The next morning, Shapur woke from his sleep feeling refreshed and famished. He hopped out of bed and began his normal morning routine, looking for food. However, before he got very far, The King found him.
“Good morning,” The King greeted Shapur. He offered a hug, but Shapur took a nervous step back. The King did not force the issue and continued, “It’s time for breakfast. Let’s get something to eat.”
That sounded good to Shapur, so he nodded and said, “Ok.”
They walked side by side down the halls of the palace towards the kitchens, and as they went, The King told him the stories depicted by the decorations they passed.
They arrived at the kitchens where the cook gave them as much food as they could eat. When the food arrived, talking gave way to eating. As he ate, Shapur watched everything, noted all the entrances, and stuffed as much food into himself as fast as possible. The King ate in comfortable silence, thoroughly enjoying the moment and Shapur’s company.
After they finished eating, The King looked at Shapur and said, “I have some things to attend to. It is a beautiful day, so why don’t you go outside and explore?”
“Ok,” replied Shapur. Since he had already eaten, he didn’t have anything else to do, and exploring could be fun.
The King was right. It really was a spectacular day. Warm in the sun, cool in the shade, and basically, just right for anything you wanted to do. The land was as spectacular as the palace. The area was hilly, and the palace was placed on top of a hill. From here you could see forests, open fields, and even mountains rising in the distance. Shapur took his time looking at it all in wonder before walking towards a nearby grove of trees. Life thrived everywhere he looked. As he walked, he was frequently intrigued by a new kind of animal, plant, or yet another stream.
His old home was located on plains with coarse, hardy grass and sparse clumps of twisted trees. While there was enough water to survive, he had never seen it flowing in such abundance. Everything here was so much …. more.
Shapur stayed close to the palace because he was afraid of other landowners. In his experience, they did not appreciate strangers on their lands and generally expressed their displeasure violently. Even so, there was plenty to explore, and he continued on, engrossed in his surroundings.
He passed many doors in the castle, and was puzzled because there were no guards visible. “Maybe the guards are on the inside,” he wondered? He couldn’t imagine The King leaving his palace unguarded. Nobility, he knew, were paranoid about the wrong people getting into their palaces.
After a while, he walked over a rise to see another door, but this one was opening. A girl about his age stepped out and walked in his direction. Then she spotted him and gave him a friendly wave. As soon as she was close enough, she introduced herself.
“Hi, I’m Shira,” she greeted him with all the warmth and self-assurance an outgoing little girl can muster. “I haven’t seen you before. What’s your name?”
“Um…” what was his name again? “Shapur.” This was the first time he said his name, and it felt strange.
Shira’s eye’s got big. “Oh, your The King’s son. I heard about you. Pleasure to meet you. Hey, do you want to come with me? I found a mama deer with twins, and I’ve been taming them. I even pet one of the fawns the other day. They’re soooo cute!”
“Ok,” replied Shapur.
“Come on!” Shira said turning and leading the way. As they walked Shira chatted pointing out the locations of the best climbing trees, “houses”, views, etc. She knew all the animals and plants in the area and enjoyed sharing her knowledge with anyone who would listen. Shapur was awed by the sheer quantity of cheerful words rushing from Shira and listened enchantedly. Shira was, of course, thrilled to have such an attentive listener.
Eventually, they arrived at a pool by the edge of a forest. Shira stopped talking and looked over at Shapur with a finger on her lips. They walked quietly around the pool towards the forest and entered it before turning parallel to the pool’s edge. At this point, Shira began singing a soft, quiet song. Soon, a small head poked through the leaves, quickly followed by another.
Shira pulled some sweet fruit from her pocket and knelt down talking softly. Shapur knelt as well watching curiously as the faces were followed by spotted bodies supported on thin, graceful legs. The fawns nervously flicked their tails as they came forward to get the treats.
They came to Shira and nuzzled her until she held up the fruit for them to eat. One of them sniffed at Shapur uncertainly. Seeing this, Shira reached over to place a piece of fruit in his hand. As the fawn ate the fruit from his hand, he reached up to touch it. A thrill went through him when his hand made contact. The fawn was so alive and strong.
Shira threw a piece of fruit off to the side, and Shapur realized the mother was standing there watching over her fawns. She came, ate the morsel, then turned away. As all the food was gone, the fawns ran over to their mother, and she led them deeper into the forest.
Shira giggled, “wasn’t that great! I come here every day I can. These are basically my pet deer!”
Shapur nodded.“They’re amazing,” he responded quietly. The experience had left behind a quiet calm that he could not define.
“Come on,” Shira said. “It’s time to get back, so we will be on time for our own lunch.”
Read the Next Story: Village in the Trees
I like this one. Nice illustration. Good expression.
wonderful story, thanks for sharing. Bless you Johnathon Blessings to your beautiful family. You all are in our prayers always.