by Esther David
‘The sea dragon lives …’ He turned to see Kilkila and his two friends hovering a little way away. Ababeel and Gramma had pulled him back before the flames had consumed him.
‘The tern who fought the fire dragon,’ blurted one of Kilkila’s friends and flew away to spread the news. Kilkila gave Hudhud a confused look mixed with awe and flew away to warn others of the danger. Hudhud just stared into the fits of splattering rain.
Gramma prodded Ababeel and Hudhud to fly away from there. Both of them followed her, stunned.
‘Was that the sea dragon again?’ A tern as old as Gramma swooped down.
‘Granda!’ Ababeel cried in delight. ‘I haven’t seen you this whole season.’
‘So you think you’re the only wild one in the family?’ Granda winked at her.
‘You know about sea dragons, Khanabadosh?’ Gramma asked, her voice flat but her face a picture of curiosity.
‘Yes, I’d heard about it from migrating animals but had never seen one. Some call it Spitfire, some Master Inferno, others simply call it Gas Platform in the Sea, which breathes flares. Stories say it is created by mankind. Good that we have a dragon-fighter among us.’ He winked at Hudhud.
Hudhud flushed furiously as Gramma gave him a rare smile. ‘You overcame your fear … and saved Ababeel and me just in time.’
‘It …’ Hudhud fought to find his voice back. ‘It exists.’ He turned to spot the sea dragon but the night had engulfed it.
‘I’m sorry I never believed you, Hudhud.’ Gramma examined his tail. There was no serious damage, just a small smear of a burn to remind him and others of the adventure.
‘I’m sorry too,’ Hudhud looked at his Gramma through the rain, which had reduced in intensity, ‘for being such a sissy.’
‘Oh well, now you are a dragon-fighter.’ Gramma looked at him fondly. ‘I guess we should be thanking Ababeel for it.’
‘May I have the pleasure of Your Ladyship’s company for a while?’ Granda bowed before Gramma, making a sweeping gesture with his wings.
‘Hmm … I guess I can hear a tale or two from you, Khanabadosh. You are the wild one in the flock after all.’
Granda and Gramma nodded to each other to leave when Gramma wheeled back. ‘I’m proud of you, son.’
Though Hudhud was wet as a fish, he felt a warm feeling spread inside him as both the old terns turned and flew away together, southward bound.
These things never happened to him. He wanted to make the most of his glory. But as soon as he turned towards Ababeel, his eyes fell. ‘I’m very, very sorry.’ Hudhud was shamefaced. ‘I didn’t have the guts to tell you the truth.’
Ababeel looked at him sideways for a long moment, wind spattering rain on her face. ‘I accept your apology, tern,’ she said eventually and patted him with her wing as they flapped side by side in the rain. ‘I will fly with you down south. Let a pro show you how it’s done.’
‘I would like that very much. Thank you.’
‘After all,’ Ababeel’s voice was like the summer breeze from the islands of Farne, ‘one good tern deserves another.’
Hudhud chuckled. And then frowned. A word stuck to his head like lice. ‘Apology …’ he muttered, looking at Ababeel’s sweet face. ‘Is that the answer to the question—apology?’
A streak of lightning sizzled and cracked. Hudhud staggered back as it sputtered around him and the stormy night. He wanted to reach out to Ababeel’s smiling face but it shimmered as if she were underwater. And then a blinding flash swallowed the world.
Epilogue
The Answer
The world started to come into focus again. Hudhud yelped upon seeing Papa towering above his bed, looking kind of crabby.
‘I’m sorry to disturb your royal slumber on a Sunday, it is just noon after all.’
Though Papa thought Hudhud was the junior man of the house, sleeping late on holidays was an issue they didn’t see eye to eye on. But right then, Hudhud’s mind was too jumbled up to make sense of anything.
Papa walked away. ‘Your friend Kilkila has turned up at the doorstep, all puffy and sweaty,’ he said. ‘In case you want to see him.’
Hudhud lugged himself out of bed and checked his face in the bathroom mirror. Nope, he didn’t have a beak. He flapped his arms but found that he couldn’t fly either. There was a bonsai plant on a stool. He plucked a leaf and tried to chew it like a caterpillar.
‘Eee … yuck!’ He spat it out in the dustbin as bitterness spread on his tongue.
