“Yes, teacher.” Uhuru looked at him puzzled. “What side effects?”
“Oh, you’ll know. It either makes me giddy or terribly depressed. Let’s begin with a prayer for guidance.”
Uhuru and Fabana laid on the ground belly-up and reached out to paw at the sky, then they got up and faced the sky. This was a pious act among hyenas. Rafiki got down on his knees, then touched his forehead to the ground. “Oh Mano, I touch your mane! Oh Minshasa, I kiss your brow! Hear the cry of your cub in the night! Hear the prayer of one who needs your love!”
“Yes, Father! Yes Mother!” Uhuru shouted in the ecstacy of prayer. “Favorites of Aiheu, friends in distress!”
“Bless our undertaking,” Rafiki said. “Not for our sakes, but for those whom we serve.”
“Let us not trust in our own wisdom, which is foolishness,” Uhuru cried fervently.
“We summon you from the halls of the righteous.”
Rafiki rose, rubbed Uhuru between the ears affectionately, then took the yellow seeds, counted out eighteen of them carefully, counted again to be sure, then combined it with a paste of Tiko root to keep it from coming back up. “To the gods and good friends,” he said, downing the mixture.
The bitterness, even through the tiko root, made him cringe. His breath reeked of mint. “Oh, what a hard kick!” He reached for some water and drank it quickly. “Ycch!”
“Are you all right?” Fabana said.
“I think so.” He rubbed his head. “It has been a while since I last did this. But I think it was not too unpleasant, at least till it was over, then boy oh boy what a headache!” He half laughed. “Imagine me, a shaman, not thinking to lay in a stock of cure-all, the most common perscription! What a fool I was--a stupid fool!” He laughed. “I won’t soon forget!” He patted the gourd affectionately. “Yes sir-ee. No WAY I’m running out THIS time! I got a big bunch! BIGGY-big!”
“That’s good,” Uhuru said, warily. “How are you feeling now?”
“Fine, and how are you, my friend?” Rafiki laughed. “I hope this takes effect soon. I don’t have all day.”
“Oh I think it’s coming along nicely.”
Rafiki looked about, and gradually he could percieve that they were anything but alone. Restless spirits wandered the savanna. A herd of wildebeests that only he could see. A leopard stalking past him with an intent look. Two lion cubs wrestling in the grass, laughing. In the distance, a couple of animals Rafiki could not recognize. A Sabretooth came close by, very leonine but with enormous fangs. She did not look at him or even seem to acknowledge his existance at first. But as the drug took full effect, he said, “Greetings, Pride sister!”
She looked about, startled. “Oue khuch? Ghash’ee spumu kio?”
“Do you understand me?”
She tilted her head in puzzlement. “What sayest thou? Thou art earthen, and yet thou seest me?”
“Yes. You must not be from around here.”
“This was my land. Now our noble line is lost. No more do our cubs nurse at their mother’s side.”
“That’s very sad.” He began to cry. “You’re so beautiful!” Rafiki fell to his knees. “So sad, so sad!”
The cat nodded gravely. “Good manners are not extinct. Peace be with thee.”
Uhuru came to him and shook him. “Are you all right?”
“Why of course I am!” Rafiki got up and dusted off his knees. “You think I am old, perchance? I’ll have you know there’s a lot of wear and tear left in this old body!” He straightened with pride. “My whiskers may be white, but I can still pick you up!”
When Rafiki started toward him, Uhuru backed back. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Nonsense!” Rafiki laughed. “I’m small but wiry! Here, let me show you.”
“He’s right,” a lioness voice said. “It’s not a good idea.”
Rafiki turned and looked at the cloud white lioness. Her crystal eyes regarded him intently.
“Mother Minshasa!” Rafiki fell before her, grovelled, kissed her paws, and then rose and hugged her neck. “Favored child of Aiheu!”
Minshasa touched him with her tongue. Uhuru and Fabana could not see her, but they did see Rafiki leaning out at an angle, resting on empty air. The fur on their backs stood on end.
“My dearest angel,” Rafiki stammered. “When this is over, take me away with you. I want to be one of your cubs. Kiss me again, and call me your own, and I will bless you forever!” He hugged her again. “Tell me stories about the long-toothed lioness. That was so sad!”
“The drug has rattled your good sense,” Minshasa said, pushing him with a paw. “Get a grip on yourself.”
“Whatever you say, dearest.”
“Follow me.”
“Anywhere, my angel.”
“And that’s enough of that,” Minshasa said firmly. “Try to hold yourself together till this is over. Then you may sweet talk me all you want.”
Minshasa led him away from his friends. She took him to a tree and looked up. “From there, you will be able to see him.”
Excited, Rafiki kissed her again. “Thank you, mother of light!” He climbed from branch to branch, looking through the leaves and across the grass. He spotted Simba pacing in a field. The lion was splendid in stature and grace, crowned with a beautiful mane. While he had some of his father’s looks, his face was slender and shapely like his mother’s. “Ooooh!” Rafiki looked down at Minshasa who waited silently at the base of the tree. “Isn’t he something!” She silently nodded.
“Shhh! Listen closely, Rafiki.”
Simba was talking to himself. “She's wrong,” he said. “I can't go back. What would it prove, anyway? It won't change anything. You can't change the past.”
“Who’s wrong?” Rafiki asked Minshasa.
“Nala. She’s asked him to come back. Now listen!”
Simba looked up at the stars. “You said you'd always be there for me! But you're not. And it's because of me. It's my fault. It's my fault!” Simba bowed his head, choking back tears.
“The poor thing!” Rafiki whispered. “I must cheer him up!” Rafiki didn’t know what to say, so he thought to break into a rhyme to get Simba’s attention. It was one Wandani often used in blind tag.
“Asante sana, squash banana! We we nugu, mi mi apana!”
Simba glanced at him, annoyed. To have looked Simba in the eyes again so thrilled Rafiki that he thought he would jump out of his hide!
Simba left, and Rafiki followed. When the lion settled down on a log that crossed a small pond, Rafiki tossed a rock. He was still good with his pitching, and the rock landed in the water right in front of him. Rafiki hustled up a nearby tree to avoid a nasty claws-out swipe he felt he deserved. But Simba only looked up.
“Asante sana, squash banana! We we nugu, mi mi apana!”
“Come on,” Simba said. “Will you cut it out!”
Rafiki laughed, jumping up and down. “Can’t cut it out. It’ll grow right back!” He giggled at his own joke. Minshasa looked up at him. “When I cut it out, it won’t grow back! Now behave yourself!”
Trying to tone himself down, Rafiki followed Simba as he left the log and travelled on. Simba looked back and saw it was a mandrill and corban. He decided not to act on his feelings of annoyance by turning his pest into a meal.
“Creepy little monkey. Will you stop following me? Who are you?”
Rafiki rushed to him. Got right in his face. “The question is: who are YOU?”
Simba was taken aback, but he sighed. “I thought I knew. Now, I’m not so sure.”
“Well I know who you are. Shhh. Come here. It’s a secret.” He pulled Simba’s head over to whisper. “Asante sana, squash banana! We we nugu, mi mi apana!” He laughed.
“Enough already!” Simba looked puzzled. “What’s that supposed to mean, anyway?”
“It means you are a baboon--and I’m not!”