting the heavens and the earth, a call to sleep for many humans and animals alike. Luckily for her, the animal she was interested in wasn’t diurnal, but nocturnal. She was interested in the tigers, specifically the Bengal.
“Miss?” The driver called out from the driver’s seat, “We are almost at the viewing peak, I’ll keep an eye out for you,” he added in broken English and a heavy Asian accent. She nodded at him through the rear view mirror to alert him that she had heard what the man had said.
Just as she started to relax back into the comfortable position she had been in earlier, her phone started to right. She hastily pulled it out of her jean pocket and looked at the LCD screen, it was her sister, Lacey. She flipped open the phone to answer the call, as she did almost every second of the day. Her battery blinked red, a sign of over use of the precious phone. “Hey Lacey! What up?” She yelled into the phone, trying to overcome the clatter of the pebble road.
After a while of talking to Lacey, the final notification came up, only 5% of battery power left. “Hey it was great taking to you, and I’m glad you’re worried about me, but my phones about to die. I got to go”. She hushed a hasty, ‘I love you’, before she finally got the phone in her pocket, how completely dead. She was cut off from the world, out here in the wilderness.
It was silent for a little while, and she felt herself drifting to sleep. Everything was eerily silent, the crickets nor the cicadas dare let out one chirp, for the looming feeling like a dark cloud covering the sun on a typically bright day. She jolts awake with a squeal as she is thrown around as a tiger runs rampant beside her. She looks through the smuggled windows, the feline just an orange and brown streak against the night sky. It almost looks like it is running in fear, but what could make a mighty creature like the tiger quiver in fear? Its eyes shined a reflective green in the luminescent headlights of the bus, as if you are looking into its very soul. This is what she had been looking for, a chance to see the tiger in action, in nature, but this, this is not natural. This is as far as you can get from it. In the back of Jennifer’s mind, a hint of what was about to come loomed over her, but she pushed it back, unwilling to think of the harsh reality.
Suddenly, almost like glass shattering on the pavement, a gunshot, the gunshot, was heard. For a split second, nothing moved, everything was drowned in silence. Nothing dared move, nothing dared run, it all just stood still, watching, waiting what would happen next. After that moment had passed, it all took motion. Every animal was running, calling out for help but no one came. The poacher stood by the tiger, the animal grasped in his hands. He stood with a proud grin on his face, like what he had done was a great triumph, like he was doing something heroic. Still in a state of shock, Jennifer heard a voice calling out from the front of the automobile, “Don’t worry, that happens all the time”. She assumed that was meant to be an act of reassurance, but it was a far from it as anything could be. She wished she could do something, stop these poor animals from being hunted for sport.
She staggered back, her knees almost quite giving out then and there. She searched for something to lean on, to try to catch her breath. ”It’s funny”, she whispered to herself, try to catch her breath, “I wasn’t even the victim, yet I’m still out of breath.” She sat down on a pale brown burlap sheet, accidentally pulling down the rest of it the process. The dust piled on top of her, a repercussion for the action. She turned around slowly, worried on what she might see when she faced what was behind her. When she finally twisted around, wary at the very least, she was greeted with a pleasant site. It wasn’t scary, it wasn’t broken, like everything else in this place. It was simply elegant. There wasn’t any other way to describe it. She had never seen anything so alluring in her life.
It was an old Victorian mirror. The brown polish was chipping, and the mirror had lost its shine, but it was still so beautiful. It called to Jennifer, whispering small hints of words here and there. Everything else had melted away, there wasn’t any other thing in the world at the moment. No tigers, no poachers, not even a world before the mirror. There was just now, this very moment. She was calm, calmer than she should have been, for only seconds ago, her heart was beating out of her chest. She looked at her reflection through it, she didn’t see a trace of her. At least in the eyes; she saw only the tiger’s eyes, confused, desperate, and animalistic.
Before she knew it, her hand was reaching out, just itching to touch the mirror. Her fingertips skimmed the cold surface, not like touching any other object though. No, this was completely different, she was touching what felt like mist. Her hand went through when she tried to lay her palm out solid on the face of the looking glass. Under any other circumstance, she would have been petrified, but things aren’t always what they seem. The mirror kept her serene, kept her tranquil, like magic was closely involved. She knew what she was doing this time, unlike before, when she flung herself through the mirror. She tumbled out the other side and everything was at a complete different perspective.
She looked down, her head facing downward, unlike the anatomy of a human being. She tried to get up, all in vain, her non-proportioned body falling hard on the dirt. She stumbled forward, starting to instinctively move each paw forward. “Wait! Is that a paw?” She slumped down in surprise, examining her large paws. In any other situation, she would be freaking out, but the mirror still left a trace of magic, keeping her serine. He voice came out in small chuffs, the equivalent of a soft purr of a smaller feline. Her eyes scan the horizon, instinctively looking for any sign of danger. Her eyes shift to an orange and brown mass approximately 50 yards ahead of her. She stares, catching the glimpse of the strange animal.
