Mokalia

It’s the start of a bright new beautiful day. The grass is green, the sun is shining, the birds are singing and the flowers are blooming. Yes, today will be a good day.
I just got myself out of bed, and I’m ready for today. I’m so excited because today isn’t just any ordinary day. Today is the festival of Mokalia. It is the one-day of the season when all of the Mokos villages comes together and celebrates having each other.
Ever since I was very small, we would celebrate Mokalia every season. The whole village Mokos would come together and share their talents with the community. There would be singing, dancing, games to play, food to eat from our famous chef, art to admire from our famous artist, and plays to enjoy. And finally, at the end of the celebration, we would all sit around a stunning centerpiece made by Clora. Because she is beautiful, elegant, and radiant, the mokos gave her the task of making a centerpiece as beautiful as she is. We would close the celebration by singing one final song to end the day.
I was so excited when I went out the door of my home anticipating the festival of Mokalia. I enjoyed seeing all my fellow mokos preparing for Mokalia. We mokos are a race of enchanted tigers that live in villages apart from human societies. Mokos are creative creatures; they each have a unique talent that contributes to the entire village. Mokos can walk on four or two paws, depending on their mood. They have a third eye on their forehead that can reveal the future or past. However, it takes intensive patience and practice to see through the third eye, and many are not yet able to do so.
As I saw everyone preparing for the celebration, I wanted to join in on the preparations. So I started by asking the baker if I could help him make pastries.
“Hello Baker,” I said.
“Hello Tojuhwa! What a fine morning we have today, wouldn’t you say.” he replied.
“It sure is going to be a great day today,” I said. “I wanted to know if you need some help with your pastries. After all you make the best pastries in the world! They’re so warm and mouth-watering that they just melt in your mouth. They taste good, they put you on cloud 9!”
“Well, thank you! It’s always good to hear a fellow moko appreciate my work. But no, my pastries need a delicate hand and a keen eye to make them perfect. Besides, you might get burned and we don’t want that. Maybe the artist needs help. You should ask him.”
I proceeded towards the artist.
“Hello Artist!” I said.
“Hello Tojuhwa. I’m very busy right now. What do you want?” asked the artist.
“I was just wondering if you needed help with your art. After all, you are the most renowned artist of the mokos and your art is so vivid and life like that it looks real! I just thought you might need some help so your artwork can look its best. Can I help you?” I asked.
“No, no, no! My masterpiece demands perfection and creativity to bring out its glory; you would just mess it up. I also wouldn’t want you to end up with paint all over yourself right before Mokalia! Maybe the builder could use your assistance.”
All of these rejections started to make me feel a little discouraged. I wanted to help like everyone else! Why does everyone always think I’m going to get hurt? But I went to see what the builder had to say.
“Hello builder,” I said.
“Hello Tojuhwa. Wonderful morning we’re having! I bet you can’t wait for tonight. It’s going too be a lot of fun,” he replied.
“Yes, it will be,” I said. “Do you need any help? You are the most creative builder in the village. Your contraptions are always extraordinary fine works in fine working order, no matter what anybody says. I thought your 30-pawed backscratcher was awesome! I don’t know why everyone else doesn’t see your brilliance.”
“Nope I’m good. I have to make sure the contraptions work for tonight. It is very complicated to make them, and I’m afraid you might get hurt. But thanks for the offer! Why don’t you go help your best friend Clora? I’m sure she could use your help.”
Dejected, I went to see if Clora needed help. Clora and I have been friends for many years since we were toddlers. When I was in kindergarten, I was considered an outcast and nobody wanted to play with me. One day, I was sitting alone, feeling very excluded. Clora was playing blocks, and she noticed I was unhappy so she came over and asked if I would play with her. I was overjoyed that somebody noticed me, and after that day we became the best of friends.
Clora was standing by the flower table when I approached her.
“Hey Clora,” I said.
“Hey Tojuhwa! Great day to go flower picking, don’t you think?”
“I guess so. But I don’t like the idea of pulling plants out of the earth,” I said.
“Neither do I, but it’s for the village, right?” she said.
“I guess you’re right. Do you need any help with your flowers,” I asked.
“Not right now. First I have to sort the flowers out. Then I have to decorate the centerpiece ,“she said.
“Well I guess I’ll see you around.” Even my best friend Clora didn’t want my help.
I went down the street to my favorite spot to think, when my other close friend, Rector, ran into me. Rector and I have been friends since as early as I can remember. We always give each other a hard time, but we also stand by each other no matter what. One time when I was at the park, all the other mokos had someone to play with and left me to play on my own. Rector came from out of the blue just to play with me so I wouldn’t be alone. And when Rector got depressed, I would tell him stories to cheer him up.