He filled a bucket with water and dunked his head in, trying to breathe, but coughed out a whole mouthful of water.
Just then, Kilkila cracked open the door a little and popped his head in. His rimmed glasses reflected the light from the window. ‘Hudhud? I’ve been waiting down … um …’ He paused.
Hudhud was bent over the bucket, his head dripping with water.
Kilkila frowned. ‘What’s your story?’
‘What’s your story, Kila? Flying with your bunch of Arctic tern goons and turning Ababeel against me? Bullying sucks, you know.’
‘You’re sounding more than vaguely crazy.’ Kilkila approached the open door of the bathroom. ‘One, I am not a bully—you are. And two, you seem to be ranting about a bad dream when we have a living nightmare at hand.’ Kilkila’s hair stuck to his forehead and his T-shirt was wet, with a line of sweat trickling down to his slightly bulging belly. It seemed he had been running a long way.
‘You look like a fish out of water.’ Hudhud picked up his towel and wiped his face as well as his waves of hair. His grogginess had begun to vanish.
‘Ha! Look who’s talking.’ Kilkila wiped his forehead with his damp T-shirt and sat heavily on Hudhud’s bed, making the mattress jump.
‘It’s about time you lose some of your baby fat, Kila. You could do so easily if you were a reindeer. But it’s clear you’re taking more after a baby blue whale.’ Hudhud cast a last quizzical look in the mirror and stepped out of the bathroom.
‘You know Sameer went missing last evening?’ Kilkila was sitting on the edge of the bed.
‘You have no idea who told me. The old toad, our new history teacher.’ Hudhud slumped on the bed near him. ‘You know how tired I am after all the flying?’
Kilkila gave him a strange look. ‘Well, I will pretend I didn’t hear the last bit. And the history teacher was just a substitute; she left yesterday itself. I don’t know how she could have possibly told you.’
‘Listen, Kila—’
‘You listen, Hudhud, we don’t have time for this. Neer knows that you and I bullied Sameer till the cows came home. And that is why he took off from school.’
‘Gawd! Wait till I find the snitch!’
‘There is no snitch. Sameer told this to Neer himself.
‘What?’
‘You know Neer stays next door to me. And that there is a wild patch up the hill just behind our homes and Neer goes there to find frogs? Remember, he’s a frog maniac?’
‘Uh-huh.’
‘So he goes looking for frogs this morning after the rains last night. And he sees this giant black-and-blue frog hunched in a small rocky cave. He becomes giddy with joy, thinking he has discovered a new species or something. He was dreaming of his photo with the frog on the cover pages of all the international newspapers when the frog farted, let out a relieved ahhhh and yawned. It was Sameer hiding there!’
‘Oh boy.’
‘Yeah! He’d slept quite well in the cosy cave but his face scrunched up on seeing Neer.’
‘It wasn’t Neer, trust me. Just imagine the fat Sameer not getting his breakfast after a good night’s sleep.’
‘No, Hudhud, he is sobbing that he will never come out of the cave as long as the “bad boys” are around. That’s us, by the way.’
Hudhud groaned.
‘Now is the time to act smart, Hudhud. Let the bad boys go and fetch him. Even if he tells on us, we would be the ones who got him back. It’ll all be even. And everyone knows what a crybaby S
ameer is.’
‘Hmm … Hasn’t Neer informed anyone yet?’
‘Nah … He’s keeping an eye on what could have been his dream-come-true giant frog from a distance.’
Hudhud sprang up from the bed and got ready in a jiffy.
‘Breakfast … lunch—something?’ Ma cried as Hudhud stomped off with Kilkila.
‘Later, Ma!’
The boys ran down the slope of the steep road and through the twisting lanes of the hilly locality. It was wet after the night-long thunderstorm, and the air was fresh and cool on their faces. Hudhud almost felt like he was flying again. Soon they had reached the incline behind Kilkila’s home, and they skidded down to the wooded dell. Neer sat by a small stream, throwing little pebbles into the waters that plashed and babbled over the rocks.
‘Boys, it has been like for … ever!’ He pulled a face as he got up. ‘My mum sort of has a nervous breakdown if my sister or I do not have our meals on time.’
