[Narrator] Some ways further down the line Separated by an ocean of time We scan the land to zero in on crown hill And behind the sleepy meadow and a single occupant Of the sweet summer day catching rays in the jade stone Many miles from home [Young Shalim] I see bumblebees and bu*terflies flutter by I see the sun smiling at me from the sky High above the clouds, they remind me of The wooly white curls of my best friend Mani She's my favorite of all the many sheep on the farm And Dad says "her hair keeps us warm And our bellies full of good food so we can grow strong And survive any cold snow storm" [Narrator] Cheeks flushed, sweet musk The sun hanging high up in the sky and while the heat was Habitually overwhelming this time of year It's the fresh young cub that comes home with the lions share Here in the shade, cusp of the tree line Beside the belko hedge brimming with lush ripe fruit Infused with light salty breeze from the east Joy rush flushing out his being through the leaves [Young Shalim] Mmmm these belko berries taste so sweet But I can't stand the heat So come on feet, take me to the river quick To cool off and poke a few lizards with a stick [Narrator] He hesitates, then thinks [Young Shalim] I shouldn't go alone I know that it's too far away from home But I have to know what's going on I'm gonna leave the ranch And snap off a twig on my path from a branch [Narrator] He scratches his name into the dirt with the stick And licking syrupy belko juice from his lips spells S.H.A.L.I.M One of the two parting gifts she had bestowed upon him That fateful night all those years ago When she had knocked on the door of celestia and boro Whom shalim knew as mom and pops So goes the balance of the cosmos Infinite improbability the second of the gifts glints through the canopy And seems to pull him into the thicket [Young Shalim] I wonder if the land beyond is different and scaring me Like in stories old people keep telling me I let myself be guided on a path That I have never been before in my life And I'm ecstatic like a bunny rabbit I'm shaking and taken my something Coming deep from within me [Narrator] Suddenly a shadow that envelops him He feels a trembling in his melanin Towering beast from the mud takes shape With the limbs of a man and a blood-stained blade Unfazed, he thinks to himself [Young Shalim] Wow, what a pretty cape! But such a gritty face He looks so mean Like a monster I once saw in a dream I better head home so no one worries over me [Narrator] In the bush behind the meadow a child stands staring at the scene on display Seven severed heads on spikes and the air hangs thick with demise Inscribed in blood on the bark are the words “bangali arise” In the distance the rush of the tide