SAVAGE - II

Max and Penny spent the rest of their time in the village speaking to locals and learning about the Abori dress, pottery, carving, weaving, and painting. They also saw classes being held in a school building which was an almost replica of the meeting room. However, it was larger and on ground level.

"The children here learn everything they need to—language, mathematics, science—with a special emphasis on the environment and traditional medicine," said Ari as they passed the school. "As I mentioned before, nature is the center of the Abori belief system, which is why the success of the NAL Project holds no significance to our people."

"Why did you get into the construction industry, Ari?" asked Penny.

"So that I could help save my people from the inside," she said, smiling weakly.

Just then, they passed by a room where a group of children seemed to be performing a musical play with their teacher watching.

"Something's wrong—that little boy's bleeding from his head!" cried Max, pointing to an elephant child. The child was seated next to the puma teacher on the floor.

"No, no! Their faces are painted with vibrant colors, as is tradition with these plays."

"Are you sure? That looks like blood."

"I'm certain." Ari laughed awkwardly. "Those pastes are made from grinding certain plants and mixing them with mud and water. We should go."

Just then, the little boy got up and danced onto the stage to Max and Penny's amazement. "We've got something special planned for you guys before you leave."

Ari brought them back to the meeting room, where an array of steaming hot Abori cuisine was laid out for them. There were earthen pots filled with sweet potatoes and leek garnished with herbs, spiced fish in a light soup, and a plate of fresh, vibrant-colored fruits.

"Everything smells amazing," said Penny. She smiled when she noticed their pottery cups filled with the coffee-tea drink they'd had earlier.

"What's that?" asked Max, pointing to roasted chubby slivers of something on a plate; he hadn't noticed it earlier.

"That's witchetty grub. We have it as a starter or as a snack. I thought you'd like a holistic experience of the food here."

"Grub as in a worm?"

Ari laughed. "Yes! You'll notice there are no heads on them. The heads are never eaten."

Penny and Max looked at each other and smiled. They each picked up a witchetty grub and took a bite.

What is this taste? thought Max. It's kind of nutty but also fleshy, like something I've never tasted before. "Not bad," he said out loud to Ari. "Now, let's dig into the rest of this feast."

After an hour and a half spent eating, clearing up, and sitting around a fire with the locals, Max and Penny bid farewell to the Abori as well as Ari, who would stay the week there now that her internship was over.

"That was just—wow," said Penny on their drive back to Green City.

"It was. I'm glad we went. You were right; I needed this. I think I know exactly what I'm going to do now."

"Are you kidding me? Withdraw from the NAL Project?" spat out Drax.

"What nonsense is this, Max?" asked Grant.

"Grant, Drax, I think we should hear Max out," said Fred Elley calmly.

The four Elleys were seated in the board room at Elley Construction.

"There's been a lot of red tape around this project, to begin with," said Max. "The minister hasn't informed us contractors about how the land was acquired, even though it's public knowledge that they've had issues with it for years; no one knows exactly why. I'm sure many would question the ethics and environmental impact the NAL will have in years to come. Not to mention the fact that it directly affects the lives of the Abori people who—"

"Abori people?" repeated Drax. "What on Nation-X do they have to do with any of this?"

"That land is theirs. The forest we're about to bulldoze is a huge part of their heritage. We can't just continue on this project blindly, knowing we're destroying something important and meaningful to them."

"So, let me get this straight," said Drax. "You want us to withdraw from a multimillion NXD project that will benefit our companies and our communities because those savages claim that land is theirs?"

"They're not savages, but essentially, that's it. More than the land, it's how this will impact their daily lives, cultural practices, and their futures."

Drax's fist landed on the boardroom table with a thud. "Max, you've lost it—this is ridiculous! No one even knows or cares about those forest people living like they're from ancient times."

"See, Drax, that's my point! No one knows about them or understands their way of life. Even so, it doesn't give us the right to just take what's rightfully theirs."