‘We’ll take it from here, Neer.’ Hudhud slapped him on the back. ‘We owe you one.’
Kilkila crossed the stream, splashing a lot of water, and Hudhud followed.
‘Pssst!’ Hudhud whispered, standing a little away from the rocky cave.
A face peeped out and cowered back in.
‘It’s us, Sumo … um … I mean, Sameer,’ Kilkila called softly.
‘We’re just here to take you back.’ Hudhud gingerly took a few steps towards the cave.
Sameer whimpered.
‘Okay, okay … I won’t come in.’ Hudhud stopped and looked at Kilkila, who shrugged and sat down on a flat rock by the stream. ‘Looks like this is going to take time.’
Hudhud ran his fingers through his windswept hair and tried again. ‘You know, your parents are going stark raving bonkers. A hot breakfast is waiting for you, bud. Come on, let’s head home.’
‘Go away!’ Sameer’s voice was high-pitched.
Hudhud’s stomach growled and he realized he hadn’t eaten anything since last night. ‘Listen, Sam. You were right about the birds. Some of them do travel the whole world! Like the Arctic tern—from the South Pole to the North Pole and back again. Can you believe that? “Follow the sun” is their motto.’ As if vouching for what he’d said, seven jungle babblers flew away, chattering in unison.
Hudhud shot a glance at Kilkila sprawled on the rock and hit upon an idea. ‘Fatso—er, I mean Sam.’ Sameer flinched as Hudhud took a step forward. ‘Would you like to join Kilkila and me in our mission—Mission Globetrotters?’
‘Leave me alone!’ Sameer cried between sobs.
Hudhud shrugged his shoulders and went and sat near Kilkila by the stream. The air smelled of rain and pine leaves. A kingfisher swooped down to the water and flew away with a silver leaf in its beak. Some bush quail shuffled in the bushes at the edge of the woods.
‘What’s this project?’ Kilkila turned towards Hudhud. ‘You know I’m not cut out for these kinds of bio projects.’
‘I thought I wasn’t either, before … before I was cursed by the old toad. And boy, am I glad for the adventures she sent me off to! Though the only thing I remembered through all the travels was to find the answer …’ Hudhud halted on seeing Kilkila knit his brows and narrow his eyes to slits. ‘You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you, Kila?’
‘You’re sounding like a serious case of bananas.’
Hudhud mumbled almost to himself, ‘Yeah, she had warned me that you won’t remember anything, though I will remember all my travels once I return to my human form.’
Kilkila, looking concerned now, touched Hudhud’s forehead to check if he was running a temperature.
‘I’m fine, Kila.’ Hudhud brushed his hand away, brimming with excitement about all his new-found knowledge. ‘The lives of these migrating animals are much more adventurous and thrilling than the last rollercoaster you sat on. They’re X-Animals!’
‘What are you talking about? Which animal travels?’
‘Why, so many animals travel! Don’t you remember Sikander Sir teaching us in the last bio class that leopards and other big cats, elephants and even crocodiles travel from forest to forest, waterbody to waterbody, looking for better living areas and at times, to find a mate? And then he said some are super travellers. They travel thousands of kilometres through air or water or land to find food, or to breed or to escape extreme climates. Even little butterflies can cross continents.’
‘Are you kidding?’
‘Do I look like I am?’ Hudhud scared a frog sunbathing on a rock with a wave of his hand and it jumped into the water with a plop.
‘Porcupine caribou have the longest migration of any land mammal on earth. They travel through the tundra, the land of the midnight sun, where for months there are no nights.’
‘No nights?’
‘Yes, in the summers. In the winters, for many nights there are no days. And … and those Atlantic leatherback turtles? They travel all the way from the tropics to Greenland just to eat jellyfish, their favourite food!’
‘Neat …’
‘Ah, to live in the oceans—it’s like having fun in a swimming pool … lifelong. The grey whales, they travel the most of any mammal on earth. They can travel a distance equal to going to the moon and back in their lifetime!’ Hudhud had a faraway look in his eyes. ‘But mind you, blue whales are great travellers too …’
‘And how exactly do you know all this?’ Kilkila cocked an eyebrow and leaned towards Hudhud.
‘I have lived with some of these animals.’
‘Ha! In your dreams!’ Kilkila moved back.