It limps toward her, obviously not as afraid of her as she is of it. She contemplates running, to try to escape, but even with everything spiraling out of control around her, she still knew that there was no escape, no rescue plan. She stood there, motionless, awaiting what happens next. As it comes closer, she realizes this isn't just any figure, it is in fact, a Bengal tiger. The mighty creature was limping, its paw dragging across the ground, causing more pain to the wounded animal. Jennifer strained her neck to see more clearly. The distressed animal had a large wound trialing from their wrist to about halfway from their shoulder, most likely a result of the exodus from minutes before. Even though the poacher had left fairly quickly, and the event happen only a few moments ago, it seemed as a lifetime had passed within the time it took for her to find that mirror, and end up here, face to face with the tiger.
She looked into its large, glowing eyes, there were no words needed, it needed aid if it was to live. Jennifer stood there, motionless, as the tiger collapsed in front of her. It tilted its head, and looked up at her, an unspoken bond, almost like family. With a flick of her tail and a twitch of her large, rounded ears, she sat down on the blood stained ground next to the animal, leaning against it in support. The tiger chuffed, a small thank you, in regards to the feral language of these creatures. She tried her best to support the large figure, but both of the animals knew that Jennifer could not maintain this position for long. She strained again the weight, calling out in alarm for fear of being crushed by her companion.
At the last moment, the other tiger slowly hoisted themselves up on all four paws, wobbling slightly from blood loss. They turned their head towards Jennifer, and slowly let out a soft purr, “I cannot thank you enough, and I would not have been able to regain my strength without you keeping guard for the human. I am Nimueh, I’m from a streak of tigers that hunt these great planes,” She paused, thinking for a moment.
Jennifer took this moment of silence for a chance to blurt out a surprised snarl, “You can speak? Frankly, after all I have seen it doesn’t surprise me very much. I’m glad I could have helped.” She twitched her tail in apprehensiveness, awaiting to see what will happen next.
Nimueh chuckled, but even that small movement send needles of pain throughout her wounded figure. She blinked slowly, a sign of universal gratitude. “It is not uncommon for lone tigers to be found roaming this area,” she started, “but that does not mean it doesn’t happen. As a sign of gratitude I would like to invite you to my streak. You have saved my life, and for that I am forever grateful. Let us protect you and invite you to our family.” She stared into Jennifer’s eyes, awaiting her response.
Jennifer paused, looking around in surprise, not sure what to say. She stumbled at first, her tongue not forming words out of anxiety. “I’ll have to think about it, I do not come from her, to speak lightly. I do not know what my decision will be until I know what it is like within the group, within your streak. May I accompany you while you make the journey? I would hate to have you fall or get hurt on the way.”
“Of course, I await your decision! I appreciate your desire to accompany me, but please keep in mind, you do not have to stay by my side. We tigers are noble creatures, and you have seen me in my time of weakness. The only thing I ask of you is to not tell the streak I acquired the assistance of a stranger, or at the time, possibly a rival.”
Nimueh started to limp forward, her body forcing her to lean her weight on her injured paw. Jennifer rushed over, her shoulder brushing again theirs, in an effort to prevent them from falling to the ground. Nimueh leaned against Jennifer, not a word needed to explain her reasons. Their paws crunch against the stiff grass, creating a path along the Great Plains. The imprint of the claws sunk deep into the ground, a warning of a large, predatory animal is near. There was a certain symbolism to their arrangement, each tiger leaning against each other in support; if one stops supporting, they both fall.
They walk for quite a while, the cursed crime scene just a speck in the distance. Although the crime scene may be far away, a part of it is carried in form of a scar on Nimueh. She will walk with a limp for her whole life, the scar trailing down her arm, always reminding her of the friend she lost. In the distance, other tigers, laid out in the sun became visible. Their cubs where playing around in the tall grass, still trying to figure out how to control their claws. It was a true sign to see, it was a whole community. From what Jessica had learned, tigers did not usually travel in packs. She stopped abruptly, making Nimueh stagger slightly. Jessica’s fur bristled in fear and awe, she had never seen so many Bengal tigers in one place at the same time. Even though the count was only about 10 of them, it was amazing to see them working in symbiotic union.
Jessica flicked her head sharply in surprise, “This is you streak? I’m only aware of tiger’s mainly living in solidarity. I just can’t believe this.” Her fur rose in fear, not knowing what to make of this. She turned to her counterpart, wondering why they prefer to live with complicated lifestyle. Alas, she had already started to walk forward but stopped for apparently no reason.
“You speak as if you are not a tiger. You speak in tongues young one. Such as, you are only aware of tiger’s mainly living in solidarity,” Nimueh added a particular emphasis to tiger. She continued to walk forward, finally starting to trot at a slightly faster pace than their speed from earlier. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to everyone.”
