The Boy and the Puma

by Drew Searing
There once lived a boy close to the shore. His whole life he wondered what lay beyond the mountains which were opposite the ocean. When he was little, Boy was taken by his father to the other side of the majestic mountain. From the apex of the grand mountain, Boy basked in a most beautiful view, which up to that moment he had never seen. It was the desert.

Throughout his youth, Boy dreamed of the desert and visited it many times with father.
With each visit, Boy drowned even further into the love of the desert. Boy studied each desert animal: the rattlesnake, the scorpion, the bobcat, the roadrunner, the hawk and the long-eared rabbit. The animal that fascinated him most was the mountain lion or, as the people call it in the Southern Continent, the Puma.

Boy went camping with father in the desert and awoke one dark night. An eerie mist hung in layers and the moon glowed through the layers over to a huge gray boulder. Boy's eyes widened at the sight of a handsome mountain lion.

"Don't be frightened, Boy. I will never hurt you. I want to help and to teach you, forever," Puma said.

"0k," replied Boy. "What do you want me to do?"

"Anything you ever want to do. Be free to create your own destiny and love everyone you ever meet," Puma cried out emphatically as he dashed off toward the high cliff.

Boy returned to camp many times in the desert. Sometimes alone and sometimes with friends. Each night Boy would walk away from the campsite to learn from Puma.

One night, Boy and Puma had a very intriguing conversation about conservation, ecology, pollution. Puma was disgusted at humanity's waste and hatred of the Earth. Boy could not comment. Boy returned home that night to dream of life as a mountain lion.

"I know what I want to be in life. I want to be a mountain lion, like you!" Boy announced the next time he was in the desert.

"Are you certain?" Puma asked.

"Yes. I will prove it to you. Eat me. Consume me so that my soul and yours will become one and I will not even feel pain.”

"You must be without doubt," Puma said. "Go home and return when you are ready.”

Boy obeyed. Studying day and night, Boy learned all there was to know about the life of a mountain lion. Boy knew that he must begin to eat only the most natural, healthy food. Puma would not eat anything impure or toxic. Any man-made chemical would be detected and rejected. Boy wished more than anything to be a mountain lion.

Boy returned to the desert when he was ready. He went alone. He walked to his favorite ridge and sat comfortably in the sun. He felt a cool breeze over his hot body which delighted him. Boy opened his eyes to see Puma racing toward him with fangs and claws open and ready to devour.

The next thing Boy remembered was running on all fours to places high on a bluff Boy had never been to before. The view of the desert from there was the most beautiful site Boy had ever seen. Boy was now Puma.

Puma felt invigorated by his new soul-mate becoming one. Puma felt more love than ever previously felt. He now wondered what was next. He rested on a warm rock near a cliff. He lazily opened his eyes toward the radiant sun.