The Seventh Plague

ETERNAL AND UNKNOWABLE

The large bull leads the others up the narrow canyon. His shoulders brush the vines and leaves to either side. His chest rumbles his solemnity as he leads the herd.

Behind him lies their new home, a deep bowl warmed by steaming vents. There, the forest grows far taller, its canopy more sheltered than their old home. Water flows from its high edges, splashes into many pools.

It is a good place.

The man who brought them here follows now. The bull allows it. He senses no threat from the man, only wellness and concern. So for now, the man is herd, too. He must come.

The bull follows the cleft to a grotto at its end. Small, flat stones cover the ground, shaded in half by an overhanging shelf of rock. A small pool shines to one side. When they first came here, the bull carried old water in his trunk and blew it deep into the pool. The surface is already starting to blush with promise.

But that is not why the herd is here.

He takes them to the other side.

Upon the smooth stones rests a broken body. It is not whole, but it is enough. The man has brought these pieces, too, dug from their old home and brought here.

The bull comes first. He smells the burns upon the flesh, but he brings his trunk to the curve of her head, lets his nostrils brush her white skin.

He then gently places the branch he carries over her and backs away.

He stands beside her as the others come, each placing another bough. One by one, stick by stick, she is covered. The man comes last and places his branch, then steps aside, revealing there still is one more.

It is he who will protect them.

The bull knows this because she had shown him, before she died.

The large white cat draws forward, splayed paws crunching the stone. He carries a long bough in his teeth and drops it on the pile. He nudges it with his flat nose to rest it better.

The cat shifts to the man, who pats him.

It is good. It is done.

She will be remembered.

The bull lifts his trunk high and trumpets to the skies, mournful yet hopeful, challenging yet respectful. The others follow, adding their lungs, their voices. Their song is eternal.

One other joins in.

The cat steps forward, stretching his neck high — and roars for the very first time.