Billy from Borneo (8) and last
After a lot of planning and hard work, Billy´s farming plan or perhaps I should say the plan his mother had, that he managed to communicate to the hairless apes, took hold and the fruits of their labour could be seen in all the fields surrounding the refuge. At the start it had been extremely difficult, especially as Billy´s dad had formed a bit of a gang that raided the fields at night and ate everything, seedlings and all. A rift grew between the anti-farming and pro-farming groups until the hairless apes put up barbed wire around the allotments. They also attached a little alarm system which triggered a rattling of pots and pans and tin cans if any intruders got past the barbed wire.
Eventually and especially after the first produce was divided up between the farming people of the forest and the hairless apes Billy´s dad´s gang changed their opinion and joined the pro farming movement although they still had a few reservations toward the hairless apes and maintained that the produce was never quite fairly shared out.
Everything seemed to be working out well and the hairless apes and the people of the forest were building a bond which increased the level of trust and respect they had for each other. That was of course until the day arrived that set their progress back years.
It was a scorcher. The unlikely companions were working together in the fields when there was an upsurge of birds from the forest, their usual cheerful chirruping had changed to that of shrill alarm. Billy and the others looked upwards. They were fleeing some predator, probably a tiger. Suddenly and without warning some of the people of the forest dropped their tools and headed toward the village lake. That made the hairless apes stop working and huddle together, shout and point at the horizon between the tops of the forest and the sky. It was glowing a reddish orange colour and white smoke billowed out of it. You could hear the forest grumble under it´s presence. Billy´s mother grabbed him and made her way to the village lake to join the other orangutans. All of a sudden a tiger ran past them and immersed himself in the lake. More creatures followed him and soon the lake was an amalgam of hunters and game, united out of their fear of fire.
From the lake the animals could see the hairless apes. Some of them were also running into the water but the majority of them appeared to have a plan of action. The forest crackled and sparked under the oppressive and looming blaze. Billy couldn´t believe it. They were going to try and attack or at least deflect the monster. They cut away the debris and cleared all foliage that lay between the forest and the village. Then with hoses squirting out water they soaked the same ground. The inferno was almost upon them. The fields that lay beside the forest had already been consumed in a gulf of flames. Tired and soot-faced they eventually admitted their limitations and fled toward the watery refuge where all the forest creatures cowered and waited for the terror to pass. They grouped together in the water, some of the hairless apes carried sticks and rifles. They thought the wild forest beasts might grab an easy meal at any moment especially as it could prove to be a last one.
The people of the forest didn´t carry any sticks. They hadn´t thought that far ahead. The fire roared around them. They could hear the screams of some creatures that just hadn´t got away in time or that had been too stubborn to leave. The air and the lake warmed. It was suffocating.
When it finally died down the animals snarled a bit at each other then raced, soaking, out into the charcoal jungle. A few shots from a rifle ensured that all the forest creatures left the village in a hurry.
The people of the forest and the hairless apes inspected the destruction. Part of the village had been burnt to the ground. The part they had attempted to save had avoided the flames. Their fields however, had been badly damaged. The people of the forest said their goodbyes and headed on to look for a new home in another part of the forest. These crazy hairless apes were already trying to fix the village up and restore productivity. Billy admired them for their tenacity but his people just saw the situation as an impossible one. They knew that food would be scarce and the predators would be coming into the village looking for any sort of meal, it was time to head into wilder denser forests. Billy hugged the villagers and then followed his people. The little hairless ape that had fed him fruit followed them for a while until one of the grown up apes grabbed her and carried her back to the village. Billy hopped that one day they could live with their new allies again and said so to his daddy. Billy´s daddy just shook his head.