Striped Tiger, Red Bridge

Every night at midnight, the purple clouds came out to dance with the blushing sky. On such nights, if you are extremely quiet, and creep silently and unseen to the edge of the Red Bridge of Wishes, you will perhaps see Zinbar the striped kind faced tiger, hidden in the bulrushes, watching Mayling.

Zinbar had been there when Mayling took her first breath. He had been by her side as she grew into babyhood. She would smile at him. But he knew something was amiss. The baby did not respond when he roared playfully. She saw him, but she could not hear him. The doctors said that she could not hear, would never hear. Mayling was hearing impaired, Zinbar was sad.

The tiger had been in the family from the time they had found him as a baby, all alone and abandoned in the forest thirteen years ago.

The young girl was now eleven years old. She was a happy child who did not let her lack of one sense, preclude her from enjoying life to the fullest. Or so it seemed to the world. Her parents had done the best they could, she had accepted and heightened her other senses admirably.

Only the tiger knew her deepest longings. She whispered in his ears of how she longed to hear the music of the world. How she wanted to listen to the music that the purple clouds and sky sang and danced every night. He had told her the story years ago, she could hear only through his eyes the echoing music and dancing, it was their secret.

Yet Mayling wanted to hear, like the happy laughing people all around her.

Every night for the past year, she had started sneaking out at midnight to sit by the babbling brook that flowed beneath the Red Bridge of Wishes. To her this was the most beautiful place in the world. Out here was a world that came alive for her, all her troubles disappeared like a puff of wind, and she felt as light as a feather.

She longed to hear the river flow as it rippled atop the black glistening stones, cleansed by the continuous motion of pure water.

This was the time of night when the animals would speak of the wonderous other world which came alive at midnight. Somehow Mayling could hear the animals as they spoke to her, but only on the stroke of midnight until the clock struck one in the morning. She wanted to live here, on the edge of time, forever.

Zinbar hid and watched. His heart ached for her.

"Mayling, the clouds are asking if you would like to ride high into the sky". Speech the parrot asked.

"Oh yes please. May I". Mayling answered eagerly.

A moonbeam slithered down, scooped her up and nestled her upon the cloud. Mayling rode on the softness of the cloud for a while, she could hear all the laughter and songs in the entire world.

Zinbar came over and gently nuzzled her face, she had fallen asleep by the brook.

"Come child. It is late, time to return home before your parents realize that you are not in your bed". Zinbar said.

As they started to leave, they failed to see the large unicorn bounding towards them. It scooped Mayling up with it's huge mouth, threw her upon it's back and thundered away into the night, before Zinbar could react. Regaining his momentum, the tiger gave a mighty leap and tore into the forest after his darling Mayling.

"Am I still dreaming"? Mayling wondered, as she clung tightly to the neck of the unicorn. She could hear everything, the birds singing, water flowing, Zinbar charging noisily after her, roaring like a crazed beast.

"Where am I. Where are we going"? She asked in apprehension.

There was no answer!

Answers... 2nd Chapter.......next!