by Prosper Mwanza
Longlisted in the PureTravel Writing Competition 2025
The story of Alicia Perry, a young girl whose life is marked by the tragic separation of her parents from her and a stay at an orphanage, offers a deep understanding through which to explore the broader themes of environmentalism and nature conservation. Her heritage as the daughter of two passionate environmentalists, Mr Charles and Mrs Alice provides the central link between Alicia’s struggles and the global fight for a sustainable future.
She could only smile despite the situation. She beheld the surroundings of the orphanage to a fabulous view in front of her eyes. The magnificent view depicted lovely pictures of what it could have been if she were in the home of her real parents. Alicia Keys was a young girl with a freckled nose, budding chest, broad shoulders like the Pacific, and protruding eyes which gave her face an almost ethereal quality.
The life of Alicia shared a sense of mystery, resilience, and pathos. She led a melancholy life at the orphanage. Although life was not all roses for her, she still managed to express her gratitude to all those who assisted her at the orphanage. The life challenges she faced were so detrimental to her personal development. Still, her grandparents’ last words, “life is not a bed of roses”, helped her overcome the challenges she used to encounter in her everyday life as she used to pray day and night, asking for God’s favour for her own parents to come and deliver her from that orphanage.
As she gazed through the old orphanage’s window, she saw a large, impressive car, all sparkling metal, polished dark blue. A swarthy man with trim hair had stepped out of the car. He was powerfully built with muscles that strained against his shirt and had a perfectly sculpted moustache that gave him a distinguished look. The old man had come along with his wife who loathed to see the black specks in milk, or cracks on the wall of her house. Though she was a capricious woman, she never lavished any futile words on her husband. Even though she was very annoying, she was so beautiful in appearance that even the brown winds blowing past the orphanage rhythmically added to her beauty.
On their arrival, there was a dead silence, an ominous and chilly atmosphere of envious desperation in the orphanage over who would be adopted by the lovely couple. The couple looked forward to seeing an heir to their property, having lost their unique child a decade ago.
Alicia closed her hands in a yielding plea and prayed fervently saying, “Father, let it be me for now”. She had been through the process for quite some time. Her social circle shifted as long-time friends drifted away just as new colleagues entered her life. She thought she was the black sheep of the family, having realized that all odds were against her. She could only lie sluggishly on her bed with a fake chunky necklace on her neck and she could barely remember the one who gave her the necklace. No words could express her agony as tears began to trickle down uncontrollably on her scrawny cheeks.
Suddenly she heard a large echoing voice calling her name, “Alicia!” She recognized the voice and could in no way wait for the second call. The bloated face with terrible infections that had no cure always frightened her as she was punished for small misdemeanors. Upon her arrival, she was welcomed with an insincere smile from the brother in charge, Mr. Nicodemus. Her sudden appearance gave the husband a broad smile which suddenly changed the man’s facial expression as he reached for her, touching the necklace which was on her neck. As his face continued to pale, he asked the young girl in a tear-jerking voice who gave her the necklace.
Before she could answer, the couple was on her, shouting as tears streamed down their cheeks, “This is our lost child!” She could not understand anything at all as she felt the tightening of her thighs from the couple screaming, “This is our child!” The couple, not sure who would carry Alicia with excitement, sat down and wept as if something had touched their hearts. Alicia asked the man who had approached her for her necklace to stop. “I’m not your child!” she yelled. “My parents were environmentalists who died while trying to save an endangered species of bird called Kakapo. They were wonderful people who loved me and the earth.” She knew their story by heart.
The couple was on their knees now, the man’s face still tear-stained, and the woman’s expression was one of overwhelming grief and recognition. “Alicia,” the man began, his voice choking with emotion. “I am Mr. Charles, your father, and this is your mother. We are your parents, but we did not mean to be separated for such a long time.”He then showed her a small picture of them being together, smiling with their arms wrapped around her. They even sang for her the song she always loved when she was five, “We are the leaves, we are the rain, we are the animals that feel the pain and to destroy one is to destroy the other.”
Alicia now understood that her parents hadn’t abandoned her. They had been tragically separated in a landslide while trying to save an endangered species of bird. The landslide was a direct consequence of illegal deforestation in the area. All of a sudden, Alicia jumped and shouted, “Father, mother! Is this you or am I having a daydream? l thought we were not going to be united after the tragic separation.” Alicia left the orphanage like a bat out of hell. The excitement on his face was mixed with astonishment. On the way, the couple giggled and spoke in a single voice, “We have eventually found our child. Upon arriving at her rural hometown,” Alicia shouted, “Free at last!”
Photo by Wolfgang Hasselmann on Unsplash
