“I will pray for you, ” she said, her tail going limp. “Oh gods, my son, my little son! ”
“Don’t cry, mother.” He kissed away her tears. “You must be strong for me. I will carry this moment with me for the rest of my life.”
“I’m sorry.” She sniffed and smiled. “Besides, we will meet again among the stars, and nothing will separate us.” She put her paw on his cheek. “May the Lord Aiheu smile upon you. May the grass be soft beneath you. May the great kings enfold you. May you find love and safety wherever you go.”
“I’ll be safe, ” he said. “The gods are with me.”
Isha came. She looked at the small male and tears started rolling down her cheeks. It did not go unnoticed by Kako.
Mabatu went to her, kissed away her tears, and whispered, “I’ll come back for you. If Aiheu lets me live, I’ll make a place for us. Will you wait for me?”
“I will. I swear.”
“I will always love you. If I die, look in the stars. I will be watching over you.”
Mabatu nuzzled Kako. He wanted to remember the feel of her fur, the smell, the sound of her breath. He looked in her eyes. “Mother.”
“My son.” She kissed him one last time.
Without another word, he turned and walked north. He did not look back, for it would have been wrong to do so. He went to the edge of the trees, then through the shaded trail of the bongo to the hidden meadow where many lions go to die. There was a quiet skull staring sightlessly from the meadow grass, all that was left of old Maloki. He did not stop to regard it, but he did look at the far side of the meadow. That was the border of the Pride Lands. He regarded it with a little nostalgia. He’d never left the Pride Lands before and now he stood at the edge of The Big World. He took in a deep, cleansing breath and let it out slowly. Then he walked into the trees and let their shade close over him like a curtain.
SCENE: FACING UP
Shimbekh watched Mabatu’s mantlement from the shadows. It was a thorn in her heart. “Because of me, he will die. I cannot see it, but he is so unprepared, so young.”
She walked back toward Pride Rock to take shelter from the sun and to talk with Makpil. Along the way, she tried to think of one thing that made her different from a murderess. Is it enough that she had been ordered to lie, even if it was the Roh’mach herself that so ordered?
Makhpil was waiting for her. How wonderful it must be to see things before they happen! With great sadness and envy, Shimbekh asked Makhpil what the future held.
“I see you standing by the river gorge, ” Makhpil said. She kissed Shimbekh. “You will experience joy.”
Joy was something Shimbekh knew little about, especially in recent days. But somehow she knew that Makhpil spoke the truth. It was like a small echo of her once great powers.
Shimbekh hurried out of the cave. Usually the lionesses were never directly addressed by hyenas. That’s why Uzuri was shocked when the Shimbekh spoke to her. Shimbekh told Uzuri that sticking by Pride Rock was not her idea, nor was it the idea of the Gods. It was Shenzi’s desire, as are most things done nowadays. The same is true of Mabatu. He must be found and brought home before death could take him.
Uzuri was indignant and a little mistrustful. “This talk could get you killed, unless it is some kind of trick.”
“Yeah, a trick.” Seer laughs bitterly. “Your blood would turn to dust if you knew half the tricks that had been pulled on you. My powers are gone. Because I lied, the truth has fled from me, and there is only one future I can see--my own.” Shimbekh stalked off quietly.
Shimbekh walked to the edge of the gorge where Taka had once killed Mufasa. “I confessed my guilt. Just once more let me see the truth with my own eyes.” She closed her eyes tightly and took in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. A smile crossed her face. “Yes, Lord. Thank you. Memu kofasa, Muti! Roh’kash ne nabu! ” She crouched down on her haunches and sprang over the edge. For several seconds she fell freely, then she struck the wall of the gorge, was sent bloody and broken through the boulders, and finally rolled to a stop.
SCENE: ISHA’S CUBS
When Isha’s time had come, she had three cubs. Her son was named Habusu, and her two daughters were named Jona and Minshasa.
Some of the lionesses filed by to see them, more out of curiosity than of joy. Importantly, Kako was not among them.
Clearly, while Isha was not a social outcast, there were few doubts who the father of the cubs was, and the circumstances of their conception. There was tension and a feeling of disapproval in the pride mates who stopped by to see the cubs, sniff them, touch them, then say something pleasant, only to go outside and gossip. And with Isha’s excellent hearing, there was no doubt she heard many hurtful things before the day was over.
Public attitudes were rather jaded. “She will be a devoted mother, ” one said; “She has SUCH a way with KIDS.”
After the embarrasment of a presentation Isha would have just as soon skipped, the hunt mistress arrived.
Uzuri’s love for Isha was absolute and unconditional. In her eyes, there could be no taint to spoil the beauty of childbirth. She looked at each cub, sniffed them gently, and touched them with her tongue. “Habusu looks like Mabatu when he was that age—very handsome. Sometimes I worry about Baba; where he is, what he’s doing, and if he’s missing you. You must pray for him.”
“I do.” Isha nuzzles her. “I love you, Uzuri.”
“Why? What did I do.”
“Nothing—and everything. Just because you’re you.” As Uzuri left, Isha brought the cubs to her warm belly and guided them to her milk. She rubbed over them with her paw tenderly as they nursed. “I don’t care what the others think. You are my children, and you are wonderful. You are Mabatu’s children. Our children.” She half closed her eyes. “My little Mabatu. Wherever you are, I hope you know how beautiful they are.”
Taka himself came by. “Look at the little angels, ” he cooed. “Aren’t they beautiful! ”
“Mabatu’s children, ” she said. “That’s what you came to find out, wasn’t it?”
“Mabatu, ” he said softly. “I will go to my death grieving for him. He was my son, and always will be.”
“Then why did you let him go?”
“I don’t have to tell you, but I will. You alone deserve to know.” He sighed. “The seer told me he would meet an evil fate if he stayed here. I love Mabatu. I loved him enough to give him a small chance over no chance at all.”
There was a truthful ring to his voice. Isha looked at the sadness that clouded his face as he recalled his friend.
He looked at the male cub. “What is his name?”
“Habusu.”
“Habusu, you are son of my son. You will be my heir, and the one true King. I am not a seer, but I predict that you will not be hated as I am hated. You have brought some measure of peace to my heart. That is not an easy thing to do.”
“You honor me.” She looked a little worried. “Please don’t tell the hyenas just yet.”
When he asked why, she said, “If their seer is so good, let her come tell you.”
He chuckled, amused. “Yes. Let her. But aren’t you a little curious what the future holds for him?”
“Yes. That’s why I plan to be there when it happens. We all have to suffer thorns and bruises, and we all have to die, but isn’t it really better not knowing how and when?”
Taka looked at her strangely. “Why Isha, you’re a philosopher.”
“All mothers are philosophers.”
Watching him leave, Isha thought back on her sister, Beesa. She had once been a philosopher. Fortunately, she had only had one cub to worry about feeding, a daughter named Lisani. Adopted by Isha upon Beesa’s death, the lioness cared for her niece as if she was one of her own; like Uzuri, she made no distinctions where children were concerned. Perhaps someday Lisani would grow to love Habusu. Perhaps Aiheu in his mercy will provide some future for them all. Then again, Isha kept her mind almost solely on the present. It was her way of keeping her sanity.