In a cold breezeless afternoon, I stood on the mountains devoid of any vegetation. I looked
back at the flock of sheep which i had been tasked in protecting and looking after .
"I should start heading back" i spoke to myself as i look at the clouds, painted golden from the sun.
'This view never get's old'
i think to myself
As i slowly descent down the mountain herding the flock of sheep back to my tribe.
I notice a horseman racing back in a state of urgency.
"Is he someone from the tribe" i wonder.
I start descending faster with my sheep, still trying to graze on the sparse vegetation present at the bottom of the mountain .
As i walk towards the dozens of Bakus present in the grassland near the mountain i see the tribesmen working, tending to the sheep, drying leather, cooking.
"Hey Nima bring your flock quickly. We are going to start counting "
"Ok Dalmo uncle" i replied to my muscular yet short uncle who's height was 5'8 which in no manner was short but my family was a bit weird.
My mother being 5'9 , my father being 6'5 and my other uncles being at most 6'3 or 6'1. So he turned out to be the black sheep of the family. Although he might be considered short, he is also one of the strongest fighters in our tribe being able to throw a grown man 5 feet away.
As i walk and reach my uncle he pats my back saying
"Well looks like our young Nima is being a good shepard"
I just wryly smile at my uncle as his 'simple pat' as he likes to say, took the air out of my lungs.
"Well my sheep are well fed and happy" i reply back smugly.
"HAHAHA look at you being proud again
, or have you forgotten the beating you took when you lost in sho last time" he countered back with his usual muscle brained personality.
"I'd rather not do that again" i say as i slowly try to inch away.
"HAHA just go, your mother has been searching for you " he laughs and say's as he caught me trying to escape.
I nod at my uncle's words and say some farewell like have a good night and go to search for my mother.
My mother is the tribe chieftains wife, she is 5'9 with white hair considering she is 50 years old with brown skin and tints of red on her face from the cold. Even though she is 50, the health and energy she has is unbelievable,
"which i think is good meaning she will be alive till i have my kids" i think to myself as i smile albeit softly .
"Good evening amma" i greet my mother as i take off my shoes and get inside.
"There you are Nima, i have been searching for you all over" she replied as she gets closer to me .
"Well i took the sheep to graze in the nearby mountain " i told my mother as i get closer to my side of the tent to change my clothes to something more comfortable.
"Oh is that so!, i keep forgetting stuff nowadays. You know your mother is getting old" she said in a self mocking tone playfully.
"Haha an old woman who can beat fully grown men right" i replied as i joked along with my mom.
"Well who told them to be weak then "
I just looked at her speechlessly.
"Well i wouldn't know anything about that would i" i replied in a matter of fact.
"DAWA WHERE ARE YOU, COULD YOU COME HERE QUICK" my dad starts calling for her in a way that it felt like his voice contained urgency.
I looked at my mom a bit concerned after noticing the urgency in my dad's voice.
"Don't worry Nima your dad must've just forgotten his incense stick again. Oh! Before i go to your dad could you go and feed the horses ok" she consoled me and gave me work at the same time.
"Ok mom " i replied as she smiled and went out of the tent and towards the chief tent where my father usually resides for work.
Done changing to my clothes, i get up and get out of our tent and slowly walk towards the northern part of our nomad settlement, as that is where our horses were kept to graze. I carry the basket filled with horse feed kept nearby the tent near the firewood as i walk towards our family's horses.
"Hey there tashi, mang and yang ive brought your food"
As soon as i called out to the horses they look at me eager for their dinner, walking slowly towards their feeding area.
"Slow down guys im giving you your food" i tell them helplessly as they are behaving as if i had starved them for days.
As i pour them their feed i look at Tashi my horse he's been with me since i was 12 years old, a breed of yushu horse bred in our tribe, she has a white coat, a brown mane and a black marking on her cheek. She's around 1.29m in height and with a narrow build.
I stroke tashi's neck as she eats her feed along with yang and mang.
As im done feeding the horses i stroke tashi's mane one last time as i walk back to the tent with my basket intending to take a nap until dinner was done, which i think would take a while.
Dawa's POV
As i walk towards my husband i could see his worried face.
" What happend Tenzin?"
I get close to him and ask .
"Nilo, saw some messengers near the outskirts of the mountain he said they had an urgent news to share with me" he said, such that his face show signs of aging .
"The Tubo's want to unite tibet" he continued as shock suddenly settled in.
"Doesn't that mean war is coming " worry settles in me as quickly as i heard the news.
"Yes, and we have to prepare" he stares into my eyes his hand over mine in a gesture of comfort.
Nima's pov
At around 6 pm my mother woke me up telling me that dinner was ready.
I sat up groggily as i still felt a bit drowsy, as a man who loves sleeping i could never wake up full of energy, and always felt a bit lethargic.
"Ama, whats for dinner " i ask my mom who was near the fire finishing up with dinner.
"I made some noodles and fried some mutton to go along with it" she replied as she took out the pot where the mutton noodles were simmering.
"That sounds really good"
As i said that i sat beside the dinning table fully ready to devour the food.
"Tenzin!!! Its time to eat" as soon as my mother called my father he came in through the door.
He sat down infront of me on the other side of the table.
"So Nima, how was your day " he asked
He looked cheerful as always, something i never really would have realsed that this would be one of the only days i would ever felt at peace for a long time to come.
"Well it was the same as always" i replied as i took the bowl of food my mom was handing out to me.
As i took a sip of the broth and bit a chunk of meat i felt content as the warmth of the broth spread throughout my body.
"Warm food is always the best "
My parents smiled as they started eating their own food picking some of the side dishes placed on the table.
After i was done eating i washed my bowl as well as all the utensils that was used to keep the food in. After finishing my chores i went out with my bow and arrow.
I walked for a bit and stood on a meadow and stared at the sky.
The sky twinkling as if it were full of shiny rock under the water, it had always captivated me making me fall in love with whatever was shining in the sky.
I raise my bow, knocking a single arrow aiming towards the stars, "what will i do in the future, what does it hold for me" i asked myself as i closed my eyes and took a slow and deep breath.
I let go of the arrow as it flew into the sky its fate unknown.