And so it begins...

Hunger tore at its stomach. Its legs were shaky with the effort it took to stand up. All day the poor beast had roamed around the jungle looking for food, a morsel of anything. Edibility was not an issue now; survival was. As the sun set, the creature had made peace with its stomach to endure another hungry night. The acids were burning into the intestines but it knew this phase was the worst. Just before darkness overtook your senses and you sleep into peaceful oblivion. A state of serene unconsciousness where the only feeling is that of relief. But today was different. The creature tried to close its eyes and slip into the black hole but was not being successful. '3 more days max' it thought; 'can't endure much longer. This would stop soon...Yes...then the darkness would be mine forever....' Slowly its eyes started drooping and sleep spread its tendrils over the creatures senses. The world was a perfect place again, there were friends around and far off a juicy piece of meat waited with open arms. Through the foggy consciousness the creature became aware of the other members of its herd tear apart a deer and eat. When they could eat no longer, they threw the rest to the ground and went off. The creature drowsy with sleep and only half alive couldn't believe its eyes. 'I must be hallucinating...losing my head slowly...But maybe....' Slowly the creature limped and crawled towards the meat. It looked from left to right to see if there were any others who would exercise their claim over the prize. Sensing that there was no one, it increased its pace. With mouth drooling and eyes only on the piece of meat, the creatures joy was boundless. 'I'll live...YES I'LL LIVE!' The creature gave a loving wet lick to its dinner and thanked its stars for this oppurtune. It opened its mouth and was just about to gobble the meal when an unbearable pain shot through its sides. It felt as if its heart were being forced out of its body from the inside. It looked sideways and saw the other members of the herd were throwing sharp edged bolts at it to prevent it from eating. 'Please' it moaned, 'I am just a kid and have not eaten in so many days, you have had your fill please let me finish what you've thrown away!' It cried. It fought. Angry, Frustration, Sadness, Hunger, Defeat, Death...
In the final moments of its existence, its entire short life passed by in a flicker of bitter sweet memories. It now understood what its mother had explained the moment it opened its eyes and saw a beautiful rose for the first time. "Crush the rose son."
"But mom," said the new born, "Its so beautiful! The petals in their perfect symmetry, colors of bright crimson and the fragnance so divine! How can you kill such an existence which brings out beautiful thoughts in you?!" "Its a unfortunate beauty my son. The petals with their symmetry mock at the haphazard existence of others, the crimson shades make us aware that blood would be spilt and the fragnance is so that we dont think about the thorns yonder. There is nothing in this world that would make us understand beauty which is not a description of sacrifice. The brilliant colors of the rainbow you see are blurred reflections of light and never too clear. One color superimposed on the other trying to edge the other out. The songs the birds sing are never melodious but an expression of their helplessness and the rivers you see flowing are just tears of the dead. Its the rule of the jungle my darling, you live only if you kill. Paradox they may seem but killing is the only way to live. So I wish you kill many my son, I wish you live long..."
The creatures eyes closed for the final time, it was in great pain but it was happy. It had been betrayed, but it found bliss in that betrayal. A release that it sought for so long was finally here...

(To be continued...)