“Hey Tojuhwa! Me and the guys are going to throw paint balls at the painter’s house. Want to watch?” he asked.
“Nah, but thanks for asking. Make sure you get the house very messy,” I said. All of this rejection had put me in a bad mood.
“No problem; I’ll see you later.”
I headed to my favorite spot down by the river. This was a special place for me. Rector, Clora and I would come here when we needed a quiet place to think or a place to escape our worries. In the summer we would come here to hang out, fly kites, play limbo, have races, play “I Spy” with the clouds, skip rocks on the river, and tell stories at night. Sometimes we would camp out or we would have picnics. I rolled to the edge of the river, looked into the water, and pondered at my reflection.
“What a joke. Here I am offering to help everyone and just look at me – paralyzed in a wheelchair. I must’ve been out of mind to think I could help, but what help can I give anyone?” I said to myself.
Just then, Corla approached me from behind. “Hey Tojuhwa, what are you doing out here? Why aren’t you helping with the festival?” she said.
“No one wants my help. Even you don’t want me help! Everyone thinks I’m so different even though I have the same skin and bones as they do. So I came here to calm my head and gaze at the water. I like the water -- it’s so gentle like lotion soothing the skin and yet so powerful that it can carry boats or crash them if it chooses. Water can travel to far away lands without any restraints. I wish I could be like the water. I know everyone in the village wants to protect me. But then they never let me do anything to contribute. It’s so frustrating!” I kept staring at the water.
“I understand,” said Clora. “People think I’m fragile too just because I’m a girl.”
“It’s not the same thing,” I said.
“I know it’s not the same thing, but I understand what it’s like to be discriminated against.”
“Well, it’s just not fair. Why did you come here anyway. I thought you were busy with your centerpiece.”
“I’m not very good at decorating, and I was hoping you would help me,” she replied.
“Why didn’t you ask the artist? I’m sure he’d be a better choice for this,” I said.
“He’s too busy finishing his masterpiece to help. Besides you have a very good eye for detail.” she answered.
It’s hard to stay mopey with Clora around. “All right, let’s go,” I said.
We went back to the village, and then we proceeded to the flower table to finish the centerpiece. I rolled to the edge of the table. With Clora right beside me, I would tell Clora where she should put the flowers. “The roses should go over there. The daffodils should go there. The tulips should go over here by the buttercups.” When we finally finished the centerpiece, it looked so glamorous that the king himself would consider it a valuable treasure.
Clora exclaimed, “Wow! I knew you had it in you! I bet the artist would be so jealous. The centerpiece looks so incredible – far better than his so-called ‘masterpiece’!”
Then, Rector joined us. He looked amazed at how great the centerpiece was.
“Hey guys! There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you! Great work on the center piece; it will be the highlight of the festival,” he said.
“Thanks,” I said happily.
Rector grinned. “So let’s get some good seats before the festival starts. It should be beginning any moment now.” Rector said.
The festival started at nightfall when the sun started to set. There was a gentle breeze in the warm milky air. The glistening stars began to shine one by one. There was singing and dancing. People played games like scavenger hunts and races. There were snacks from the baker to munch on, there were art displays from the artist to browse, and there were performances to watch. My friends stayed and helped me participate during the whole festival by encouraging me to sing with them, by twirling and dancing with me, by being patient and supportive during the games by planning and discussing with me during the scavenger hunt, and by pushing my chair so I could go faster during the race. We grabbed some of the baker’s goodies and browsed the art from the artist while munching on our goodies. Then we checked out some of the performances on the stage. Close to the end of the festival we all gathered around the centerpiece and told stories. I started to feel more comfortable, so I told one of my stories about ordinary folks accomplishing extraordinary tasks, even when they may have disabilities. I felt confident about my story and everybody else seemed to enjoy it. They even applauded and came up to tell me that my story was the highlights of the festival. They also said how grateful they were for having such a unique artist as myself as part of the community. So I felt very proud of myself. After the storytelling, we all sang one final song to congratulate everyone for her or his hard work that made the festival possible.
When the festival was finally finished. Clora yawned, “Boy what a great night. I’m tired; I’m going to pack it in.”
Clora then left to go home. As she was leaving, Rector laughed “What do you mean, great night? It’s been an incredible night! But I’m tired too. I guess I had better hit the hay. I’ll see you tomorrow, Tojuhwa.”
As Rector started to leave, I also left for my home. As I got ready for bed and tucked myself in, I thought to myself, “Today has been a good day. I have some great friends, and I did great work. Good night and happy Mokalia!”