Nimueh was greeted with several rushed ‘hellos’, it became apparent that she was an authority figure in the streak. That was a relief to Jessica, no one would question her appearance in the group. She crouched down, allowing the other tigers in the streak to tend to her wounds. As they help her, she explains that she was hunting with a rouge tiger when they were attacked by a poacher, she had managed to escape, another animal grazing her with their horns in their pursuit to escape. She proceeded to explain why Jessica was there. Suddenly a caterwaul of chuffs where expelled from the crowd, shouts of protest but acceptance as well. Nimueh rose above the growls, simply saying, “I have trusted her with my life, and she has not let me down. I am sure that they will not betray your trust. I suggest you do not betray mine.” Whit a flick of her tail, she made it clear that her decision was final.
The unaccepting tigers of the streak bore cold stares into Jessica’s heart with what was only their eyes. It seemed like an eternity later when they finally settled down for one of their many afternoon naps. Just as several tigers laid down their heads and where drifting off into the soft darkness of sleep, another gunshot was heard just like the first. The lead exited the barrel of what is assumed to be a sniper, and the world stopped. The tiger cubs froze in their tracks, dropping whatever had entertained them so much just moments before. They hid near their mothers, begging to be protected from these horrid creations of man. But sadly, there was nothing a mother could do, but the true statement is, is there anything a mother wouldn’t do? Is there anything a mother wouldn’t do to protect their child? They would give their life, their soul, if only to see their cub make it out alive. With nothing but the fire of compassion in their hearts, they knew that they might have to do the unthinkable. But unthinkable it was not, to those who would give their lives willingly.
With a fierce meaning to their actions, all of the tigresses picked up their young ones by the scruff, and began to run. They run with every piece of energy that they could, their determination giving the, strength. Soon, Nimueh and Jessica were running too, side by side to the other tigers. They didn’t know how far away the poacher was, and they didn’t care to find out. Jessica saw the whole scene from earlier flash across her eyes, cloudy and nightmarish, like a vision from the future yet to come. Her mind skirted around the details of the ordeal, remembering something she did not remember earlier.
There was a cub. A small cub waiting for their mother to come back, waiting for her to awaken from the deepest slumber. Without more than a snarl, Jessica turned towards the plains, with the fire in her heart like many of the others had. She remembered the cub waiting in the tall grasses, hiding for fear of the human finding her. She ran towards the grasses, towards the poacher and search desperately for the small child. Another gunshot was heard, and a small tiger was seen running across, trying desperately to get away.
It ran with whatever small amount of strength it had, its paws scraped raw from running on the broken gravel path. Jessica ran towards the child, dust burning her eyes as it was kicked up in the struggle. Without being able to see much of anything, she barreled into the poacher accidentally. The gun was knocked from his hand in the struggle. Snarling with barred teeth, Jessica kicked the gun away from him with her large paws. As far as she could tell, he was knocked unconscious. She sprinted to the cub, sides heaving from running. The cub was now out of sight, and it was not out of the question that they had made it out alive. Eyes burning now, not only from dust, but from tears as well, she searched urgently to find the baby tiger. It was so venerable out here alone, human or not there is a sympathy brewing for these animals.
Jessica ran around the area, looking for the animal, trying not to attract any notice. In the trees, in the grass, seemly everywhere, the cub was nowhere to be seen. It was time to give up hope and assume they were gone. Just as she wearily stood up, a tiny ‘mew’ was heard from across the clearing, in a small hole another animal had dug. She jumped to her feet and was running as soon as she had heard it, without even a thought to run, she instinctively started. Curled up in a pit underground, there it was, an uninjured tiger cub. It was almost safe from harm’s way, she just needed to get it out of the clearing. Without protest, the cub being too exhausted to complain, Jessica clenched their scruff in her teeth and started to jog. Worried to injure the baby, she slowed down to a normal pace when the poacher was well behind them.
As the sun was starting to dip in to the curve of the valley, the apprehensive streak of tigers came into view. She sped up to meet the group, happy chuffs barely hear over the clattering claws. The tigresses stomped the ground, glad to see Jessica alive and well. Nimueh was seen in the back of the streak, a worried look bore on her face. She gingerly passed the cub to another tiger, who was glad to see the cub safe. She rushed toward Nimueh, parting the crowd of relieved tigers. Nimueh turned toward her, speechless.
“I thought you had died, I was so worried,” she paused, “you came back with a cub, whose cub was it?” Nimueh’s gaze was now fixed on the cub, intent on knowing the truth.
