Moments later, they moved through the densely covered forest. A beautiful lake was just a few feet away.
Sydney pointed. “Look! A rainforest riviera!”
Frederick, the flamingo, was sunning himself near the edge of the river. He was wearing a pair of sunglasses over his eyes, and had a cool, tropical drink in a wooden mug with a hollow reed for a straw. He sat on a chaise lounge made with woven reeds and had a magazine in his wing that looked like it had washed up from the beach.
“Look who’s there!” gestured Persius.
“He knows all the best spots!” declared Cedric.
Sydney shook her head in agreement. “We should hang out with him more often!”
Frederick caught them from the corner of his eye and waved at the egrets from the chaise lounge. “Hello, boys!”
Sydney growled and placed her wings on her hips. Her foot was tapping impatiently as she glared at Frederick. “Do I look like a boy to you?”
“Uh, oh, Freddie, you’ve done it now,” Cedrick said.
The other two egrets broke out laughing when Frederick feigned being scared. Persius was laughing so hard, he doubled over and Sydney kicked him on the butt, knocking him off the elephant’s back.
“Hey!” Persius shouted from the dusty ground.
Sydney looked around for any takers. “Who’s next?”
Cedrick started backing up with his wings out in front to him to stay off Sydney’s advances. He tripped over a fold in the elephant’s skin and toppled over the side. “I shoulda seen that one comin’”
Frederick laughed at the egrets, and waived off Sydney’s anger. “Girlfriend, you need to fly over to my pad later, and I’ll show you a thing or two about how to dress the part. Pink…you know it’s all the rave and all about the color. What do ya say?”
Sydney smiled. “You’re on!”
Further in the forest, Penelope unlatched her nest door and entered. She tapped the firefly jar lid with her beak. The fireflies lit up and a low buzzing sound filled the air.
Penelope was in a melancholy mood. “Honey, I’m home.”
She peeked in her mirror and pecked at it. “Woooo. Home is where the heart is. Wooo.”
She looked around her empty nest. Everything was where she left it, but everything that had once been important to her no longer made her happy. She turned back to her reflection. “Home is where the heart is…. Heart is with Thunder. Woooo. Penelope go home.”
Two silverback gorillas, Harold and Neville, had been observing from their hilltop vantage point. They saw the uprights building large fences around their farms. This time, they had taken down the electrical boxes that had been attached to them before.
Neville tilted his head as he watched them. “Uprights again? Hard to trust them.”
Harold agreed, “Yeah, you never know what they want.”
Neville poked a twig into a termite mound. Small bugs gathered on the twig and he lifted it to his mouth. He slurped down the clinging tasty insects then dipped the stick back into the mound and handed the stick to Harold to share. Harold wiped his tongue across his lips.
“Mmm…” murmured Neville.
“Thanks!” Harold said.
Neville shook his head at the uprights below. “They need to wake up from their long sleep.”
Harold nodded. “Seems they’ve forgotten their true purpose.”
“And the original plan,” agreed Neville.
“Maybe one day they will remember,” added Harold.
“Perhaps,” said Neville.
Harold and Neville heard the sound of hammering and noticed a female upright outside a scientist compound near the farms. She was putting the finishing touches on a large, open aviary.
“Look, some have. Ah, but some have not…”
The panoramic view of the rainforest was an amazing sight. Birds chirped happily around them. New night sounds started to break free as the sun started to set around them. Haru and the bats took flight across the sky. Elephants trumpeted in the distance.
“That’s right,” agreed Harold.
Thunder and his escorts entered the open valley. Out of nowhere Penelope flew in and landed on Thunder’s head. “What the…?” Thunder said in surprise.
“Hi honey, I’m home. Woooo,” Penelope chirped.
Both Thunder and the egrets laughed at the goofy parrot.
“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” Sydney said.
“Welcome back, Penny,” said Cedrick
When Penelope fisted her feathers at Cedrick’s beak, they all laughed harder. “P-e-n-e-l-o-p-e.”
“Okay, sorry, kid…er…Penelope,” said Cedrick.
Penelope hopped onto Thunder’s trunk and looked him in the eyes.
“Hi!” Thunder said.
Penelope cocked her head to the side. “Thunder find home?”
“Yes.”
“Home is where the heart is. Woooo. Home is with Thunder.” Thunder’s smile grew as Penelope continued. “Thunder find mother?”
Thunder’s smile faltered. “I will.”
“Many elephant’s ahead. Woooo. Thunder find mother.”
Thunder looked past the bird into the field. Off in the distance he saw a large elephant herd, and his smile returned. “I see the herd, Penelope, my mom might be there!”
“Thunder find mother,” Penelope chirped. “Thunder home.”
Thunder stomped once, and the ground beneath their feet shook. Penelope flew up to land on Thunder’s back. Thunder looked over to the elder elephant and he nodded in approval.
He stomped again and waited. One member of the herd stopped eating and looked up. At the third stomp the other elephant left the herd and headed in their direction at a run.
“Someone’s coming!” Thunder stomped again in excitement Penelope flew off Thunder’s back to join the egrets. “I think it’s my mom…Yes, I see her!”
Thunder took off at a run toward her and met his mom in the middle of the field. Their trunks locked as they embraced. Sadness was replaced with joy. Their family had been reunited against all odds.…
The rest of the herd acknowledged the happy reunion and encircled Serenity and Thunder. They raised their trunks and trumpeted gleefully in the air.
All the animals joined them in their celebration. Even Frederick paused to clap for their reunion. The egrets flew happy circles around them. The rest of the animals around the lake and near the edge of the forest were watching in awe.
Serenity was crying with happiness. “My baby, I thought I had lost you.”
Thunder closed his eyes and nuzzled closer to her. “Home is where family is, and I’m never leaving you again.”
“I love you, Thunder.”
“Love you too, Mom, and boy did I have an adventure…”
The early morning sun was just cresting the horizon. A few dark storm clouds had gathered in the distance. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled over the countryside from the distance. A huge storm was brewing and would soon be upon them.
Thunder walked with Serenity and the elder elephant he now knew as Baron. They climbed up the gentle slope and stopped when they reached the top. They were high upon a bluff looking down over all the animals in the valley below. All the animals there were living in harmony.
Serenity rubbed her trunk affectionately over Thunder’s head. He closed his eyes and leaned into her. “You’ve had quite an adventure, young man.”
“I did, but all I really wanted to do was find you.”
“Baron told me that you were brave out there and saved a young upright. I’m so proud of you.”
“We all are,” said Baron.
“You have grown into a fine young elephant, and it is an honor to call you my son.”
Thunder smiled. “Thanks mom!”
BOOM! There was another flash of lightning and the thunder shook the ground. All the animals stopped what they were doing to look up into the sky. The clouds billowed and churned above them, then parted to show the great elephant, the legendary Tusker. Suddenly a great voice was heard. “Thunder, you have fulfilled the Great Legend of Wenda Wizulu bringing the animals and the uprights in harmony and peace for a moment in time. May we all learn from this and try to live in harmony from this day forward.”
“Do you see that?” Baron asked. “That is the legendary Tusker.”
Thunder’s mouth had dropped open in awe. “Wow.”
“You are now a legend. Your story will be told throughout our generations. Because of your selfless act of bravery, you have brought the hope of survival to the rainforest once again.”
The end.