Amur

Asubuhi ya sita, treni ilikuwa ikipita katika Mashariki ya Mbali ya Urusi. Taiga ilikuwa imebadilika tabia. Miti sasa ilikuwa ni mvinje wa Kikorea, mkaratusi wa Manchuria, na mwaloni wa Mongolia. Msitu ulionekana kuwa karibu zaidi. Huu ni msitu wa mvua wa joto wa Mashariki ya Mbali ya Urusi, moja ya misitu yenye mvua nyingi zaidi duniani nje ya tropiki.

On the sixth morning, the train was running through the Russian Far East. The taiga had changed character. The trees were now Korean pine, Manchurian ash, and Mongolian oak. The forest felt closer. This is the temperate rainforest of the Russian Far East, one of the wettest forests in the world outside the tropics.

Polly alikuwa peke yake kwenye chumba. Pavel alikuwa ameshuka Ulan-Ude. Askari alikuwa amehamia behewa lingine. Mkazi mpya wa kitanda cha juu alikuwa mwanamke mwembamba aliyelala muda mwingi wa siku.

Polly was alone in the compartment. Pavel had gotten off in Ulan-Ude. The soldier had moved to another carriage. The new occupant of the upper bunk was a thin woman who slept most of the day.

Treni ya mizigo ilipita kwa mwelekeo tofauti. Ilikuwa karibu kilomita mbili kwa urefu, ikibeba mbao. Polly alihesabu mabehewa thelathini na nane kabla hajaacha.

A freight train passed in the opposite direction. It was nearly two kilometres long, carrying timber. Polly counted thirty-eight flatbeds before she stopped.

Treni ilifika Khabarovsk katikati ya asubuhi. Khabarovsk iko kwenye Mto Amur, mto wa nane kwa urefu duniani. Amur unaunda sehemu kubwa ya mpaka kati ya Urusi na China. Kutoka kwenye jukwaa, Polly aliweza kuona mto kupitia pengo kati ya majengo mawili. Ulikuwa mpana. Ulikuwa na rangi ya chai kali. Upande wa mbali, kupitia ukungu, kulikuwa na China.

The train arrived at Khabarovsk in mid-morning. Khabarovsk sits on the Amur River, the eighth-longest river in the world. The Amur forms much of the border between Russia and China. From the platform, Polly could see the river through a gap between two buildings. It was wide. It was the colour of strong tea. On the far bank, through the haze, was China.

Polly aliruka chini na kutembea urefu wa treni.

Polly hopped down and walked the length of the train.

Kwenye ukingo wa kijito kidogo karibu na yadi za kituo, kulikuwa na korongo wa Mashariki ya Mbali ya Urusi. Karibu mita mbili kwa urefu, mweusi na mweupe na wekundu kuzunguka jicho. Korongo wa Mashariki ya Mbali ya Urusi ni moja ya korongo adimu zaidi duniani. Labda wamebaki elfu tatu, wakizaliana zaidi katika bonde la Amur.

A Russian Far East crane was standing at the edge of a small marsh near the station yards. Almost two metres tall, black and white with red around the eye. The Russian Far East crane is one of the rarest cranes in the world. Maybe three thousand left, breeding mostly in the Amur basin.

Polly alitikisa kichwa chake kwake. Korongo alitikisa kichwa chake pia. Polly alitembea karibu zaidi. Korongo hakusogea.

Polly tilted her head at it. The crane tilted its head back. Polly walked closer. The crane did not move.

Kondakta alipiga filimbi. Polly alirudi kwenye treni. Aligeuka na kumwangalia korongo. Korongo bado alikuwa akimwangalia. Kisha alinyanyua shingo lake ndefu polepole sana na kutembea, kwa hatua za makusudi, kuelekea kwenye kijito.

A conductor blew a whistle. Polly hopped back to the train. She turned and looked at the crane. The crane was still looking at her. Then it lifted its long neck very slowly and walked, in deliberate steps, away into the marsh.

Treni iliondoka Khabarovsk na kuelekea kusini. Bahari ya Pasifiki ilikuwa chini ya kilomita mia saba sasa.

The train pulled out of Khabarovsk and turned south. The Pacific was less than seven hundred kilometres away now.