‘Yes, that’s right.’ Hudhud grinned and looked at the cave mouth. Sameer had popped his head out of the cave and was listening to them with interest. The sun shone on his round, neatly shaven head.
‘You know, Sameer,’ Hudhud said casually, ‘what if we kids tell everyone about these super travellers, who travel across the earth without cars or ships or aeroplanes … or even cycles?’
Sameer didn’t answer but just flicked some ants marching up his toes.
‘See, that’s Mission Globetrotters. It’ll be my first brush with fame … outside the school, I mean.’ Hudhud got up and dusted his shorts. ‘We can start with street shows about these creatures. Who knows, we can even have a reality show at some point. Kilkila here can be the manager and you can … well, you can be on the research team with other boys and girls.’
‘Girls?’ Sameer had one leg out of the cave. He was still in his school uniform.
‘Not girrrrls!’ Kilkila got up too.
‘Kila, we can do with some power. Girl power!’ Hudhud saw that he was giving the boys grief and added, ‘The lady blue whales … boys, you need to see them. They are giants! And they are bigger than the males. They can even chase away a shark!’
‘That’s pretty cool!’
‘Oh yes,’ Hudhud had a dreamy look in his eyes again. ‘And the spiders, Kila. In some species of spiders, the girls are many times bigger than the boys. They even eat the boys after a date.’
‘Whoa …’
‘Yeah, you see what I mean?’ Hudhud smirked as Sameer got up too, scattering dirt and pebbles with his rear. But he didn’t come near them. His chubby face had streaks of mud on it.
The afternoon rays made the water magic, making it twinkle like stars. The birds had settled on branches, bickering, and the sky had a few passing clouds blocking the sun now and then. Sameer stood at the mouth of the cave.
‘Oh … these animals are super, super, super! I was dumb to think they are dumb. To think that there is much more to know and learn about them boggles my mind like a shaker bottle! And you know what’s the awful part? People are destroying their homes—they’re cutting down their forests, polluting the deserts, the air, the oceans and seas all the way up to Antarctica! But I’m sure people would like to save their homes if they just knew about them. So we kids must fight for these animals, like the Gwich’in are fighting for Porcupine caribou. Let’s get going, we have Miss
ion Globetrotters to work on!’ Hudhud beckoned Sameer, but he didn’t move. ‘Are you trying to take revenge on us, Sameer? You know, only humans do that.’
‘But I am human.’ Sameer looked lost and wildeyed.
‘Oh yeah, yeah. So am I.’ Hudhud shook his head. ‘You can feel sad … and mad … if you lose someone close to you. Like when I thought I had lost Kilkila to the ghost jellyfish.’ Kilkila gave him another odd look. Hudhud continued. ‘So I know how you must be feeling about your grandma. I shouldn’t have … Well, thing is, why be mean like Wolf Don when you can be cool like the sea serpent, Regalis?’
‘Okay, I hate to interrupt, but you are NOT making any sense.’ Kilkila shifted on his feet.
Hudhud went on as if he had not heard Kilkila. ‘So I guess I’m … I’m … ssss …’
‘Is Hudhud going to say the S-word?’ Kilkila was more shocked to see Hudhud’s flushed face than he was to hear all the weird things he had said that day.
‘Sorry, Sameer.’ Hudhud scuffed his shoes to get rid of the mud streaks. ‘I really am sorry.’ He added in an undertone, ‘For what I did to you as well as to Ababeel.’
A sob caught in Sameer’s throat and he nodded at him, approaching them slowly.
‘What’s done is done. You can’t change it, but you can … you can help heal it … This has to be the answer to all wrongs! A true apology,’ Hudhud whispered to himself, breathing a long, audible sigh of relief.
Kilkila gaped at Hudhud through his rimmed glasses. He let out a whistle and then looked at the clouds gathering over the woods. ‘Now since it’s all settled, gentlemen, shall we head back home?’
‘Oh yes,’ Hudhud chirped. ‘We can discuss my great Globetrotters plans on the way. We can call ourselves … Soldiers of the Mission! Isn’t that posh? And I can’t wait to see all those terrific animals again. Once I’m famous and have my own swimming pool, which I’m going to share with leatherback turtles, you can use it. BUT no peeing allowed!’
