Musings of the Sundarman

Sensitive Sam

Sam had always been sensitive. When his brothers bit him (even playfully), he wondered if they were mad at him. Every now and then, his father would growl at him when he was mischievous. Sam would be sad for days after. Sometimes, he felt the energy around him change from jovial to angry, and wondered if he had done something wrong, to make that happen.

He felt different, as if he observed much more around him than his brothers, or even his dad or mom. Living in a world of dreams and stories was fun for him. He dreamed of water everywhere and being on a log, floating on the water. In his dreams, he had a different pack from his blood-pack. In his dream-pack, he was a trusted friend and hunter. He watched over them and they played with him and fed him delicacies. They made strange noises to each other. And they had a ball of fire, like the one in the sky, but smaller.

In his daydreams, he used his powers to help them. He could run faster than any of them. And he had sharper teeth and could always smell the prey before they did. He was usually the first one to bring down the hunted.

And they looked at him adoringly. They made soft noises at him. And fed him delicacies. After all, he felt what they felt, being sensitive. When someone was sad around him, he felt sad. When someone was angry, he got ready to respond to the anger. And when someone needed help, he was always right there, wagging his tail, with a big smile, ready to help.

His blood-pack could hardly understand him. They spent their days looking to eat, play and sleep. Some of his seniors would jostle for love, company, status in the pack. Sam saw and understood what they were doing. He was sensitive and precocious. And he would talk to the seniors more than his fellows. He asked them about many things...about what the ball of fire was and whether they had ever seen a hairless one.

But it wasn't in their natures to think, to dream about the world. They just did what was in their natures. When Sam started to tell them his dreams, they just laughed at him. "Sam, you say a lot of silly things. When are you going to grow up?"

But Sam had always been alone. And dreaming was a way to engage his sensitive, smart mind. He could go places and see things in his dreams that no one had ever heard of, much less seen.
He was always the hero in his dreams and everyone liked him and gave him lots of attention.

One day, Sam's mom fell sick. Sam was very frightened. He wasn't sure what he would do without her. He HAD to grow up now. If she weren't around, who would bring him his favorite bites. Who would groom his coat? What would happen to his brothers and dad?

So, Sam went hunting with everyone, and became a good hunter. Not as good as his brothers, but good enough to bring home a good-sized kill every now and then. He stopped talking about his dreams, and tried harder to make less trouble for his pack. When he started feeling something, he would stop himself and go back to being a 'big boy'. And so the years passed. His mom got better. And everyone was happy.

And then, the hairless ones came. And they made burrows, just like his pack did. But these burrows were much bigger, right in the middle of his pack's territory. And at night, they made a ball of fire. And Sam could see as well as smell them. He couldn't believe it! They were the same ones from his dream.

The hairless ones played around the fire. They hopped and made noises. Noises like he had heard in his dreams. His brothers and blood-pack were furious. How could these strange creatures take over their territory, where they and their ancestors had lived, loved and died?

And so was planned the Great Attack. Sam argued against it. He explained his dreams. The hairless ones were nice to him in his dreams. What if they made friends with the hairless ones?

But the blood-pack was determined. The hairless ones were enemies and needed to be destroyed. The night was approaching and this was the time when the hairless ones slept.Sam could not sleep all day. But he joined his pack as they attacked the hairless ones that fatal night.

To be continued...