Mystical Tiger

Fahreed Malik stood wordless. The baby’s intense blue eyes focused directly on his. Fahreed held still and waited. Shakti tiger gave her friendly greeting–a little sound like someone blowing bubbles in a bowl. Her fur was like whipped cream with dark chocolate stripes. Fahreed lowered himself onto his hands and knees. Shakti came forward and rubbed her cheek against that of her new keeper. The instant love between these two was a mystical moment. Shakti was in her new home.

Fahreed, as the head keeper of the tigers, became like a parent to the animals. He fed them, planned activities to keep them alert, made certain their cage was clean and safe, and checked them for any physical problems. Fahreed spent his spare time with his special Shakti. He taught her to walk on a leash. He would call “Come here, Shakti” and the cat would come and put her paws on the man’s shoulders. The cat would wrestle with him without using her claws, and the two would splash in her kiddy pool.

He sat by the cage to eat his lunch. He talked to the tiger about his worries, and sometimes he would look at Shakti and an idea would come, with the sense that it came from the tiger. Soon he had a need for a large sum of money. He walked down to the cage and asked out loud “What can I do? My parents cannot help me with this large sum of money.” Shakti looked directly into his eyes. In his mind Fahreed heard the tiger say “You know that lamp you have in the closet. It is of no use to you but it is a valuable antique. It can solve your financial problem”. Fahreed was shocked for a moment, but knew that this was the solution.

The young man’s life was more peaceful as he came to accept the tiger as his guide. One day he noticed a lump just behind Shakti’s right front leg. “How can this be? How did I not notice it sooner?” The zoo veterinarian X-rayed the leg and told Fahreed the worst possible news; it was a cancerous tumor. They took her into surgery and removed the tumor, but the cancer had already spread into her lung. For several weeks they attempted to treat her, but it was to no avail. Fahreed’s great friend, Shakti was dying.

Young Fahreed was beside himself with grief. He blamed himself for the death of his companion. He went about his daily chores in a thorough but uninvolved manner. He lost weight and plodded around from cage to cage. He stopped visiting with the other tigers.

Finally he resigned his position. Each day, walking to and from the zoo, Fahreed crossed the Chambal River over a bridge. In his despair he climbed onto the bridge railing. He stood there for several moments remembering his happy childhood, his college years in America, his work at the zoo, and above all, the times his wonderful friend had helped him with his troubles. Remembering, his shoulders slumped and he leaned forward until he lost his balance, then just allowed himself to crash down face first into the water. He hit with a terrible force, knocking the breath out of him. As he quickly sank under the ripples of the moving river, a great cloud of white energy assaulted him from below and he was thrown forcibly onto the bank of the river. He lay very still for a long time, then slowly picked himself up.

As most people know, cats are notorious for hating the water. What is less well known is that tigers love the water and are excellent swimmers.