Still, it was not exactly Busara’s cave....
Old Busara! How long ago those happy days seemed! Once Rafiki thought he would be chief of the mandrill village where he lived. Then Busara brought him to a state of enlightenment, a favor he would buy with his own blood when the priest of the old ways found out. The fever to be a shaman consumed him and transformed him, and finally sent him to his third home. That was supposed to be his final haven, a place to spend the rest of his days in loving service with his wife and children and the people of Ahadi.
Fate was not so kind. With no wife to comfort him, no children to raise, he had lost the home itself with all its memories. Makaka and Uzuri were his only ties to his old life. At his advanced age, he was starting over.
CHAPTER: NIGHT COMES
As the sun began to set, the lionesses gathered for their hunt. Adhama came and nuzzled Uzuri. “Time to gather up,” she said cheerfully. “I’ve looked so forward to the honor of hunting with you, Zuri.”
“I’m flattered,” Uzuri said. “But I’m unfamiliar with the area. Tonight, let me sit with the children.”
“Zuri, don’t be timid! We don’t expect you to bring down a buffalo by yourself! Just tag along and learn the land tonight.”
“Maybe tomorrow,” Uzuri said. “Good hunting, sister.”
Adhama nodded, and before she left she added, “Don’t get used to it. I look forward to seeing you in action out there.”
“I won’t.” Uzuri smiled and pulled a sleepy cub a bit closer.
Adhama nodded and paced away silently, vanishing into the dark. From another clump of brush, Makaka emerged, humming a tune to himself as he meandered over. He sighed and slipped his arms around Uzuri’s neck, hugging her close.
She smiled and kissed him with her warm tongue. “Busy day?”
“Busy week!” He slid down, resting his head on her side. “We walked everywhere! Rafiki found this really cool place to set up in. It’s kind of damp, though.” He yawned hugely. “We had to cut brush and fill cracks. The dampness hurts his joints, you know.” His voice dropped off to a buzz as he slowly nodded off.
Uzuri continued to groom him absently, turning this over in her mind. After all the times Rafiki had rubbed her stuff joint without complaint! She had no idea his joints hurt!
Eventually the warmth of Makaka and the cubs sank into her and she drowsed lightly, head still erect and ears alert for any disturbance. Before too long she detected the familiar tread of Rafiki as he eased through the grass towards her; his distinctive gait barely registering before she relaxed again.
Very quietly, Rafiki bent down next to her face and ever so softly planted a kiss on her cheek. He whispered, “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, girl. If this doesn’t prove it, I don’t know what will.”
One of her eyes opened to look at him.
“Oh, I didn’t mean to wake you!”
“That’s all right.” She patted with her paw and winked. She didn’t have to ask twice--he settled next to her. “You look tense. Relax.” She took a paw and controlling her great strength with finesse, began to rub his back and shoulders. “You need to relax. This day has worn you out.” When she heard the grunt of relief, she knew she’d found the source of his pain and she concentrated on loosening him up. What her paws lacked in dexterity, they made up for in gentle persistence. And only when Uzuri was content with the results did she let him up. “If you feel tense again, you come see me.”
“I will,” he said, kissing her brow. “Thank you.”
She managed to stay awake until the hunting party came back. She had an important job to do, but she was restless and wondered what she was missing on the trail. She also wondered how her own Pride Sisters were faring, and if they caught anything. She glanced back in the direction of Pride Rock and sighed.
When the lionesses returned victorious, she woke the cubs and shared her first meal with her new family. Not knowing many of them well, she heard snatches of gossip and idle chatter that sounded only distantly familiar. As a result, she said very little.
That night as she finally settled to sleep, time and time again in her dreams she re-enacted the parting from her Pride Sisters.
“I give you the most precious possession I have. I gave a lot of thought to what I would say when I left you. In the end there is nothing I can say, and so I leave you with silence. But I can never forget the time we spent together on the trail....”
That was the crux of her problem. She could never forget the time they spent together on the trail. Would she ever be that happy again? And did she have the right to subject Rafiki and Makaka to this?
CHAPTER: CHOOSING A PATH
The next morning, Rafiki dropped by cheerfully but a little stiff. “How did you sleep?”
“Fine.”
“Uh huh....” He looked at her dusty, disarranged fur. “That’s nice.”
Makaka took Rafiki aside. “No. She moaned and tossed all night. She’s not happy here. I heard her crying. Rafiki, I want to go home! I have some friends here, but this place is not good for us.”
Rafiki sighed and made his way back to her. “So, my dear, how do you like it here?”
Uzuri looked pensive. “Fine. But do you think I’ve left my sisters in the lurch?”
“No. They’ll have to adapt, if you really want to stay. Admittedly, it won’t be easy.”
“So you think it’s wrong my being here?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Well, what DID you say?”
“I said--and I will say again--I cannot choose your path. You must go where your heart leads you.”
She shuddered. “I hope you won’t be disappointed, but my heart is leading me back to Pride Rock.”
Rafiki sprang to life. “I’ll get my things!”
“But I have to say good bye.”
“Of course you do. But if we do it quickly, we can make it back in time for tonight’s hunt.” He hugged her tightly. “We can’t have you unhappy, my dear!”
That afternoon, an article of her faith became very real to her. Pain was indeed the brother of pleasure, and in loving Ugas and his pride, she had opened herself to the pain of farewells. Adhama and Amara were dear friends and she would miss them terribly. And there were her sons who must remain behind in the kingdom of her dead husband. But as Aiheu had told all who dared to love, the pleasure was worth the pain--it gave her nobility and inner beauty that shone brightly from her hazel eyes.
Makaka was impatient to leave, hopping from foot to foot at the delay as Uzuri and Rafiki nuzzled each cub and spoke to each of the lionesses.
The brothers insisted on escorting them back to the border, and Uzuri was glad of the company.
“You will visit us, won’t you?” Togo asked.
“Of course I will, if the King permits.”
“The King insists,” Kombi said. “Oh look, I can see the stream from here.” The sadness behind his smile was obvious to her and she nuzzled him.
“There’s no stream deep enough or wide enough to keep us apart,” Uzuri said.
Reaching the bank, she couldn’t help but feel her heart sink as her sons stopped short of the water. She kissed each of them on the cheek, inhaling their scent and holding it in her memory. “I’m so proud of you both! Your father is too, I know it.”
Kombi nuzzled her one last time, then stepped back. “Aiheu abamami, mother. Take care.” Togo bid her farewell, and then joined his brother as they turned and headed back home. Uzuri watched them leave, then slowly turned towards her own home that lay shimmering in the distance like something out of a dream.
The three splashed through the water, then stood once again on their old ground. Without looking back, Uzuri led Rafiki and Makaka past the spot where young Sarabi and Taka used to play. They went through the field where Ahadi lay his feverish body to die with his beloved Akase. She passed the spot where Misha had made her first kill and first made love with Tanabi. And she saw the spot where Pipkah crawled away to die after the great battle. She half smiled when she thought about the tricks she pulled on him. Maybe he learned a little humility at the end--maybe he’d even found peace.