"Did anyone show you a title deed for the land they claim belongs to them?" asked Grant coldly.

"Dad, you can't be serious."

Grant stared at his son as if he was gum stuck under his foot. "Don't waste my time. Four days from now, that forest will be cleared, and this conversation would have meant nothing." He got up, straightened out his suit and tie, and left the boardroom, followed by Drax.

Fred remained seated with a thoughtful look in his eyes while Max looked shocked and defeated. Fred smiled reassuringly at Max and said, "If anything, it looks like I have a lot of research to do after this meeting." He patted Max on the shoulder and walked out of the boardroom.

That evening, Penny called Max over to have dinner with her at her place.

"How did the meeting go?" she asked.

"Just awful," Max replied, moving the peas and carrots around on his plate. "Drax and my dad walked out before I could finish speaking. My dad looked livid."

"Honey, we thought they might react that way. The thing is, everything we as society regard as valuable must have an NXD value attached to it—if the value isn't high enough and doesn't directly benefit us, then we label it as trash. That's basically how everyone sees the Abori."

"Yeah, which is why we need to do something about it."

"Did you speak to Tim and Amy yet?"

"Yeah. They've already made contact with Ari. Tim should be going down there tomorrow with Bidey."

Three days later, Tim sent Max a link to a digital page of Central Newspaper's release for that day. Max scanned the article Tim had written and the pictures Bidey had taken.

The Abori: A People of the Environment and Peace Come with me as we take a walk through an Abori Village and chat with Ari Adobe, a distinguished architect graduate with strong roots in the Abori culture.

There were pictures of the meeting house, school, and some smiling women and children engaging in everyday activities. On the next page were photos of the sacred forest, Ari, and Waru.

Ari smiled and wore the traditional Abori clothing—a red-dyed halter top made from plant material and a below-the-knee length flax skirt adorned with red feathers.

Waru wasn't smiling; he looked annoyed.

Max giggled. How did Tim manage to get this featured on the fifth page of the paper? he thought. He read the rest of the article on Tim's interview with Ari and his observations of the village, food, and the Abori beliefs.

Then Max scrolled down to the comments section of the article.

Coco748: This is beautiful! I didn't even know about these people.

JackoJ: I had no idea their beliefs were so environmentally centered.

Minnie90: Why are you featuring trash in your paper? Nobody cares about these savages. This isn't interesting.

TinaT1: The food looks amazing. That forest is beautiful. Wow. Max continued scrolling and realized that there were more positive

comments than negative. Some people even expressed how interested they'd be in learning more about such a rich culture.

Beep! There was a text message on his phone from Amy with a link attached.

See you on Wednesday. Here's what I've been up to.

Max opened the link and was astounded at what he saw. Immediately his confidence level was piqued, and he felt a sense of relief. We can do this. We can save them.

Soon enough, it was Wednesday, and Max found himself walking toward the Abori's scared forest again with guilt. This time, they walked from the cleared-out land. As they turned the corner, the huge excavating machines could be seen, and behind them, a massive crowd of people.

"What on Planet-X is happening here?" cried Eric Connors as they neared the crowd.

There were rows and rows of people standing together, arms linked, forming a barrier in front of the forest. There were people from the Abori village and others from all over Nation-X as far as Tim's article and Amy's blogpost had spread. Two elephants held a placard that read: We stand with the Abori. Say no to NAL.

Many others held up placards with similar sentiments, and others were chanting. Max looked for his friends in the crowd and ran over to join them.

He saw Waru and Ari to his left and waved at them "Pretty good turnout, huh?" said Amy to Max.

"That blog post telling everyone about the protest with a link to Tim's article was pure genius!"

"This has so gone big that Simon Kaden and his right-hand men are here," said Tim. "Apparently, they've been trying to protect this area from development for years, and this year, they had no more ammunition left.

But now, with people showing interest in the Abori, it's highly possible to get the project start date pushed back to buy them some time to get the area protected. He even spoke about legally getting the Abori rights to the forest and the land where their villages are located."

