Nilo and the stomping rage

It was one of those days when everything was somehow too much.
Nilo had spent the whole morning building his space station - every part had its place, every detail was important.
But when he came back after midday, he saw it straight away:
The station had been rebuilt, figures were standing differently and some parts were missing.

"Who did this?"
The voice came loudly before Nilo could hold it in.
A hot feeling raced through his stomach and into his hands.
Everything in him wanted to scream, to stamp, to get something back.

He clenched his fists. His chest felt tight.
"That was mine!"

Then the floor vibrated slightly. A soft, deep tooommm filled the room.
A warm wind blew, and Sir Snuffel appeared next to Nilo - the sweet, gray elephant with his big ears and long trunk.
He looked as if he was standing and breathing with the earth at the same time.

"Oh, Nilo," he grumbled softly, "I can hear your thunder."
He bowed his head. "Do you want to come with me?"

Before Nilo could answer, everything around him was bathed in golden light - and they were standing in Snoozetopia, in the middle of a vast plain of warm, red sand.

Clouds rolled above them. A storm arose and the ground shook softly.
"This is the Plain of the Stompers," said Sir Snuffel. "This is where all the feelings that are loud live."

Nilo looked at the sky. Lightning flashed, the wind whipped, and it felt the same in his stomach - wild and restless.
"I don't want to be angry," he muttered. "But it won't stop."

Sir Snuffel gently stamped one foot on the ground. Boom.
"Anger is like thunder, Nilo. Loud, but not angry. It shouts: something wasn't right.
If you send it away too soon, it will only get stronger."

He lifted his trunk, took a deep breath and blew out slowly.
The wind died down a little.
"Look, anger wants to be seen. If you feel it, don't stomp against it - stomp with it."

Nilo looked at him. "With her?"

Sir Snuffel nodded. "Like this: stand firmly on the ground. Feel your feet. Let the pounding go through you - not onto others, but into the earth.
Then listen to what the anger wants to say."

Nilo closed his eyes. He felt his feet. The ground.
He stamped once. Not wildly - but firmly.
The sound rolled across the plain, and the storm grew quieter.

Then, in the silence afterwards, he listened to himself:
I am angry because I care about what belongs to me.

He opened his eyes. The sky over Snoozetopia was clear, the clouds glowing orange.
Sir Snuffel smiled. "There it is - your truth. Now you can speak without shouting."

Slowly, the savannah faded and Nilo was back in his room.
The space station lay there, a bit of a mess, but not destroyed.

Nilo breathed deeply, feeling his feet.
Then he went to his brother, who was sitting on the carpet.
"I was really angry because you changed my station," he said calmly. "I want you to ask me before you touch anything."

His brother nodded meekly. "I'm sorry, Nilo."

Nilo still felt a slight glow in his chest - but no more fire.
Only strength. And peace.