Virat : The Loving Lion

“Virat : The Loving Lion” is one of the outstanding stories of the first biannual International Short Story Contest 2018 written by Rohit Gupta, Shri Vinayak Academy International Senior Secondary School, India.

Virat : The Loving Lion

Once, 55 years ago, there was enormous jungle in India. It was a rain forest. Trees were very long, light comes only for name only. There were many small and big animals.

There were 22 lion families in the jungle at that time. It was the time to give birth to the babies of lion. In one family a male lion took birth. He was special because he had done struggle during the birth he was so weak, but his mother helped him and gave him much milk to get his health back.

After some time the baby lion successful to survive and started to play with his friends but his mother was so worry for her baby. His husband came and said to her, ‘why are you so worried? He is now in good health.’

‘But he is a little baby and I am a mother.’ mother (Mermaid) said.

‘I can understand but he is now ok.’ Father (Randy) said.

Then Mermaid said, ‘ok take care of him I am going to find food to you both.’

Mermaid looked once to her baby (Virat). Then she went with other lioness to find prey as lunch.

Virat and his father were alone at home and waiting for mermaid.

Virat said to his father, ‘dad, I am feeling bore at home, can I go outside to play?’

Randy thought and said, ‘yes, but come back before your mother come back.’

‘Ok’ Virat said

Then Virat went to play and his father slept down on the floor of home.

When Virat was playing with his friends they got tired go to sleet but Virat didn’t gone to sleep he alone gone to take a round of jungle then.

When he was walking in the jungle he listened female lion sound, the sound was coming ‘is there anyone to save me?’

Immediately he went in the direction of the voice and found a whole on ground in which a female lion was struck.

She said, ‘please save me.’

Immediately Virat start rescue of that lioness, he made a rope with some climbers and then he throw the rope inside the whole and said her to catch that rope. When she catched the rope he pulled her with his full force once he saved from gone inside the whole because of a drift made in his legs, but finally any how he saved her.

She said to him, ‘thanks to you very much.’

Virat said to her, ‘what is your name?’

She said, ‘my name is Lina.’

Virat said, ‘hello Lina, my name is Virat.’

Lina said, ‘thank you so much Virat, I thought that I can’t meet with anyone now.’

On one hand Virat was talking to Lina but on the other hand Mermaid came to home with food. She didn’t find Virat at home he asked to Randy for Virat, he gave the answer that he was playing outside the home.

‘But I didn’t saw him outside the home I am coming from there’ Mermaid said.

‘What?’ Randy said

‘Yes’

‘So he is playing nearby here.’ Randy said.

Mermaid as a mother didn’t wasting time she gone outside the home and started searching to Virat. When she was searching for Virat she saw him but with a lioness she called Virat.

Virat came and said to Mermaid, ‘mom, meet my new friend Lina. Actually she was felt down inside the whole made by humans.’

His mother said, ‘oh, so who saved her.’

Lina said, ‘your son saved me.’

Virat, ‘yes mom I saved her.’

Mother said to both, ‘come home to eat lunch.’

Virat said, ‘yes mom, we are coming.’

Lina said, ‘who we? I am not coming’

Virat, ‘why?’

Lina, ‘because I want to go’

Virat, ‘please come!’

Mermaid said, ‘let her go, Virat.’

‘Ok mom’, Virat said in a bad mood.

Then Lina gone to her home and Virat & Mermaid gone to take food. They ate the food, and then Virat gone for a walk. When the Virat was on the walk, he met Lina again. They started to talk while they were walking.

A long time gone now, the Virat became young and lover of Lina. But that was the time when the no. of hunters increased and started to kill the lions very rapidly. So, everyone in the village became in fear.

Once, Virat and Lina gone to spend some time alone, some hunters came in the area where, their families were living. Hunters took some lions with them, in which Virat’s father was also included.

When he gone back to their living area he saw, all things are finished his father was also not there he ask her mother for his father. Her mother started to cry. He stopped her. He understood, what had done before. When he saw that Lina was also crying, he asked what had done to you now.

Lina said, ‘my mom was also caught.’

Virat said, ‘ok, then I will take them back.’

Now, it was night and all are sleeping but Virat was doing something else. He was making Lina not to cry. He told her that he will anyhow take her mother back to her.

At the morning, he called some of his friends all ask them weather they will go.

One of them said, ‘humans might kill them.’

Virat refused and said, ‘no this never can held’

All of them gone but then Lina came and said.

‘I will come with you.’

Virat said, ‘I can’t make your life in danger.’

Lina, ‘my mom was not here. You are the one who offered me help. So I will be with you if you will go there?’

Virat said, ‘but’

Lina stopped him and said, ‘I don’t want to listen anything.’

Virat said, ‘ok!’

Lina and Virat gone to the hill and took a pledge that they will not come before saving their parents.

Again, in their living place hunters came and to catch lions. Virat and Lina caught easily according to their plan. They have got an injection of sleeping they became sleep. After some time they became wake up and see in their surroundings, there is a dark room in which they kept. Someone came in the room they felt a great brightness in their eyes. A man came there and gave them some food.

They eat it and waiting for another man to see, they started to roar and then Lina acted that she was died. A man came there and when he saw Lina died he called the doctor.

He checked up the Lina but she acted that she was so lazy. When checkup was running, she listened ‘what kind of lions you brought?’ then ‘sorry sir never done same.’

Then she listened, ‘ok-ok take all four lions at the bid table.’

She was sent to her cadge. She and Virat slept in the cadge, they listen to the sound of metal, looking that they are being transferred by humans actually they are now inside the truck.

Now, the lights inside the trucks became on. They saw something that they already wanted Virat’s father and Lina’s mother. They became mad Virat and Lina started to roar very much they tilt cadge but unable to open it. Now, all four started to roar very hardly.

The truck driver and officers got the shake on the truck because to the tilt of cadge. They come out of the truck and gone to the storage side they saw cadge was tilt and all lions were roaring.

They gave them a shot of sleeping medicine, again started to go there again but any how Virat gone stand up and open the door of the cadge and saved his father and Lina’s mother. Now they are free of cadge but not of the truck.

Suddenly, they smell their jungle and get the extra power, like god gave them that power. They together mix their power and just in a shot they broke the gate of truck.

They saw that their jungle was in front of them they didn’t see any where and started to run towards their native place but the officers seen them and because of danger they started firing in which Lina get died all of them stop there and saw the Lina but they again started fire but any how they saved themselves. But not to Lina.

So in this way they became saved but they also have a sad side that Lina, Virat became mad and became quite, he also refused to food and almost after a month he also died.