₦airaland Forum

**to be retitled "The Thinker"**

and to be contd, this last one is a rough draft.

The Sage

When the young man decided to move a bit further down, he found his surroundings quite different from the previous forest. This environment consisted mainly of plains, interspersed with small shrubs at regular intervals, and he could sometimes see for miles around as he walked.
He strolled on, it was getting warmer and after a while, he was in a sweltering heat. He stopped frequently to take breaks, resting against the shrubs. The sun shone with a smoldering haze, the distant horizon shimmered gently, and he was getting very thirsty during his walk.

After what seemed like an eternity but could have been a few hours, he sighted an outline close by. He quickened his pace and in a few minutes, came across a man seated on a small rock which looked like a chair. The man, whose age was difficult to ascertain (it was hard to tell if he was young or old), sat in the thinker’s pose, gazing tranquilly out at the world and resting his chin thoughtfully on his hand.

Hello, the young man said, pleased to meet you.

The thinker looked thoughtfully at him, turning his head a little but with his hand still cupping his chin. He assessed the young man from head to toe. He reflected deeply, then nodded an acknowledgment.

I saw you heading this way in the distance, he said. It took you a while to get here. You are thirsty, I presume, because of the heat.

I was going to ask you for some water, said the young man. Could I have some, please.

The thinker offered him a little water bottle, which he took , opened and drank deeply from. He felt refreshed.

Thank you sir, he said after he’d quenched his thirst. I was starting to wonder if there was any water around here, didn’t know what to do.

The thinker nodded again, and pointed in the direction the young man was headed.

You can go along now, he replied, your path lies that way.

The young man waved his thanks and had taken a step forward when he thought he caught an expression he couldnt fathom, on the thinker’s face. It had been so brief he couldn’t be sure of what he saw, but it looked angry. However, it was gone almost as soon as it had appeared, and the thinker was once again in his thinking pose, contemplating other unseen issues.

The young looked at him, puzzled. The thinker ignored him at first, then after a while, looked his way.

What is it young man? He asked.

I wasn’t sure, the young man replied, for a moment there it seemed like you were angry or unhappy, then in a minute, the emotion was gone and you simply looked thoughtful.