The Wailing Creatures Written by Sumayyah Oluwafunbi Ogunsola

The Wailing Creatures 

Written by Sumayyah Oluwafunbi Ogunsola

    With a big smile on and shiny gleaming teeth plastered on my sweaty face, I step inside the dusty building with the big bold inscription: ‘WELCOME TO THE ZOO!’ As I walk around with my black heels making a pit-pat, click-clack sound, my eager brown irises get locked in a trance with the brownish red Hawaiian bird. The bird’s fluffy feathers gently ruffles, and his sad eyes stare at mine.’13 YEARS OLD’ the sign on the cage says. I take a deep, heavy breath and trudge forward.

          “Oooh!” the wail of a mama chimpanzee reaches my sensitive ears, causing my skin to have a minute goosebumps.

   Heartbreaking scene of a mother chimpanzee and her child in black, rusted chains and anguished expressions on their faces, permanently etches itself in my head. ‘MOTHER: 29. BABY: 4’ sign, displays.

          My white eyeballs blur as I get teary-eyed with my heart throbbing in my chest. The ground suddenly rumbles and the brown-black dust forms clouds. I bring my already disheartened self to see a big, grey African elephant with a rough trunk, dusty brown husk with a gaping wound in his ear. My angry eyes zeroes in on the swarm of human, wicked minions, raising the hot red whip to strike the defenseless creatures, every now and then.

          ‘Help me! Help!’ a squeaky animal voice exclaims near me. I spin around, seeing the colourful bright parrot with the broken yellow beak. My heart calls out to the endangered animal and I let out a throaty, dry and painful cough. I urge myself to move forward. Time whizzes by and I find myself in front of a heart-wrenching scene.

         Sea of people laughing hysterically and cruelly, as the white fluffy sheep, now coated in their own blood, wailing in pain and terror, bleating for mercy as wicked minions whip them. Something about them makes a lone tear fall on my dusty face. The sound of people laughing enrages me further as I yell for it all, to stop!

Time pauses. 

I recall the horrifying scenes I witnessed without a trace of emotion on my glaring face. I suddenly fall to the muddy ground, my white shirt soaked in mud as I let out a loud sob.

I was helpless.

Stay tuned for more stories by Sumayyah Oluwafuni Ogunsola