Elephant War

by Irene Q.
(Silver Spring, MD)

*Beep Beep* goes off the alarm exactly at 4 a.m. every morning. The usual routine consists of brushing teeth, brushing hair, brushing dog, get dressed and out the door. "Get away from the door Lola," Armenia says tiredly to her small Chihuahua, convulsing at the cold attitude her owner gave her. All of a sudden, huge bursts of light shone through Armenia's dark windows. The purple curtains flared ferociously, after a huge gust of wind forced open the creaky windows. Armenia, while tying her brown hair back with a black scrunchie, creeps alongside her sofa. "Really? This early in the damn morning, the cops are already up and shining. Jeez, I have to see if anyone stole my car." Stealthily, she crawls under her table, shielding herself of papers flying around her. As she gets on her knees to pull herself up the window, she saw the most bizarre thing that has ever hit the city of Delhi.

One side of the street, separated by barbed wires and wooden fences, had young protesters with picket signs and t-shirts with the words "Elephant love" in pink letters, enclosed by blue hearts. On the other were older people, mostly men, with chains and fake ivory tusks chanting "Tame the beasts." In the middle were soldiers holding machine guns in hand. Their tank headlights shone brightly to light up the dark streets. Armenia leaned closer, pushing her head completely outside her window to see a man, with his neck-tie tied around his head, yelling "Free the oppressed!" He was shot five times, twice in the head and three in the back. Armenia's hands, in shock, slipped. She fell from a 7 story apartment complex. She was shot twice by accident, mistaken to be an angry protester. "Commence the Ivory Revolution!" screamed everyone.

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