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12th June 1937

Dear Diary

I’m  grateful to have returned home safely, after a long, tiresome journey. I wished to stay in Burma but after witnessing the murder of an innocent elephant, I had a strong urge to come home.

For a moment, I was certain that the officer would hold his fire. Then he seemed quite tentative, but he had no choice. He approached the massive animal in a dubious manner; gripping his rifle, as if fearing it might slip out of his grasp. As he aimed, I  silently prayed  for a miracle, but I knew my prayer landed on deaf ears after hearing the bullet echo through the air. I  froze. The crowd roared and I left in tears. I glanced over my shoulder wishing the bullets would stop, but he had to put it out of its misery It eventually collapsed as  blood flowed from its wounds. How could they bear to watch?

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June 25th

It’s almost like everyday I find another reason to lose hope in the world we live in. That white policeman taking his first of seven shots, the amusement of the crowds throughout the execution, and the guttural, agonising sounds of a gentle giant’s death; these things were etched into my brain. Appalling. That’s what it was, appalling. The elephant posed no threat and it’s only crime was coming close to a land they stole from it, but that’s a good enough reason to brutally murder in the eyes of the wicked. I can only imagine what the elephant must've gone through. I feel so sorry for the owner of the elephant, former owner sadly.

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29/11/2000
The guilt keeps eating me man .Every single day. It was fun at first, I was like a horse on steroids, impatiently waiting for the hunting to begin. I remember, when the man finally loaded his Foreign fantastic weapon, it was like God had answered my prayers. The first shot went off! Pow! At first, I didn't feel content or sad. Just nothing. Then the second shot. Pow! But this time -this time I felt bad as the elegant elephant fought for an escape. But as I looked into its galaxy black eyes, it felt like his soul was crying out saying “Why me?”. That's when it hit me hard. My knees became weak, my eyes watering as I tried to justify the inhumane act I had partaken in. Till this day I wonder how evil! How devilish one has to be to promote such a despicable thing. More shots we fired! And this time, it paralyzed me. I was powerless and hopeless just like the elephant fighting for what we had taken from it. Life. And the worst part was, it still wasn't dead man. It still wasn't dead

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14/11/1995
Today I was on my way to the town centre when I saw that a large crowd had formed. Curiosity got the best of me and I walked closer to see what had captured people's attention and that's when I saw a man lying in the dirt, pointing a magazine towards the elephant. I was honestly so confused as to what he was doing. The person next to me must have seen the confusion written all over my face because he said with excitement laced in his tone,'' He's going to kill it, there's a rifle inside .'' At these words, my heart dropped. A loud bang sounded through the air and everyone went still. Another went off and another and another and that's when I turned away, I couldn't take it. I was furious, sad, confused. But even as I walked away, I could hear the heaves of the elephant as it struggled to hold on to dear life. A tear drop streamed down my face as I continued on with my journey.

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Never have i ever felt so useless as i watched the poor old elephant battle for its life in vain. Though he had been behaving strangely of late, why did I watch him suffer such  a painful death? There he is, hobbling peacefully taking no notice of the despair that awaits him. Then bang…… the first gunshot obscured the previous serene. Why is everyone around me celebrating? Do they not see the way the staggering giant is grappling with death? The second gunshot saw me away, I cannot watch this anymore. What I would have thought to be a mercy killing turned into the elephant’s slaughter. The walk home was horrid, the scorching sun couldn't change how frigid i felt, the guilt still suffocates me and so does the trauma.

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What a day. What a horrible day. The police's first order of business today was to shoot a gentle giant which was supposedly a threat to the Feds. A policeman did as they commanded and sniped the helpless elephant. I felt a cloud of gloom and guilt hanging over me as I glared at the heartless shooter. A devilish roar of glee from other cowardice spectators could be heard as the bull fell to its knees. I played along with the crowd's reaction but the elephant's agony truly struck my body with distress as he emptied the rifle’s magazine in its heart. It was as if its pain was in sync with me. I felt my heart pounding as the elephant’s heart gave up. Just as I turned away from the site, a flash flood of thoughts and potential decisions I could have made entered my mind.

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11 January 2000
Wednesday

Dear Diary,
Remember the time when I cried my eyes out when Spike died, well...it happened again. On my walk back home I could not help but notice an elated crowd, eyes glued on someone lying on their stomach pointing a gun at an elephant. I couldn’t help but wonder what the poor animal had done to deserve such a gruesome death. Why?
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
As bullet after bullet ripped through the elephant my heart dropped, ‘it’s over’ I had thought, but no, he was still standing! I didn’t know whether to feel relieved or concerned for the giant animal.
The crowd’s bestial satisfaction at the incident repulsed me and I wanted no part of it so I left.
I wish I could go back in time to prevent it all from happening aargh!

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Wednesday 24 February 1936

Dear G

What’s good my G, today was a rather critical day.

The news of the elephant that was patrolling the borders of the village had spread like WILDFIRE. Every prying person was at the market looking for a show and you know your boy had to be there since I live for the thrill.

But today my curiosity turned to dismay as soon as I heard the shot. I was baffled my G. When the elephant was shot, the crowd let out a shout of joy. Why in creation were they happy? Had the elephant attacked? NO! Yet it was on the ground, dying. I was angry bro, I was miffed. It's hard to keep my cool when people act like barbarians and lack an ounce of remorse.

I rushed to the elephant to see if there was something I could do for the poor animal ( not that I could) but it was too late my G. Blood was just EVERYWHERE. It made me SICK.

IT'S JUST NOT FAIR. I really feel for the Mahout my G. Why did he have to lose something so precious to him? IT’S JUST NOT FAIR.

Peace out G

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Dear diary
So I was chilling with a group of people, watching an elephant. We didnt get too close because the thing could have charged. Anyways, as I was saying. Im chilling, watching the elephant when I see this policeman lie down by the road. Suddenly everyone gets very still. Most people let out a happy sigh, probably excited at what they were about to see. Its not everyday that you get to see an elephant get shot. Anyways, I knew what was about to happen. The officer fired his first shot. A great shout came from the crowd as people gleefully watched the shot hit the elephant. You could have sworn the bullet didnt reach the elephant. I watched sadly as the elephant froze. Its posture slumped. After a long pause, the poor animal came to its knees, opening its mouth. More shots were fired, I could not stand it anymore. I ran

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The man with the gun carefully observed the elephant for a moment. He turned to have a conversation with some Burmans, which seemed to be on the elephant. The man loaded the gun with bullets and lay with his stomach on the road. It seemed to be a more convenient position for accuracy. The crowd grew. He carefully set his eye behind the gun for a good aim and pulled the trigger. I didn't hear any sound, this probably meant he had shot the elephant. It took the man 2 more shots and the elephant collapsed and fell in the man's direction. The Burmans were already running to the elephant past the man lying on the road. They all stood whilst observing the elephant. The man fired two shots into the elephant and pulled out a small rifle and shot countless times. He then walked away seemingly dissatisfied.