Mother Africa
The
first time I ever seen an elephant was at the Bronx Zoo when I was seven years
old. I’ll never forget that day. I was with my grandmother and sisters; it was
our first time at a zoo. My nana had an infatuation with animals especially
elephants. All around her house in Queens, New York she has many miniature
figurines of elephant statuettes and paintings.
She used to say elephants represented power and were the most respected
in the wild. She always wanted to see an African elephant but never had the
chance. The very moment I spotted an elephant at Aquila Game Reserve, an
uncontrollable motion had drawn from within and tears began to flood my face.
We had finally seen one, my nana and I. Even after she passed, there were
always moments when I felt like she was with me in spirit. Her spiritual
presence lives within me. Seeing the elephants helped me feel complete, like
this was her finally defeating her battle with cancer. People always say that
when someone passes after being diagnosed with a disease that they’ve “lost”
their battle against the disease but that is not true. They have won their
battles and no longer have to suffer. For so long I was holding on to my nana
in disbelief that she had ever left. There were so many moments in Cape Town
when something happened that reminded me of her. She wished to see an African
elephant and that is what we did together. I was able to finally let her go and
live in peace on Africa forever.
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