Galvan, Emelane Rose A.

G11-07STM

(UN)ALIKE
[Short Story inspired by the poem “The Tyger” of William Blake]

The night grew deeper as the howling wind brushed against the trees—leaves falling down with each
touch of the seemingly gentle night breeze.

WOOSH!

The sound of the wind was undeniably calm; tiny bits of dust particles dancing around the air as it flows
towards the infinite voids of the Earth. Under the giant wooden trees, surrounded by what seems to be a
dark abyss; a beast which resembled fire has come to suffice.

Water.

The creature grumbled as it walked ever so slowly towards the beaming light—each step filled with grace
and pride.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The sound of heavy metals bumping against each other became more audible as he strives further. The
closer he gets, the more things he hears. The place where the beaming light must have plenty of things
occurring. A number of footsteps could be heard, some were slow, while others seemed to be sprinting.

“Oi… carry these boxes over there! I’d go and lock the cage up!”

Hearing those words did not make the beast falter, instead it took up speed and dashed ahead. Those were
certainly humans! No wonder the place seems to be so rowdy and busy… it happens to be that the place
where the beaming light shined was infested with those creatures with two legs. Upon realizing what lies
ahead, the beast’s heart raced, adrenaline rushing through his veins. If there were to be humans, certainly
there would also be…

Water! The beast roared and moved forward and indeed, as he reached the end of the valley of trees, there
he saw a small pond of water on the ground along with a few shattered glass. It seems to be that the bottle
of water has fallen but the beast could not care less as he launched at the small pond quenching his thirst.

As the beast was savoring every last drop of water, he heard a voice that made him stop.

“Say… young man! Who is your master?”

Upon hearing those words, the beast slowly lifted his head; there he saw a huge cage with four wheels
before him. Inside the cage lies a silhouette of an unknown creature which the voice came from. It was
dark as though it was nighttime, there was barely any light in the area so he could not make out who or
what was the creature that had caught his attention and disturbed him from his savory drink.

“...”

The beast did not respond. He just stared at the cage—no, more like what is in the cage—curiously. The
latter must have noticed his suspicion then let out a small “ah!” like it realized something. Within a
second, the figure from inside the cage rose up and moved closer.
CLING! CLANG!

The sound of heavy chains being dragged across the floor filled their ears. The creature inside the cage
was moving so slow that it almost took up all the patience that the beast had stored. Minutes later, the
creature before him creeped out of the shadows.

“Hey, hey! You see… I’m a tiger, too!” the creature inside the cage beamed, looking all proud to have
revealed his identity. It was indeed a tiger, no doubt. With the same fire-like appearance, laced with black
stripes along its fur; it can be easily determined what this creature was. “But, but! You see… I’m a tiger,
too, but why does your pelage look brighter than mine?”

The beast gaped. He scanned the tiger inside the cage and it indeed did not miss its self-description.
Unlike him, the tiger before him looks ragged and dirty. Its pelage’s color resembles ashes—far from the
bright and bold color of orange—wild and disheveled. An unpleasant smell was also lingering in the air.
How long has it been since the last time he had bathed? His face grimaced but did not say anything.

The caged tiger continued, “I’m a tiger, too, but why are your claws sharper than mine?”

He looked down on its claws and saw that only a few of them were left! The remaining ones are not even
in the best condition. They were all crooked and crusty, like they were overused and abused!

Again, the beast remained silent.

“I’m a tiger, too, but why are your teeth healthier and cleaner than mine?”

He squinted his eyes and saw that the latter’s teeth were more yellow-ish than normal teeths. It also has an
incomplete set of teeth. More or less two of its canines were missing! Just what happened to this tiger?

Yet again, he did not respond.

The caged tiger sighed and once again said, “I’m a tiger, too, but why is that you are free to roam around
the wilderness while I’m all locked and chained up in this cage?” its voice filled with longing and
sadness,

Once again, the beast went silent—not because he did not want to say anything, but this time it is because
he does not know what to say!

Taken aback, the beast croaked, “I… do not know.”

His reply shocked the latter. Overjoyed with the response, he moved closer and pressed his cheeks against
the metal bars. “Can you see? I’m a tiger, too, but we are so unalike! Now, now… I will ask you again;
who is your master?”

One.

Two.

Three.

Silence.
Three minutes have passed and the beast seemed to be lost in deep thoughts. Finally, he sighed then
looked at the caged tiger once more.

“Well, my master… is the creator of all,” he said, eyeing the one before him to see its reaction.

The caged tiger tilted his head and looked up, the chains chimed as he moved. A minute later, he returned
his gaze to the beast then beamed.

“Is that so? Then, does your master starve you? Give you food once every two weeks?”

The beast grimaced. Weirded out by the question but still answered, “No, He has given me plenty of food
in the forest.”

“Then, does your master chain and lock you up in a cage?”

“No, He has given me the freedom to roam wherever I want.”

“What about making you do tricks and whipping you up for entertainment?”

The beast stilled. “No, He has never done that.”

The caged tiger once again looked up, looking puzzled. “Then why do you claim that your master is the
creator of all things?” he looked at him from inside the cage, eyes filled with curiosity. “If He is indeed
the creator of all things then why are we alike yet so unalike?”

He was stunned. Unable to move, think, nor speak. For the first time, he felt that his pride—standing
mighty tall—went down the drain. He did not know what or how to answer. For the first time, he lost
confidence. Looking back to their conversation from the start, they were indeed the same but different at
the same time. It was like looking at a mirror but your reflection is not anything like you at all. Like
looking at yourself from a different dimension.

Confused, he sighed. “I—”

Just then a sound of feet marching towards them was heard from not so far away. His body became alert
and his senses heightened. He looked at the tiger inside the cage and saw that it was slowly limping its
way back to the shadowed part of the cage.

It looked at him, eyes sparkling amidst the dark and said, “Go… this place is not where you should be.”
he was about to protest but the marching got louder and both of their eyes widened.

“Come on! Double check the cage’s lock and let’s get outta here!”

“Hurry! My master has come…”

Without further ado, the beast ran… he ran and ran until he reached the middle of the valley of trees. He
halted then looked back where had come from. Sure enough, three humans had surrounded the cage and
minutes later, attached the cage to a truck using a metal lock then quickly made its way out of the forest.