Quibilah soon learns all the jungle paths because she is the first among all the cubs in the herd. Even when the walks are very long, the little elephant is happy to be sheltered from the sun under the huge shadow of her mother's body: she feels so comfortable there that she rarely wants to leave it! It is different for her to leave him when there is a rest on the road and she knows that all the puppies will play together..
Sometimes it is necessary to leave the mother's shadow, like when the herd leaves the savannah and has to cross a river. On those occasions half of the mothers go into the water, the baby elephants are left behind. The first to dive into the river is Rashida, the leader of the herd. A group of adults brings up the rear, so that the younger ones are protected from danger. Little by little, the big elephants help the little ones across the river by holding them up with their powerful trunks.
Quibalah is confident, as is her whole family. The rains have filled the river and the sound of the water on the stones is like the sound of a thousand drums. At three years old, the little elephant remembers this place of water. She knows that a little further on they will find a hamlet of men, she knows that they will be dressed in purple and ochre colours and that the wind will bring the smells given off by their bodies, their crops, their kitchens, the flowers that decorate the courtyards and the hair of the females. Quibalah rejoices in her memories.
Rashida finishes leading the passage along the river. She has been crossing savannahs and jungles for thirty years, and she remembers the location of every stone on the path, every tree, every watercourse, every spring. He knows which animals are likely to appear unexpectedly and which are dangerous for his herd. As she leads other calves out, she listens to Quilabah's voice, she doesn't need to look to know that her daughter is well, happy and protected, under the gaze of all the other mother elephants.
"How long until we see the grandmothers?" Quilabah asks, raising her trunk to sniff the air, as if the air might bring her the scent of them.
"Five river steps, three nights and two days," says her mother.
The hatchlings murmur among themselves, unhappy at the response. TThe older ones understand the impatience of the younger ones.
"They know very little about the world. " They think.
Adults after wandering for forty years learn the futility of impatience. They have realised that no one can rush life. To do so is to take risks. It is necessary to let time, as much time as necessary, pass.
"Time is a tyrant that rules over ephemeral insects as well as overbearing men... and ourselves". They have heard the elders say.
All the elephants are attentive. They listen and guard everyone's words.
"The elders know that we are on our way. They also know that we are coming to be present at their farewell. That our visit heralds their departure. They will die very soon. Do we want to come earlier or later?" It is Rashida's voice, in her role as guide, that rings out.
The infants respectfully fall silent. They were told on departure that they would arrive at the place where elephants die. They make a pilgrimage to deliver their ancestors to the earth.
No elephant fears death, nor does Quibilah. Yet she is homesick.
She misses the wisest elephant, her grandmother. She misses her stories about a time that will never return. She loves the tone of the old elephant's voice and the twinkle in her eyes when she talks about her own parents and her own grandparents. Now that her grandmother has left for the place where she will die, Quibilah has begun to understand.
After Rashida's words the whole herd has fallen silent. Even the younger ones have understood that there are times when it is necessary to be alone with their thoughts.
The journey continues. Passing rivers, crossing savannahs, looking into the distance at the hamlets that appear, the herd continues. Thirty huge animals walk with their young, stopping to feed and drink. Then the mothers groom and caress their young.
At noon on the last day of the trek, Rashida lets out a deep exhalation into the air which, followed by the whole herd's cry, pierces space and reaches, like a cry of annunciation, the shore where the grandparents wait patiently.
A race before reaching the destination will appease the anxiety of the little ones. The savannah is a place of amazement when the elephants run, making the ground rumble with their weight. Before the beach they will stop to watch the elders stand on the soft green grass that is their only food.
Elephants have deep and complex emotions. Quibilah recognises her grandmother in the distance. In a few minutes, after crossing the last pass of the river, she will feel her caresses and hear her voice telling her the eternal stories of elephants.
"Now Quibilah has stopped on a stone in the river. Down below the water plays with the shadows of the trees. The sky is a patchwork quilt made of blues and greens.
"This is the place where I will come to remember her when my grandmother is dead," the little elephant decides.
For the moment, she can't take her eyes off the unmistakable ears of her grandmother, who is waiting for her, making rapid movements with her trunk.
Quibilah recognises her language.
Thanks for reading!
