Tembia dragged his hooves in the golden dust. He watched his best friend's family walk toward the distant, hazy mountains. They were getting smaller and smaller.
*Plop.* Tembia dropped his favorite chewing twig. He stared quietly at the empty space left behind, listening to the lonely wind. He thought the savanna felt far too quiet now.
He wanted to say hello across the miles. He found a crisp green acacia leaf and stepped into the tall grass. *Chomp, chomp!* Tembia bit a jagged little smiley face right in the middle of it.
With a flick of his head, he tossed his leafy letter into the air. The wind caught it immediately. The jagged face spun high over the towering trees, carrying his secret message out of sight.
The afternoon sun slowly dipped lower, turning the sky a deep orange. The golden savanna grass went *swish-swish, swish-swish* in the breeze. Not a single creature made a sound.
Tembia waited and waited. He kicked a round pebble into a dirt pile. No answer came back over the long grass. He lowered his long neck down toward the ground, sighing loudly.
Suddenly, a strong gust blew across the plain. *Smack!* A bright yellow leaf flew out of nowhere and stuck directly onto Tembia’s nose.
*Achoo!* He sneezed heavily, shaking his head until the leaf tumbled into the dirt. He let out a loud gasp. Right in the middle of the yellow leaf were three perfectly bitten holes shaped like a hoofprint!
His friend was writing back! Tembia grabbed a fresh, green leaf. He quickly bit a five-pointed star shape into the edge. He flung it straight into the sweeping breeze.
Even with a whole savanna between them, they could still play. *Tap, tap, tap!* Tembia did a joyful little dance in the dirt. High above the grass, a flurry of rustling leaves began dancing back and forth across the sky.
