Heni, do you remember

Heni, do you remember the first time you heard my voice? I was only a young girl then, in a family of warriors. I was the smallest and the weakest. The runt. Everyone told me I would never survive the harsh world to become a warrior of the village like my mother, father and brothers. You were only a chick then, still hatching and struggling out of your shell. 

You tap, tap, tapped at the shell with your egg tooth and were so small. All your siblings had already hatched and peep, peep, peeped at your mother who was watching over you. Even when your mother gave up waiting and left you because you took so long, I took her place and encouraged you to keep going. You may have been small, but you were a fighter, even then.

When you finally emerged, I don't know how long later, you had crooked toes on your right leg. Your siblings pecked at you, the other hens pecked at you and even your own mother pecked at you. Saving you from them, I helped stretch your toes straight.

It's never been quite right, but at least it wasn't so twisted and crooked. You must have been really squashed up in your eggshell, because the egg you came out of was tiny compared to you. Still, at least you could run and jump; and later on, fly very well - for a chicken anyway.

From the start, you've been a fighter, Heni. When my family saw you, they decided you were one to eat as soon as you were fully fledged, but when you followed me and helped me kill the rats and then the snakes that had been preying on the other chickens, they changed their minds. Even the older hens learnt to mind you. 

Remember how we used to do all those exercises together to build up our fighting muscles? My family used to say that because I was a weak runt, I'd never make a good warrior like the rest of them. You and I had to work extra hard to prove them wrong. You used to bounce on my arm to strengthen your flying muscles while I did all those jumping exercises. 

My brothers used to complain that I was making you tough to eat with all the exercises we did together, but I think it was those exercises that enabled you to climb the pecking order among the flock and become top hen. It was worth it, don't you think? Watching you fight and win every battle motivated me to work harder at becoming the fighter my family and village expected me to be.

You sang and clucked me on all through my most difficult training. No one had ever heard a chicken sing before. We even sang a duet once. Heni, do you remember the cluck, cluck, chicken song that I taught you? We were a hit. The whole village was rolling on the floor laughing and singing with us. Our village prided itself on all its children being emotionless, competent warriors. Warriors who frightened enemies greater in number than us when confronted in battle. So getting that kind of reaction was a huge success. We were great. 

Whenever I wanted to cry, you would sing to cheer me up. Whenever someone tried to bully me, you protected me. Like the time one of my brothers was being mean to make me cry, so that he could tell my parents and take my share of dinner that night. You remember, don't you? Crying was forbidden. It was a sign of weakness. You flew between us like a little feathery whirlwind and chased him away whenever you saw him for the next week. That taught him a thing or two.

Then when I came of age and passed the survival test that all the village's boys and girls had to take part in, you came to greet me ahead of everyone else. You know, I missed you as much as you must have missed me, but I wasn't allowed to show it. A lot of eyes crinkled in amusement when you decided to sit on my head, gripping firmly to my hair and refusing to budge even for the Chief when he gave me my first warrior's mark. 

Even a small sized warrior girl like me would make the village proud one day, they said. My ferocity would strike fear into the hearts of all our enemies when they saw that our whole village: male, female and animal were all fierce warriors. No enemy would be able to escape us. 

How you had puffed your chest out and preened at that.

My brother told me you had hidden in the forest and out of everyone's reach while I was away. My mother had been planning to put you in the pot before I came back, because no warrior should have a chicken for a friend. They said it was demeaning.

I'm sorry about that. If only I had been allowed to take you with me. When I had first tried to explain to you, you had been unhappy and sulky with me. Heni, I'm glad you didn't let them catch you and I'm glad you decided to still be friends with me when I got back. 

If you had come with me, the other boys and girls might have killed you for food, so it was good that you didn't come with us. Even if I did miss your company. You would have liked all the bugs I found. 

Later on, you had my back when no one wanted to partner with the short, little chicken warrioress. I think that no boy wanted to look like a weakling standing beside you. You were a better fighter than most of them. When no boy wanted to watch my back in battle, my parents were disappointed and ashamed of me. They refused to see me anymore. No one wanted me, except for you. 

