It was early morning, a bit chilly for the northern part of the island. The fog was thin but held the surroundings cold. Dew was over the ground and one could hear the morning roar. It was ritual for Ya Cheng, he woke up and saw the sun gleaming faintly behind the thin fog as to pierce it. The fog dissolved with smell of fresh dew grass. But it wasn’t the sun ray that woke him up,he knew he had to be going,he bathed and chanted his thai prayers. He went to the cave and saw Rasha, the majestic Tiger had woken up or perhaps coudn’t sleep.It was somewhere in his mind that he like other tigers would be leaving soon. Mek,Thebaw,Yashin were deported to forests. Ya cheng understood his anxiousness,his reluctance to move out of the cave,to go out for a stroll in the quarry,to run in the water. Rasha knew he had it coming and so did Ya Cheng. It wasn’t easy for him either,he had raised him since he was a cub. He was a chubby adorable one, hand picked by Ya cheng. He was always running, always getting into troubles,loved to swim over the water. Officials brought him from the nearby village where his mother was poached.

Since then the Tiger Monastery was his home, The Beast was majestic but his heart seem to sway either ways. He coudn’t bear the idea of the forests,once it was sent four years ago. His poor survival instincts brought him back here. The Low population of Tigers in Thailand is a big worry and so is their mistreatment. Press Flooded the news with anxiety over the way they were kept in chains. Various groups now protested for Rasha to be free and let off.

Ya Cheng hurled his chains, but he was reluctant to walk, after force he came out and stood still as to make sure he wasn’t let off and rescued. He walked slower than he could and pondered the places, the quarry,the temple,the grasslands, the old pond. Ya Cheng was silent throughout. He coudn’t muster the courage to talk to him like he always did. He had once read in the scriptures,” The Heart yearns for not what it always wanted but for fear of losing what it always had”. He thought whether the beast understood any of the echoing chants when he lied beside him. He took him to the cave and patted his head one last time. He looked him in the eyes as if to say,”Fear not my friend,Life is as it seems ,unpredicatble and unforgiving, you cannot change it,”. Rasha closed his eyes and lied down.

Ya Cheng couldn’t bear seeing him tranquilised and being taken off the island. That night in sleep he thought,” Did the beast ever gave him a lesson, the scriptures never gave, as the heart after losing what it always had,,cannot yearn for what it want.” The Tiger Died a month after but Ya Cheng knew it from the beginning omniously from his eyes.Rasha’s eyes were as majestic as his wisdom that day, he thought.