Max saw Simon Kaden walk up to Eric, Drax, and Geoff. He couldn't hear exactly what Simon had said, but he saw Eric's face sour and knew they'd won today's battle.

"I can't believe it's been three months since protest day," said Tim.

They were seated in Monica's Bar, catching up after a good few weeks.

"Neither can I," admitted Max. "It's been crazy, though. My dad still isn't talking to me properly. Even though the NAL Project is almost completely scrapped, he's upset because I joined the protest that day. He says it was bad publicity for Elley Construction. My Uncle Fred seems to think the opposite; before the project went sideways, he was already planning to withdraw from it."

"I agree with your uncle," said Monica, handing them all plates of plant-based steak and sweet potato fries. "Your standing with the Abori people actually makes the company a torchbearer in recognizing and standing with a minority group's rights. As causes like this gain more momentum, you and Elley Construction will be noted names in paving the way for a fairer and kinder future."

"Monica's got a point," said Amy. "My blog's been flooded with inquiries about who organized the movement."

"A lot of good has come out of all of this," added Penny.

"Yeah?" said Monica.

Penny smiled at Max and then said to the others, "Why don't you guys come on down to Southland, and we'll walk you through all the new developments?"

"I'm in!" said Tim.

"Me too," said Monica.

"Obviously me as well," said Amy.

That weekend, the friends found themselves at the entrance of the sacred forest, staring at a huge information board.

"The Abori Forest of Life," read Tim. "Parts of this forest are a sacred burial site for the leaders of the Abori people. The Abori journey from all over Southland to fulfill the final rites of their dead. They also perform healing and purification rituals in this forest as they believe we are one with the environment, that we have been created from it and will return to it. 'Peace and tranquility can be found in us returning to nature over and over again,'

says Abori leader Waru Abdi."

The information board also mentioned the different types of plants and trees that could be found in the forest and how the Abori use them in traditional medicine and art.

"This is so beautiful," said Amy as they walked through the forest. "I'm happy they didn't remove it."

"And they never can," said Tim. "It's in the process of being declared a national heritage site. There's also research been done on some of the plants here for medicinal purposes."

They neared the end of the forest and continued walking until they reached a place enclosed by bamboo fencing. A smiling jaguar was standing outside the entrance.

"Ari," said Max. "Thank you so much for having us."

"It's always a pleasure," replied Ari. "Welcome, everyone."

"I heard the Abori villages have become very popular," said Penny.

"Yes," replied Ari. "So many requests have been made for cultural tourism. People tour the villages and actively engage with the villagers to learn more about our culture and practices. Some celebrities and influencers have also contacted me to do features on their pages. The most heartwarming of all has been the people who've come in with Abori

ancestry, wanting to learn more about their families and how they lived."

"That's amazing," said Amy. "Identifying and acknowledging your roots without shame helps ground your identity and gives you a greater sense of belonging."

"That's true, but the leader here, Waru, has been having a hard time. He feels that the Abori shouldn't be put on show like this. I understand that, but at the same time, people outside of these villages have never respected or acknowledged their existence. Now, everyone's more sensitive to who the Abori are. Also, how many people come into the villages, and when, is being strictly controlled by the Environmental Protection Agency."

"Yeah," said Monica. "The stigma and shame attached to being an indigenous people are slowly dissolving. It's going to take time for everyone to come around, but the cultural and ecotourism of the area are a great start."

"I never got to thank any of you for everything you did," said Ari, looking at the group teary-eyed. "Thank you for saving our heritage and making my dream come true."

"Don't sweat it," said Max. "I speak for everyone here when I say we would not have had it any other way."

Ari wiped away a tear and said, "You're special guests here today, so everyone's gone out of their way to show their appreciation for what you've done!"

She opened the gates to the Abori village as Waru walked up to the group. "Welcome to our Abori homeland!"