We showed them you were as good a warrior as I was. You sounded the alarm when the wolves came that one long winter night and woke everyone up in time to chase the mongrels away. You earned me a new wolf skin that night.

In the spring, you helped me with the planting, even as they laughed at us. We finished our plot as quickly as anyone with a partner. You helped protect the young plants from other birds and told me when the deer came. You patrolled the ground for weeds and insects. We had the best crop three years in a row because of you.

Everyone used to fight over your eggs. They were the tastiest and most nutritious. I'm sorry you never got to brood on your eggs like the other hens did, but I guess it was because you were so fierce that even the roosters were afraid of you. Did you do that on purpose so that you could keep taking care of me? If so, thank you.

Heni, do you remember the summer we went with the other warriors to fight the Beaded Tribe in the Redgrass Plains? The sky was so big and the land so huge when we came out from under the trees for the first time. I couldn't imagine not having the trees protecting us from the sky. 

The Beaded Tribe had been attacking and raiding our land and village for a whole year and that summer, the Chief wanted to attack them first as a warning to put a stop to all the fighting. We had a peaceful summer that year and the image of you attacking made its way onto some of our shields. You were an inspiration, although I agree, they made you look more like a hawk. They weren't wrong. You had a hawk’s heart.

You proved you were as good a warrior's partner as any. There was nothing anyone could say to us after that.

Everything is different now.

The huge Westersun Tribe has been claiming new ground these few years. The village is gone. My family is gone. Even the Beaded Tribe is gone. Who would have thought that I'd have survived all of it because of you? Who would have thought that we would ever have protected a warrior of the Beaded Tribe, because he, like us, was all alone?

I didn't realise you were getting old. Chicken years are not as long as human years. I'm sorry I snapped at you sometimes when you were being irritable. Your crooked toes and well used wings must have been sore. You must have had the many aching joints that the elderly get with age and I never really noticed. I only knew you slept more, moved more slowly and didn't like to go everywhere on my head or shoulders anymore.

Thank you for protecting me one last time from the Westersun warriors who were after me. They never expected to be attacked by a chicken, did they? At least your calls alerted the Beaded warrior we'd saved earlier and he watched my back after you were cut down.

You don't have to worry anymore, Heni. You can rest in peace. I have a partner now. One I never expected to have, even if he is from the Beaded Tribe. We've cut a covenant. He'll watch my back and I, his. 

You know, the Beaded aren't as barbarous as we thought. They were just like our tribe, except few of their girls could fight and they liked to wear those coloured beads in their hair or on their clothes. They lived in the Redgrass Plains. We lived in the Redleaf Forest. What were we even fighting over? 

 Did you know, the number of beads they have tells you how strong a warrior they are? 

Mikan is quite handsome. He has fifteen beads: one for each year since he came of age and one for each battle he took part in. He even earned a big glass bead for bravery. You remember, you saw him when we saved his life with our dual attack. He couldn't believe how much damage we had done, until the Westersuns ran in fright. In fact, Mikan says we even scared him away. He thought we were a feathery demon. You would have clucked when he recounted the story. We didn't need him at the time, because I had you and you had me, but now...

Heni, I want to thank you for all you've done. Thank you for giving your life for me. Thank you for helping me find a warrior partner at last that I can spend my days with, who will watch my back, even as I will watch his.

Don't worry. You didn't get to see his best moves, but he's a good warrior himself. We'll be all right. The Westersun won't be able to catch us, because they're no match for the warriors of the Redgrass Plains and Redleaf Forest. 

If only our tribes had joined together earlier, the Westersun might have been utterly defeated. It's too late for such thoughts now though. There's no one left.

I'm sorry, Heni, but I have to go. We can hear more Westersuns coming this way. The ground speaks of their many footsteps. At least three hands in all. Fifteen or so. I have to go. 

Don't worry, I'll be safe with Mikan at my back.

Rest in peace, 

my partner,

my friend,

I will remember you.