The Intruder

By Fala Anamani

THE sun’s bright frightening eye bored a hole in the sky. Nothing moved. Mirages were formed every where. The world seemed to stop, afraid and respectful of the sun.

Only the sad prayers of silence were audible. Even the breeze was afraid.

But I was moving, forcing my way through the thick air and haze before me. The brightness of the silvery green leaves gave my eyes an un welcome greeting. Tiny smoke of restless dust flew up under my dirty, bare feet, making my path like a steaming line of brown-black smoke.

My bush knife dangled from my filthy wrist. My dirty torn shirt clung to my body as if to comfort. My hair was angry with thick dust, my sweat, like a burden. The sun shone more brightly and angrily as it had never done before.

I was so lost in thought about

nothing, that I did not realise where I was heading. I turned around to see two black birds on a breadfruit tree talking to each other like two people in love. They were whispering to each other. The shade of the nearest tree looked very inviting, so I sat down, placed my knife beside me and with both dirty hands behind my neck, lay back.

First I closed my eyes and then unwillingly opened them again to come face to face with a big, almost hairless rat, only ten feet above me.

His long tail stretched six inches behind where the nature of his sex showed clearly. It was not frightened of me, surveying my tired face with curiosity. I guess it was because I was lying still.

Slowly, very slowly, it brought up its hind legs under its white underside,

closed its sleepy eyes and majestically went to sleep before my very eyes.

At first I was inwardly amused and satisfied with the behaviour of this animal so small and unimportant.

But that other dark me said—“lf you are a man you would take up that knife and cut it in halves! That thing is mocking you! Have you no guts?

Don’t you remember what it did to your pillow last Saturday?” I felt for my knife. But it felt cold and un friendly under the touch. The voice of reason then came up and acted his part, “That rat is innocent. That rat is not at fault. You are a mile away from home. It is in peace. I’m sure that’s what you desire most.

Peace and comfort. In fact to be alone; that is why you left home only an hour ago. You wanted to be alone and be by yourself, away from the busy family society. The rat is only doing what is necessary to survive.

It only ate the kapok seeds in your home-made pillow to survive. The same that you would have done if you were in that situation. You go and find some other place. You are an intruder. That is the rat’s home, where it was born. It has lived his whole life here.”

I slowly got to my feet. Silently, knife in hand I walked away. A lonely cloud wandered in front of the sun and then slowly crept away making it possible for me to get half way to the next breadfruit tree with out being under the curse of that sun.

To my astonishment, everywhere I went, there were creatures having their afternoon rest.

Then I realised something very important. Man is an intruder. He was not needed anywhere by nature.

Man has polluted everything and therefore is not wanted anywhere.

I realised way down in me that it was man who upset the balance of nature; an uninvited guest to every place he has ever been. It is poor old Mother Nature who suffers when man has his fun killing, destroying and polluting. I left that place like a drunken man, sadder but wiser. I knew that I belong to a group of

people and only with those people

am I what I am.