The orange sun was setting in the west beyond a horizon that was filled with a seemingly never-ending array of different shades of green. The Amazon was alive, especially at this time of day. Nocturnal creatures were beginning to awaken from their slumber. There was no longer a need to hide from the sun. Herbivores and carnivores alike, now was the most active time of the day for the jungle. Chirps sounded above with the sound of feathers ruffling up against branches. Scales slithered over fallen leaves. Fish jumped in and out of the river.
I must be close! He thought as he raced forwards. Nothing was to be found. Today was the day for catching a peccary. It was time to celebrate the feast of the new moon. A wild hog was to be the main course at each feast. Pupak was the leader of the Akuntsu tribe. As leader, it was his job to provide the feast. They were hard to spot as their fur blended in with the bark of the trees they hid behind. Pupak figured that you were bound to find one along the river at this time of day. But you never know what was waiting to surprise you in the jungle. He crossed a path that looked familiar.
Have I been here before? Pupak had decided to try a different route today. He figured he could find a larger peccary at the head of the river, up in the mountains. Pupak had distanced himself from the river as he headed towards the jungle high ground. He had followed the sounds of the river as he hiked, circling the mountain, searching for the fastest way to the head of the river. But the sounds of the river had grown less clear. As he crossed the mountain, it got darker and darker.
Where am I? Pupak thought. Hunger gripped his stomach as he ached to find his meal. A rustle sounded in the leaves up ahead. Am I going in circles? Pupak was running out of time. If he didn't find the river soon, he would have to spend the night on the mountain and hunt again first thing in the morning. Will I be safe if I spend the night on the mountain? He pondered. The jungle echoed every possible sound. You never knew if it was prey or predator nearby.
This is where I will rest. He thought. As he climbed, he had noticed a comfortable looking cave in a crevice of the mountain. As he fumbled his way through the darkness, he finally crawled up into the cave. Bringing a little kindling, he lit a small fire to keep himself warm through the night. As he rested his eyes, he could hear rustling outside the cave. He wasn't sure if he should wake up and check it out or not. With an eye half open he scanned the cave.
Something's here! A dark shadow bounced against the light that illuminated the wall of the cave. Pupak was startled to sitting position as he grabbed his knife. A jet-black jaguar was opposite of him, the only thing between them, a burning fire. They locked eyes as Pupak pulled himself into a crouched knife-fighting stance. The jaguar slowly paced around the fire as Pupak sidestepped in the opposite direction, keeping the fire between them as he faced his rival.
“We finally meet again.” The jaguar's eyes spoke to Pupak as he reversed directions in his pace around the fire. “You know me?” Pupak spoke incredulously. He wasn't sure if this was real or a bad dream, but either way it would be best to grip the knife even more tightly. “I've been planning for this day for a long time.” the magnificently dark beast spoke in words that only the heart could hear. “What do you want? What did I ever do to you?” Pupak yelled back defiantly.
“EVERYTHING!” the jaguar growled from the top of his lungs. The hairs on Pupak's neck rose as fear and adrenaline coursed through his veins. Time slowed as the jaguar pounced into the air over the fire, claws stretched out to their maximum lethal extent. Pupak jumped and rolled to the right to avoid a direct strike. Rebounding back into fighting position, Pupak readied himself as the jaguar began prowling his way again.
“You took everything from me, and now I will take everything from you!” the beast's eyes spoke the deep hatred in his heart as he charged at Pupak. Pupak was not fast enough this time. Three claws sunk deep into his left thigh as Pupak's knife came down on the jaguar's forearm. They both howled in pain as they backed away from each other.
“What did I do to you?” Pupak asked between breaths.
“You mean you don't remember?” the jaguar responded with fury. “You don't remember what you did to my mother??” The jaguar charged Pupak again, throwing his paws in a rapid-fire repeated striking motion at Pupak's face. Pupak threw his arms up to shield his head, blood now oozing out of both forearms and scalp. Pupak threw the claws off and pushed the jaguar over to the side with a knife swipe against it's soft exposed belly as it rolled away. They both howled in pain as they retreated to opposite corners of the cave to regain their strength.
“What happened to your mother.” Pupak said between breaths.
“You KILLED her. She was just trying to protect me, but you killed her!” the jaguar spoke with a pain that exceeded his knife wounds. “I watched as you killed her. I looked into your eyes and saw a familiar soul.” the jaguar said, flames dancing in his dark eyes.
“What do you mean?” Pupak said, still confused.