“It was the tiger’s.” Jessica answered, voice quiet in fear of tears. No other words where needed, everyone knew which tiger she had mentioned. With nothing more than a nod of her head, Nimueh walked off and started to talk to one of the tigresses; probably about what to do with the cub. Jessica walked off from them, this was not her conversation. As she was walking, many tigers came up to her, full of thanks. With hushed, ‘you’re welcomes’, she finally sat down and began to sleep.
She awake with the wonderful news that the tiger cub was to be accept into the streak. Relieved, Jessica knew that she had no reason to stay. She had no reason to live her life as a tiger when she knew she could help them more as a human than as an animal like them. Over the course of these few days, she realized that tigers are just as intelligent as the once thought ‘genius’ species, humans. What was learned was even that tigers are more so intelligent, more humane. There came a time when everything had to end, and her transformation had to be over, even if it pained her to do so.
She slowly walked over to Nimueh, and began, “Thank you for the offer to be in your streak. Even though I do not want to say this, I must decline. I come from a place very different than this and I must depart and return. I will always remember the kindness you have shown me through this.” She leaned again Nimueh, fur brushing again her in comfort.
“I understand,” Nimueh started, “You have saved me, and an innocent cub. If you do not wish to join us, I respect your wishes. But please remember, you are always welcomed here. Thank you.” She expressed her gratitude with a nod of her head. There was a hint of sadness in her eyes, but also understanding.
After Nimueh voiced Jessica’s decision with the streak, they all bid her farewell, loud voices rising above each other. Jessica had a sadness looming over her heart, yet she knew she had to do this. She bid one goodbye to her adopted mother, to Nimueh, and turned to depart. Just as she was about to walk away, Nimueh ran in front of her, tail twitching with uncertainty. “I want to give you something that you will always remember us by,” She stepped to the side to reveal the cub from earlier, “We have enough cubs in our group and cannot afford anymore. You showed the ferocity of any one of us when you saved them. Without a mother to protect and care for it, they are all alone in the world. Will you take them and raise them as your own?” Nimueh bore her pleading stare right into Jessica’s soul, there was no way she could say no.
Jessica pressed her face up against the cub to get a better look at them, Nimueh was right, they were very weak and needed someone to care for them. “Of course, I understand your wishes, and I do not wish the death of any living thing. If this cub were to be a abandoned, that might as well just happen. Thank you for this. I honestly don't know what to say at this moment. It will be a challenge for this cub, but I am ready to help in any way I can. Thank you Nimueh.”
Nimueh nudged the cub forward with their muzzle, as gently as possible. Jessica picked them up by the scruff, and it seemed that at the moment, Jessica was filled with the same love as a mother would have for their child. “Thank you,”Jessica began, “I will come back if I ever can.” Jessica began to walk forward, the task even more difficult at this point. The tears began pouring out of her eyes like a stream of sadness, and glee. For these tears didn't mark the end of this journey, but only the beginning. She started to run now, not wishing for everyone to see her like this, but when she looked back it was like a mirror. Everyone faces where a mixture of crestfallen and elated, showing that Jessica was a part of their family, and she always will be.
Finally, Jessica made her way to the viewing peak, where her destination was originally. She saw the van and stealthily crept towards it, the balls of her feet balancing atop the flattened grass. She leapt into the van, and as she did, something amazing happened. Her body was engulfed in a ray of white mist, bringing her towards the mirror. It grabbed her, and she fell through the mirror, similarly like she did earlier. She was flung out of the mirror, almost the second she went in. She looked back at her hands, out stretching her finger to tell if they were even real; she couldn't tell if this was just a mirage.
After several minutes of sitting in amazement and awe, she finally regained her composure. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees the small mass cowering in the corner of the bus. She could heard its small terrified mews. “Shh, it's okay,” Jennifer said, “It's only me.” For reasons unknown, the cub could understand her and had an understanding on who she was.
Much to Jennifer's amazement, the cub started to talk. It talked as much as a toddler would though. Due to the magic of the mirror still inhabiting her, she could still understand what the Tigers where saying and she could speak to them. For some reason, the mirror hadn't changed the cub into a human, but that was okay with her.
Epilogue
In the end, everything worked out. Jennifer went on to become a spokesperson against animal cruelty and poacher. She has achieved her life goal in making the grasslands that Nimueh’s streak had lived in, poaching illegal in that area. She hopes to continue to making it illegal in many areas, if not all. The cub was named Arthur, and is always attending meetings with Jessica. They both live a good life. Next year she plans on going back to the plains in Asia and observing the Tigers in their natural habitat, without poachers. Hopefully, she will see the streak again. She continues to photograph everything she sees in nature, Arthur taking up most of her photos. In the end, she saved tigers, lions, panthers, and many other animals. She wanted nothing more in the world to be able to do this.
She thinks back to the mirror, always thinking about what would happen if she went back through, became a tiger again. She stayed up late at night thinking about it, the conclusion being, yes, she probably would. And then, in an anonymously assigned package, the mirror showed up on her door. And she had the chance.