The  Prairie,  My  Dream

 By Zhong Wanting

 I’m a wolf, a common grey wolf. I have bright green eyes, sharp fabre-like teeth and sleek grey fur. I’m a wolf, a wolf running to the sunset.

 I’m sprinting on the vast desert, my ears cocked in alert. In the bloody sunset, I can see only an endless stretch of sand, dry, hard sand. The wind is blowing hard, sweeping up dense fogs of sand, Yet my eyes, my eyes are wide open, shining in the dull stretch of yellow.

 My view is blurred and suddenly, beyond the horizon, I can see wonderful, grassy green plains, instead of the dull graying yellow. The prairie, my dream, my hope……I can see soft, juicy grass gleaming in the sun. I can see rolling green hills reaching to the horizon. I can see beautiful lakes, deep and cool. I can see tall trees shading down gentle coolness.

 The prairie, I’m coming …… I’m coming ……

 Then just like a dream, the fantasy lifts silently. The fog is here, as the wind howls wildly in my ears. The hills are replaced by sand hills, cold and cruel. The lakes are just patches of alkali. And the trees, the trees are all weary, withered and lifeless. As the wind roars past, the dry, weak branches are immediately torn off and swept away in the violent gust of wind.

 There is just an endless stretch of sand, dry, and vicious. And no prairie.

 But I must run, I must sprint along this wasted, never-ending road even if it leads to nowhere at all. I will either find the prairie or die in my search for it.

 For days I have run on the desert. The only sight I can see is the vast stretch of greying yellow. Dotted here and there are animal skulls and jagged rocks. I feel lonely, but I must go on for my dream.

 Suddenly, beyond another sand hill, I see a small water pool. This is not exactly an oasis, but still, I have hope.

 Slowly, I walk over to the water. I haven’t drunk anything for days, but the prairie means so much more to me than life.

 My heart gives a quiver, for there, on the edge of the pool, is a small, wee flower. It’s shivering in the wind, but although it’s so weak, it can still survive the tortures of nature. Its beauty makes the world shine with a new glow.

  I am awed by the strength of this little beauty. Not daring to hurt it, I move away quietly and stand at a distance, watching it spread its petals in the wind.

  I haven’t found the prairie, but I have found a symbol of green life. And that’s enough.

 Something seems to be edging close, but why should I care?

 I’m standing here in peace and quiet, piously worshipping this only sign of life I have found in the lonely desert. What I really need now is this peace and quiet, even a small fragment of it.

 All of a sudden, this tranquility is cruelly shattered to pieces by the harsh, ruthless bang of a gun. Everything is lost in the gloomy, bloody shade of the broken setting sun.

 I can feel a sharp pain in my ribs where the bullet went through. Warm, red blood gushes out of my wound. The sand is splattered with my blood and the sweetness of blood is in the hot air. In my eyes, there is only the bloody glory of dusk. And in this dazzling red, there is a feeble glint of green, the sign of life I have been seeking for days.

 My eyes are closing. I won’t be able to adore this lovely creature for long. Let it be, just let it be like this, I can hear myself groan painfully.

 But even this little wish is shattered. I can make out the shape of a jeep, owned by humans. There is something about hunting daubed bloodily on the door. Then the door is opened, and a large foot steps down — right on top of my beloved sign of green life. So feeble it is that it is killed in barely a second. Alas! My beloved green is destroyed by humans again. What will they spare in this world? And now, I’m going to be destroyed too, like the whole of my clan and this beautiful, feeble green life.

 I can feel a warm sparkle of tears before my eyes are closed—forever.

 I have finally found a symbol of life, yet it has perished because of the mercilessness of humans. And I, too, have gone with it…As my eyes close, I think I can see a wide spread of land in front of me, not yellow sand, but beautiful green grass …… the prairie ……

 But all the same, this land is still a vast, lifeless desert ……

    广东实验中学   初二（1）班   钟琬婷