“This is not the first time you have ruined my life. We have met before in lives past. You were not always a man.” Memories of lives forgotten seeped into Pupak's mind. The fire in the jaguar's eyes was the gateway to remembering things of another time. “When I was but a worm, you hunted me down; you killed me! Ripped my body into a thousand pieces with your sharp beak. When I was but a rabbit, you hunted me down; you killed me! Ripped my flesh into a thousand pieces with your sharp fangs. When I was but a gazelle, you hunted me down, you killed me! Ripped my body into a thousand parts with your claws.”
“I'm sorry... I don't know what to say.” Pupak stuttered, memories of his guilt slowly filled his mind as he gazed deep into the fiery eyes of the jaguar.
“Each time, I tried to forgive you! I wanted to honor you as the more magnificent creature! But in the end, you were not magnificent at all, an utter disappointment. And now, I have finally become more magnificent than you and can get my revenge!” the jaguar said, trying to muster the strength to stand back up and stagger towards him. Pupak kept his knife in hand, despite feeling a little numb due to blood loss.
The jaguar's passionate tirade continued, “After all this, I eventually became your human son. I wanted to honor you, as the more magnificent creature! But you were not magnificent at all. When I needed you most, you abandoned me. When I was cold to the point of death, you were nowhere to be found. When I was hungry to the point of starvation, you were gone! My dying breath was curses to your name! I suffered more from your betrayal than from the cold and hunger combined! You turned me into this DEMON!” The jaguar barreled in with a big swipe towards Pupak's breast. Pupak's leg was not fast enough to dodge. The claws came down against his left arm and breast with a knife going upwards into the jaguar's exposed inner shoulder. Blood poured as the fire was put out by their liquid. The two backed away from each other once more.
“Even now, your existence mocks me. I have claws sharper than yours, teeth fiercer than yours, legs faster than yours, yet you refuse to give me my revenge.” the jaguar said between painful pants.
Pupak's eyes filled with tears that were lit up by the lightning outside the cave. “I can see my former lives now. The first time when I hunted you, I did not delight to harm you! But there were four hungry chicks in my nest, one of whom had already perished due to hunger. I could not watch the others die as well!”
“You fed them, but not me!”
“The second time when I hunted you, I did not delight to harm you! But there were three hungry pups in my den, one of whom had already perished due to hunger. I could not watch the others die as well!”
“You fed them, but not me!”
“The third time when I hunted you, I did not delight to harm you! But there were two hungry cubs in my prairie, one of which had already perished due to hunger. I could not watch the other die as well!
“You fed them, but not me!”
“All this time, you were fulfilling a great purpose! You gave your life to those around you, that they might not perish! You sacrificed yourself for my children and I. Can you see all those you saved?”
“You owe me your LIFE!” the jaguar screamed, “I sacrificed so much for you. I sacrificed to help your children. But when I was your child? Who sacrificed to save me? Who cherished and loved me? I was abandoned to starve in my bitterness.”
“When you were born, it was as if heaven had given me the greatest gift. You were more precious than any child from any lifetime. I loved you more than I loved my own life.”
“Then why did you abandon me? How could you do that to me? It was cold and dark and scary. I was small and afraid. I didn't know how to find you.” the jaguar.
“I'm so sorry my son. I'm sorry that I wasn't strong enough to protect you. You were my only child, and your mother had died in childbirth. I raised you all alone without the help of a village. I could not watch you die from hunger as well. I left you alone so I could hunt! I did not delight to leave you! I was planning on coming back to you as soon as I could! But when the drums began pounding, I knew the invaders were close. I was not able to escape. They took me from you. Every day in captivity I swore I would find a way back to you. But when I finally came back, all that was left were your bones. I mourned louder for you that day than all of the beasts of the jungle. I mourned for you that day with a pain greater any I had ever felt.”
Tears welled up in the corner of the jaguar's eye.
“I'm so sorry my son. After all you have done for me, I have failed you. And even now, your mother, I have killed. Your revenge is just. My life, I give unto you; my flesh to give you energy. Everything I have, I give it to you freely. Take this meat and never be hungry again my son.”
Pupak slowly inched closer to the jaguar as the jaguar slowly crawled towards him. The pool of blood was think as they came close together.
“You deserve to be eaten. You have hurt me too many times.” the jaguar said softly. “I will never harm you again, in this life and all others to come.”
“I never wanted to be your enemy. I only wanted to love you. But this cold dark world has turned us against each other.” the jaguar confessed looking up into empty space.
“I will never be against you again, in this life and in all others to come.” Pupak said as the two of them curled into a hug on the cave floor as their life force slowly drained out of their bodies. It seemed like time stopped for a moment as peace filled their hearts.
“If fate would have it, I'd like another chance to be your son.” the jaguar said softly.
“You will always be my son.” Pupak said with a final fatherly embrace as they both slipped away into permanent silence that would be their rest until another round of life began.
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