When There’s Hope

Black Bear pressed his back against a huge boulder and watched the rolling stream under the steadily darkening moon with a maroon tint. It had been quite a while since the moon had lost its silvery magnificence. The sacred essence of life was shrinking together with the sun and the moon. It was as if the planet earth was giving a warning: “Evacuate now, evacuate now!”

Just like everything else, the lives of the surviving animals had taken on a different appearance. Instead of blood, they felt something like liquid steel flow through their veins.

Black Bear abhorred the idea of watching the animals clash and fight during the next day’s meeting, even though it was to be the very last meeting. He didn’t doubt that because the Llama with his powerful vision had seen it to be so. How the llama could see into future with his half-closed eye-lids was a puzzle to black bear, but the llama had been right before.

Black Bear remembered the time when the llama, opening his eyes into a narrow slit after an extended trance of sensory perception, had told the animals of the explosions before it all started. Just as the llama said, all the mountains exploded when the sun suddenly turned orange-red and shrunk. Then the wind blew hard, carrying dust and bits of hot rock and scorched leaves, covering hair, faces, and everything else around with a fine ashen film.

For a short time after that, a lot of food was around especially for the vulture clan; however, now the food was scarce. Even the salmon had stopped swimming upward. Black Bear didn’t care about that for he had lost his appetite a long time ago.


The next day was so warm that Black Bear was tired by the time he reached the middle of the clearing in the forest. He tried to shake off the brambles caught in his long black hair since he didn’t want to seem unkempt to the pumas that always made fun of his looks. He turned around and took another glance at a flat line the river drew in the distance. It was hard to believe all this would be lost in a short time.

When he turned around and walked some more again, he saw only two forms under the leafless oak tree cluster where the meeting was to be held. One of the figures was the llama and the other... his heart started thumping.

The brown bear from the other side of the forest stood there with her belly pelt paler, softer than dark brown pelt on her back. When the Black Bear got near her, she planted her paws on his shoulders. Black Bear was so affected that he felt he would crumble under her touch. Then he almost fainted when Brown Bear’s tongue came toward his face and in a rasping sweep licked his nose and furry cheeks. When Black Bear hugged her back, a low sound rose from Brown Bear’s broad throat and Black Bear felt a vibration travel through his body.

“You...you,” he stammered with delight. “I thought you...”

“I’m still alive, you silly! We’re thick-skinned, resistant to ultraviolet rays, remember? You smell so good, Black Bear... fishy and salty. Is the river still there?”

“Yes, my love, but not for long, I’m afraid.”

“Where are the others?” the llama asked.

“They aren’t coming,” Brown Bear answered. “They think, ‘What’s the use? Within a few hours we’ll all be done in.’ Only the Baboons said they would come.”

“They lost hope,” Llama shook his head from side to side. “That’s why the evil won on our solar system, because people lost hope and fell into despair. Despair always invites what’s evil.”

“First, when humans -- those two-footed, erect-walking, spoiled brats with bad backs-- became extinct, we all thought, ‘Great, the place is left for us to survive in.’ But then fights and wars continued between the animal clans,” Brown Bear said.

The llama sighed. “There was so much leftover hostility. The animals learned from the humans. Then, the hostility reflected to the skies.”

“Here they are,” Black Bear pointed to the two limping Baboons who approached from the west.


“I’m being nibbled to death by anxiety,” Lady Baboon said in one gasp. “Is this it?”

“At least we have each other at the end, my dear,” Sir Baboon answered, “and our few friends.”

“All this was revealed ages ago, in the island of Pátmos,” the llama said. “When all’s destroyed, the good will live forever.”

“It doesn’t help us, does it?” Lady Baboon sobbed. “Oh, I’m so afraid!”

“Don’t be. At least we’re all here together. Togetherness is hope,” Black Bear said, since he was truly heartened to have found his beloved Brown Bear again.

“Hope is the sign of Good,” Llama said. “Hope leads to love and love is the ultimate good.”

Suddenly the dry landscape turned bright yellow and a golden bubble from the center of the sky burst toward them.

“What is that? Lightning? It has the color of honey,” Brown Bear squealed as Black Bear held her tight, thinking the end had come.

“It is the light of hope,” the llama said excitedly. “I had seen a vision of it but I didn’t tell anyone for I wasn’t very sure of what I saw.”

With a streaking flamboyance, a golden orb landed a few yards away from the animals. Like the petals of a flower awakening, the bubble opened and two beings of light with constantly changing jelly-like forms walked out.

“This is new,” Sir Baboon muttered.

“Sometimes new can be a promise,” one of the beings said. “We came to take you away. The llama picked our signals and asked you all to meet here.”

“But I didn’t know why,” the llama said. “If I knew, I’d tell all of them. There are more animals.”

“Too bad. Hopelessness is too bad. They didn’t come because they lost hope. But there’s no time to go after them. We’ll take the ones here to another place. You’ll find it very accommodating. Everything you’ll ever need is there,” the light-being who spoke first said.

“Actually, it is an ideal replica of the earth before any of the hostilities started. We saw the end of your solar system in our future mirrors. We have been getting a place ready for those who deserved it, those who didn’t lose hope,” the other light-being explained. “Please, all five of you come with us immediately. We’re happy to lift you away from this mess.”

Mess? Black Bear turned around and glimpsed back at the river. How beautiful it used to be! How could he leave it all!

"Some think strength is holding on. Sometimes it's stronger to let things go," one of the beings answered his thoughts.

“Hope always opens new doors,” Llama nudged the two bears forward toward the bubble. “Hope is the first sign of Good.”

So the animals boarded the golden bubble and the bubble sped away until the earth was a small ball in the distance. When Black Bear and Brown Bear turned around to watch the earth for one last time from the transparent walls of the bubble, a bright explosion and a burst of fiery light shook the skies.

“The End!” Llama sighed. A few seconds later, a black hole appeared where the solar system had been.

“Hope saved us from the black hole,” Sir Baboon said.

“Something good happens all the time. What saved us was that we were aware of it,” Brown Bear said, licking Black Bear’s face again. Black Bear purred with renewed pleasure. Where love had entered, nothing could be lost after all.