Rishina's home was near the sea, and for generations, the villagers had made their living by fishing. From a young age, he accompanied his father on fishing trips, quickly becoming his father's trusted assistant. But recently, he had become obsessed with hunting, neglecting his duties to the point of being beyond reproach, and he frequently suffered his father's scolding because of it.
Not far from the village stood a small mountain, rugged and rarely visited. The elders said wild boars often appeared there. How wonderful it would be to catch one! The thought of the wild boars on the mountain haunted him, and he resolved to try his luck.
That morning, before dawn, Rishina quietly got up, hiding it from his father, and set off up the mountain with his rifle, rope, and other tools. He searched carefully, but saw not even a trace of a wild boar. By the time the sun had climbed high, his father was waiting for him to go out to sea. With no choice, he turned back, exhausted and disheartened. Halfway down the mountain, he faintly heard a weak cry from nearby—it sounded like a wild boar. Instantly excited, he followed the sound.
Sure enough, a young wild boar was trapped in a muddy swamp. Utterly exhausted, only its head remained above the mire, completely immobilized and unable to escape, its eyes filled with despair. What a clumsy creature to fall into the swamp—this was an unexpected prize! Overjoyed, Rishina quickly raised his rifle and aimed at the boar.
Of course, the boar had no idea what the dark rifle meant. It struggled with its last ounce of strength, staring intently at the stranger before it, its eyes shining with excitement, actually mistaking Rishina for its savior. Is it asking me for help? Rishina hesitated, rifle in hand.
Poor little thing! Sighing, Rishina lowered his rifle and instead began to think of ways to rescue the boar.
To save the boar, he first had to ensure his own safety; falling into the swamp himself would be extremely dangerous. The only solution was to loop a rope around the boar's neck and pull it up. He threw the rope down, finally managing to get it around the boar's neck after much effort, and carefully began to pull. If the rope was too tight, the boar might be strangled before it could be saved. But the boar didn't understand cooperation—it slipped off as soon as it was secured. After repeated attempts, he finally pulled the boar free. Unknowingly, two hours had passed. Rishina, covered in mud, sat on the ground gasping for breath, already wondering how he would face his father's punishment.
Suddenly, a deafening roar came from afar, like the sky collapsing and the earth splitting. Looking back, he saw a towering wave, over ten meters high, crashing onto the shore, sweeping everything before it. The village below was instantly swallowed. Witnessing this scene, Rishina was terrified, trembling uncontrollably.
In the world-shaking Indian Ocean tsunami, he was the village's sole survivor.
This is a true story. Rishina lived in Banda Aceh on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. He had originally set out with his rifle to hunt a wild boar, but delayed his descent to save the boar, thus miraculously escaping a disaster that would have been fatal. Who really saved whom—did the man save the animal, or did the animal save the man? It's hard to say. Rishina's miraculous survival was indeed a coincidence, but would that coincidence have occurred if he hadn't saved the boar?
Luck, it seems, stems from the gift of compassion.