A Gift to Animals: The Life of Kai Series, #1

By Lucia Van Bebber

From birth Kai didn't speak. She had no reason to, or so she thought.  When her family moved from the U.S. to Kasane, Botswana she found her voice. She learned she had a special gift and could talk to animals. Determined to protect them, Kai and her best friend Senzo, are put in danger when they come across elephant poachers. Kai's desire to protect the animals and Senzo's desire to protect Kai, lead them into dangerous situations as they are taken by the poachers. Who will save them?

 

Can a young girl and her best friend help protect the animals of the Chobe?  Only time will tell.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The LVB Project
• Release date: Mar 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393724155

Book preview

This book is dedicated to you,

the beautiful human who is now reading it. Thank you for your support in aiding animals who are struggling for survival against poaching and illegal trafficking.

Chapter 1

The Mystery of Kai

It was June 4, 2012 , when Kai entered this world. Unlike most children, she did not come into the world kicking and screaming, but quiet  as a mouse. Not a peep. She was an exceptionally beautiful baby.

Her curly blonde locks of hair were identical to her father’s, and her piercing sky-blue eyes made one realize that this child was different in so many ways. Her copper-toned skin was like her mother’s, yet different, with an added hue of gold. Although she and her mother were American, her grandmother, Anna, was from Jamaica. She had moved to the States when she was just a child, but never forgot where she came from.

Kai’s lack of vocal activity worried the doctors and nurses. They immediately started running tests. They performed every test imaginable. Although they found nothing wrong, they quickly recognized her vision was in the remarkable range for one her age. It was as if she listened with her eyes.

Her parents were deeply concerned about their daughter. It wasn’t just the fact that she didn’t make any noise or communicate, but they wondered how she would survive in this world being so different. Everyone knows how cruel people can be towards someone who is different or appears weaker than them, especially children. Would Kai be able to defend herself against this cruel world? Would others accept her?

Finally, the doctors said they could find nothing wrong with Kai. We are sure she will talk when she has something to say. Just give her time. We have seen nothing like this, but it is as  if her sight is her ability to hear. She listens through her eyes. She is definitely taking everything in.

This did not calm Ellen’s fears. It enhanced them.

If Kai saw everything yet did not understand how it was all connected, it may alter her perception of reality. How would she interpret what she looked at without questioning the reasons for the actions taken? Then again, maybe she would be more compassionate and less judgmental than most people. But Ellen was getting ahead of herself. The doctors said that there was nothing wrong with Kai’s hearing.

What concerned Ellen the most was how she would communicate with Kai. How would she know what she needed?

Yet somehow, she did.

Kai communicated with her constantly. They had such a connection that they didn’t need language – at least not a vocal language. Kai was everything to Ellen and Frank. Their world centered around Kai and living their ordinary American life in Dallas, Texas.

Ellen’s mother, Anna, came to help after Kai was born. Anna, in her wisdom, told Ellen that Kai was gifted and to give her time. She felt the moment had come to remind Ellen of the story of her great-grandmother, Chloe, back in Jamaica. Chloe was also silent when she was born, but she observed and absorbed everything. It was only when she was twelve years old that she first communicated with nature and became the bridge between nature and the people. Nature had given her a reason to speak.

As she grew older, Chloe was tasked with explaining which plants could be used as medicine, which were poisonous, and which ones would help a person with what they really needed in their life. She was also the one who helped protect the forest against those trying to destroy  it by taking plants that were rare yet vital for the community’s survival. She talked to the plants to understand their medicinal abilities and what  they needed to survive. No one understood why or even how. Everyone simply knew her as the gifted child.

Give her time, Ellen. She will find her voice when nature needs her to. Anna knew in her heart that her grandchild carried the gift of her people.

Ellen, however, did not have time for superstitious nonsense and dismissed these stories. She didn’t know why her mother felt the need to keep them alive. She would do everything in her power to protect Kai from what she imagined would be a childhood of torment and bullying for being different. Ellen could never understand why everyone demanded that anyone seen as different should join in and conform to society when they were clearly born to stand out?

IT HAD BEEN ALMOST nine years since Kai was born, and although she appeared to be a happy child, she still was not speaking. One day, Frank came home with a worried look on his face. What? Ellen questioned with a concerned wrinkle on her forehead.

Ellie, we need to talk. Frank only called his wife Ellie when he needed to convince her of something. It was his way of calming her before he had to get her to agree with him, although it really made her a little nervous.

"The company has offered me a senior position to head up a solar project. It would mean a