The Turtle Story

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Photo Credit

Let me distract you for a moment and tell you a story. It was the year 1996. My parents had a farm that was located about a mile away from home. Audu worked at the farm but dad and I visited the farm every Saturday. There were two routes to the farm and we agreed that we would go separate routes in the morning then go back home together. It was a competition to see who got there first. Every time as I took the long walk along the lonely road I would pass the Akam river. And each time I walk past, I would see an elderly woman seated at the water edge with a small metal cage close to her. I couldn't stop to find out what she was doing on account of being in a rush to beat my dad to the farm.

One Saturday I decided I would run most of the way, thereby breaking the rule of the game but then who is going to tell my dad. The idea was to allow me enough time to observe the old woman. Of course she was there. As I got closer to her, I realised that the metal cage was a small trap. There were two turtles,unharmed slowly walking around the base of the trap. She had a third turtle on her laps that she was slowly and carefully scrubbing with a spongy brush.

"Good morning ma", I greeted. "I see you here every weekend and you don't ever seem to leave the spot".

I realised she hadn't responded to my greeting so I stopped. She smiled. "Good morning. We are in a hurry, aren't we? Well, I am cleaning off the shells of these turtles", she replied. "These stuff on a turtle's shell like scum or algae reduces its ability to absorb heat and reduces it's ability to swim. It can also corrode and weaken it's shell over time".

"Wow! I didn't know that. Really thoughtful of you", I said.

She continued, "I spend most mornings before going to my farm, relaxing by this water every morning and helping these guys out. It's my own little way of helping them stay alive".

"But don't most turtles live their whole lives with algae and scum hanging from their shells? '' I asked.
"Yep. Sadly, they do", she replied.

I scratched my ears. "Well, don't you think your time could be better spent doing something else? I mean, I think your efforts are kind and all but there must be about 99% of these fresh water turtles that won't meet you in their lifetime to help them clean their shells. No offence but how exactly are your localised efforts here truly making a difference?"

The woman smiled patiently. She looked at the turtle on her lap, scrubbed off the last piece of algae from its she'll and said, "You're a curious one, aren't you sweetie? If these little guys could talk, he'd tell you I just made all the difference in their world. No amount of kindness is too little if it comes from the heart".

When she finished speaking, she picked up her little cage and walked into a nearby shrubbery and that was the very last time I saw her in that river. I have often wondered if she would have continued coming there had I not interfered. Or maybe her work on that stretch of the river was done.

Well, I continued my trip and still managed to reach the farm before my dad. I never told anyone about that old lady but sometimes I still think about her and her charity work and wish I could develop such level of kindness in my heart.