A Crow's Pilgrimage

It all started in the western desert, where my ancestors lived thousands of years ago.  They built their congregations of nests in the crooked branches of the rising acacia tree, drank from the gracefully flowing waters of the oasis springs, and soared high in the limitless sky.  My great grandmother used to tell me stories of creatures that lived in the desert a long time ago. There were all sorts of flying, crawling, swimming and walking species. In the early morning, and with the first rays of the rising sun, snakes would get out of their caves looking for food, birds left their nests and flew towards the horizon, and insects mingled with the golden sand particles.  At night, the silence of the desert was penetrated by the sounds of howling wolves, night crickets, and hooting owls night-guarding the desert under the moonlight. 

But there was this one creature that my grandmother feared the most; She called it human. There were hundreds of thousands of them everywhere. These were big creatures that walked on the surface of the earth like kings and queens. All the creatures of the desert feared them for they were strong and smart. They cut stones out of the mountains and built huge houses and temples in the middle of the oasis. They roamed the desert on horses, and crossed the lakes by boats.   Every autumn, the humans plowed the fertile lands of the oasis and sowed different cereals, waiting for the harvest in the spring. They fed on the ripe dates of the lush palm trees, fruits like guavas and pomegranates, and the different cereals they harvested; they drank  spring waters  and rich cow milk mixed with honey and spices; they worshipped the sun, known to them as God “Ra” who ruled over the sky, the earth, and the underworld. 

My grandmother used to tell me that this was the golden age for our ancestors and for the whole creation, for they all lived in harmony and there seemed to be enough for everyone to survive and prosper.  As decades passed by, life took different forms. Humans started to change and get stronger, or as described by grandma, greedier.  Dwellers of the desert wanted to expand their powers to further lands, and so wars erupted between different races.  Thousands of humans died, houses and temples destroyed, and lands were set on fire. A great famine occurred during that time, and there was a mass starvation and diseases everywhere.  There was no food for humans or animals to eat, and death crawled heavily on the surface of the earth. Many species of animals, birds and fish were said to forever disappear after the great famine.  As years passed, the dwellers of the desert mingled with other races who, like the birds of prey, fed on animals, and sometimes birds…but not us; for they despised us, and believed that we bring bad luck. Whenever they heard our cawing voices, they chanted a spell to drive bad luck away.   Life was never the same as before.

New races of humans emerged and filled the desert. They made sure to erase all traces of previous civilizations, and so they went on demolishing all the houses and temples, and building grandiose structures in their place. One day, a hoopoe came to my grandmother’s nest to tell her that something terrible is going to happen in the coming days: the lord of the desert had decided to build a huge kingdom in the heart of the oasis. He was going to uproot all the palm trees in the middle of the oasis, and fill in a large part of the grand lake to make a huge ground for the mansions of his kingdom.  The bad news turned into reality, and the Lord started his evil plans. The desert trembled in pain as thousands of trees were chopped and the nests of inhabitant birds crushed ruthlessly;  the flowing waters of the grand lake were interrupted by concrete blocks;  the enchanting essence of Acacia trees and guava leaves were replaced by the toxic smell of cement and burning wood ashes. Fish got poisoned by the cement in the water and died, and birds fled the desert to find a refuge somewhere else. 

My family were among the migrating birds. They fled to the east towards the Nile Delta. They had heard from many birds before that this area was known for its fertile land and the endlessly flowing River Nile. It took them ten days to arrive to the new land and settle down. They chose a grand sycamore tree and nestled in its thick branches…there I was born. 

Although  I had never seen the desert, I was enchanted by the stories my grandmother told me about it. In my heart, I felt like a refugee, I didn’t belong to the big city with its hustle and bustle. I had this deep longing to go back to where my ancestors once lived, but it was all in the past. I felt lonely where we lived; no snakes, no fish, no foxes or guava fragrance filling the night breeze; only blocks of cement, sick scrawny trees, and garbage dumps everywhere. Humans were humans, whether in the city or in the desert; their greediness and disconnection from the creatures around them was the reason for our misery. 

And a day came where I was standing silently on a tree branch, watching the world from above, and enjoying my solitude. I saw a little human spotting me from afar. He came slowly  towards the tree and smiled cunningly. As I was getting ready to flee that intruder human, he quickly picked up a big pebble from the ground and threw it towards me. It hit my head, and I cowed in pain before I lost consciousness and fall from the tree to the muddy ground. 

As I opened  my eyes slowly, I found myself laying there in darkness, gazing at the starry sky. A fresh cool breeze swept by my face, Carrying a reviving essence of guava and pomegranate trees. I was so tired that my  eyes drowsed shut again, and I moved deep inside my very soul. Deeper and deeper I went inside, until I lost track of time and space. But it was not long before the sound of flapping wings brought me back to where my body lay. I opened my eyes and glanced towards the glaring sun in the blue sky.

The flapping wings were those of my grandmother.  she called me to rise up and follow her to the heart of the desert.  I was mesmerized, and with no hesitation I followed her, not knowing where we were going.

The rocks were white as pearls, and fresh waters flowed like dancing mermaids in the great lake. I gazed towards the infinite horizon and saw a  huge acacia tree in the middle of the desert. I was finally back home. I knelt down in front of the tree and called my ancestors spirits. The silence of the desert was suddenly penetrated by the cowing voices of thousands of crows who filled the skies and flew over me. I flipped my wings and soared high with them towards the sun, my pilgrimage.