The Jaguar

The Jaguar

The huge stones ran in a jagged line along the bank of the river. The river moved slowly sparkling in the clear autumn sunshine. The riverbank led to a cluster of trees. It was here amongst the trees that the jaguar sat hidden in the canopy of leaves. Every so often a leaf fell slowly from the tree to the grass. The jaguar barely noticed the leaves. His stare was fixed firmly on the stones as they absorbed the rays of the sunshine. The sun glinted on the surface of the river and cast a glow across the grey surface of the stones. With a lazy sluggish movement the jaguar moved along the branch and waited. The sound of the water was the only sound in the air. The jaguar turned and looked around. 

His movements were slow and yet full of power and elegance. In a second the jaguar leapt into the space in front of him. The shape of the cat filled the air. His black fur shimmered in the sun. The cat's body did not fall directly to the grass. The shape seemed to hang in the air and drop in gradients toward the ground. Each movement left a ghostly shape in the air as it flowed into the next solid form. The jaguar seemed to be part of six or seven outlines which in a spectrum of solidity headed toward the firm earth. From deep shimmering black the shapes became more and more translucent until they faded in a faint image of movement. It was as if the jaguar had leapt into six shapes in the air which faded and blurred until they reached the ground. Now at last the black cat stood on the ground in a black, stern shape of darkness. The air around the cat shimmered with the impulse of the jump. The cat prowled across the grass toward the river. His body was firm and powerful stepping toward the water. The light flowed over him and shone in the black elegance of his prowling body. 

When the jaguar reached the stones he sniffed the air and stopped. The river sparkled beyond the riverbank and the trees swayed in a light breeze. The jaguar lifted his paw and began to scratch the side of the stone. He did so firmly and in a regular movement. Gradually as he scratched the stone marks began to show on the stone surface. The marks became deeper and deeper as he scratched.

From the deep within the surface of the stone a faint sound began to emerge.

The sound sounded like a faint pulse of breathe. The sound grew as the jaguar scratched.

As the wind grew the trees swayed more violently. The river darkened and the sparkling surface quality of the water changed. A cold shadow passed across the river and the riverbank alike.

The stone split slowly and gradually. The stone surface opened and the claws of the jaguar pulled the parts away. As the stone opened a sweet smell emerged into the air. The jaguar lifted itself up to stand looking into the stone. The parts of the stone fragmented and fell to the grass.

The jaguar lifted back it's head and roared in ecstasy. It's call carried across the forest toward the low hills and the town beyond.

As night came the wind moved slowly across the tops of the trees. The colours of the stars shone down on the forest as the jaguar paced toward the faraway hills. Around the neck of the jaguar hung an emerald stone that glowed in the night air. The stone had given up the emerald to the claim of the black cat. Now the jaguar prowled the moonlit forest decorated with the green trophy. The agitated monkeys that glanced at the cat saw the emerald  became still . The owls that swooped amongst the high branches saw the emerald and stayed their flight out of admiration. All the creatures of the forest recognised that the jaguar was the prince of the shadows now that he wore the beautiful jewel. The birds of the forest sand tributes to the black cat as he paced the dark night. 

Until morning the emerald glowed and lit up the night of shadows. The music of the forest faded before the clear hearted brilliance of the jewel. The stars themselves seem faint in comparison.

At last the jaguar curled up and began to sleep. He found a place high in the trees. As he slept his dreams reached out over the highest trees in the forest. The dream shone in delicate and translucent tones that scaled the sky up toward the moon itself.   

The moon accepted the dreams like words of sacred promise. The dreams blurred in the night sky sending streams of icy green light that reached across the night of the world. The jaguar's eyes grew more and more green as he stared into the night. Eventually the planets became small beside the eyes of the jaguar as it leapt through the starlight into the distance.

Chris Bird