It was time to take matters in her own hands. She was shocked to see the drastic change in her village, where she had roamed carefree in her childhood. The river from which she had fetched water for her mother, the forests where she had played with her siblings and her friends, all gone. Having moved on to the city, in fact to another country for higher education, where she was an alien, she had felt more connected to her roots. The innate knowledge passed on through generations, the rich traditions and culture which had been systematically razed down, luckily had survived in her home and village. This gave her vision. And courage.
Instead of proud, dignified, beautiful women, she saw poor women, burdened with foraging for firewood through the dwindling forests and walking miles to fetch water. This would have to change. What could she do to bring the flowing stream close to home and a smile on the lips of these poor women? An idea germinated! She spoke to the village women and convinced them to plant and nurture trees. Local, indigenous ones. Her conviction, and confidence so alien to them, mesmerised one and all.
The men laughed as they watched the women folk sow seeds and plant saplings. What foolishness! In a few months, the village looked different, as the brown patches became green, soothing to the eyes. During the rains, the water couldn’t wash away the mud and soil like before. As the earth laughed and the stream gurgled, fish, frogs and ducks came back. In just a couple of years, the trees grew resplendent, enticing squirrels, songbirds, kites, small wild animals, and the distant forest, came knocking at their doorstep!
Now the women could collect wood right there and did not have to go miles to fetch water. Wood from the trees was sold too, putting money in their pockets, giving them a voice in their homes.
She had the last laugh… they said she wouldn’t understand, she had become an alien!
******
The young one pressed it’s muzzle against its mother’s side. She recalled the story her grandmother had narrated just that morning while grazing, constantly looking out for the aliens. Ever since they had come, they had made their lives hell.
Granny had narrated of times bygone when their family roamed all over the hills and valleys. They could graze anywhere they chose, as much as they chose to. The mountain peaks could be seen from miles and miles together, not like now, when trees had grown so many and so huge, they obscured the vision. Their herd was so huge, they didn’t know many of the other elks. They had nothing to fear, except the bitter cold winter.
The aliens were a small pack, just a handful but they moved at such speed, they would come thundering down the mountains and easily find a prey. They would satisfy their hunger and move on. But the danger didn’t end there…. There were bears, coyotes, ravens, all that followed, partying on the leftovers. If it was an adult elk that fell prey, the revelers were many more.
The old Grandma elk remembered, how they had grazed the valleys down to the ground, giving the wise ones in their herd reasons to dread their huge herds might die of starvation as even the trees they munched on were not growing back fast enough. Together with dwindling trees, soil disappearing during rains, the meandering river also would change its mind and course regularly. That of course played havoc with their requirement for a watering hole.
The aliens seemed to have tamed the river and streams too. More trees growing to gigantic proportions along the banks, attracted more birds singing in the branches, more beavers in the water and so many ducks! There were so many fish that more birds and animals now haunted these areas. The songs were melodious!
The valleys reverberated with the howls of these aliens, especially on moonlit nights; when these handsome guys looked majestic, their fur glistening, the fire in their intelligent eyes sparkled looking over the countryside. Just a few alien wolves had reinforced a trophic cascade that brought about catastrophic change in the biodiversity and ecosystem. A much healthier and sustainable one.
It depended on which side were you to know whether the alien was a friend or a foe.
Picture : Courtesy the Internet for representation only
