John Burkitt - Under the Acacias

Her chin trembling, she sniffed back her tears and headed outward.

“You can’t do this!” Sarafina said. “Sis, I love you! Can you just turn your back on me?”

“No more than I could turn my back on my sons. They need me, hon.”

“Then let me walk with you to the border.”

Uzuri leaned against her shoulder as she walked. As was her custom, she said little, but she glanced over at Sarafina and kissed away her tears.

“I thought we were together till the end,” Fini said.

“I will visit you,” Uzuri replied. “You have not seen the last of me.”

“It won’t be the same without Ugas.” It was the first time she’d mentioned his name since the truth came out, and she tensed up.

“I won’t spoil your memories of him,” Uzuri said. “I’m glad you found happiness. Maybe you will again.”

“And how about you, Uzuri? Will you find happiness again, now that you have done this thing?”

“I won’t stop looking if you won’t.”

Before they reached the border, Rafiki confronted her with Makaka at his side. Makaka sprang to her and hugged her around the neck.

“Shame on you,” Rafiki said. “Trying to leave your best friend behind.”

“But I must,” she said.

“I won’t let you. I’m going with you. So is Makaka.”

“I thought you said you were tied to this place?”

“I was. But only because of you.” He looked out toward his old baobab and back toward Pride Rock. “We had some times here, old girl. That we did.”

Uzuri smiled sweetly. “I feel much better now. Thanks.”

They headed east, an odd procession of two lionesses and two mandrills. But at the creek, Sarafina sadly nuzzled Uzuri, then kissed Rafiki and Makaka. “I am bound to Nala, as you are to your sons. But my heart is always with you.”

With sadness for what they left behind, they headed out into the water. But as the opposite bank drew nearer, their sense of adventure began to shove grief aside. If only Ugas had been there to meet her, joy would have flooded her soul like noontime sunlight. But in a way she felt closer to him, and it was some comfort in her loss.

No sooner had she crossed the creek than Adhama spotted her and fell to the ground. “My lady.”

“Rise up,” Uzuri said with a self-conscious laugh. “I was never much at being a queen. So how are my boys doing?”

“See for yourself!”

Uzuri found no need to call out ‘Aiheu abamami’ as she went along. Indeed, as the Queen Mother she was a member of Kombi’s pride and free to come and go as she pleased.

Togo and Kombi were out on border patrol when she arrived at Pride Kopje. But she was soon surrounded by a swarm of excited cubs who pawed her and chanted, “Zuri, Zuri!”

She rolled on her back and patted her chest with a paw. They covered her, kissing her face and pawing her affectionately.

As she held them close with a paw and kissed them, Princess Amara came out with a squeal of delight. “Hi, Mom! It’s all right if I call you ‘Mom’ isn’t it?”

“Sure it is, Marrie.”

Amara pushed through the cubs to nuzzle her. “I’m so glad you came. I do my best to make Togo happy.”

“I’m sure you do,” Uzuri said with a knowing smile.

Rafiki smiled. He was fond of Amara and was glad to know she loved Togo and knew his love in return.

“He misses you terribly,” Amara added. “Now that you’re here, he’ll be so happy. And you and I will be great friends. There are so many things that I want to ask you, Mom. We knew sooner or later you were coming here to live. I’m just glad it’s sooner, before the cubs were born. Uzuri, I so much want you to be my midwife.”

“Grandchildren,” she said with a smile. “Bless you, my dear.”

Uzuri looked about. Many of the places and many of the people reminded her of the love and companionship of her husband. But she did not know these lands well enough to hunt them masterfully. At best, she would be a helper. Perhaps even a beater to drive prey toward the ‘real’ hunting party. She could learn the land, but it would take years, and she was not growing any younger. Maybe it was best that she take care of the young and leave hunting to the ones who did it best.

Suddenly, she heard a roar. It was not an angry sound, but what a male lion does when words are not enough.

“Togo!!”

She broke into a run. Togo hurried to meet her, rearing up and putting his arms around her neck and nuzzling her.

“Mother!!”

“My little boy! I know you’re a lion now, but you’ll always be my little cub! Oh, I could just eat you up!”

“Marrie said you’d come,” he said, his eyes shining like diamonds. “Welcome home, Mom! Oh, I’m so happy I could just burst!”

She nuzzled him again. “My special little boy! I heard all about Ambia and what you did, and I’m so proud of you! So how are you??”

“Fine! Never better! You saw Marrie, didn’t you? She’s my wife, now. You’re going to be a grandmother soon.”

“I know!” She kissed him. “You be good to Marrie, you hear me? She’s a fine lioness.”

“Yes ma’am!”

“I hear Kombi is king.”

“Yeah.” He half laughed. “I like this Prince Consort thing well enough, but I don’t want to be a King. Besides, now that Kombi is King, it keeps him out of trouble.”

Amara rubbed full length against her husband the way Uzuri used to do with Ugas. “Well, Honey Tree, aren’t you going to show the Queen Mother her new home? She can have my old spot now that I have a nice soft mane to snuggle on.”

“I know where my spot is,” Uzuri said gently. She lithely climbed to the top of Pride Kopje. She went to the spot where she would spend hours talking with Ugas about the stars. His scent had nearly vanished, but as she lay on her back and looked up at the skies, she could almost feel his warm, strong body lying next to her. “I’m home, beloved,” she murmured. Makaka settled next to her and put his arm around her neck, and the two of them slipped into their mid-sun nap.

In the meanwhile, Rafiki tried to find a place of his own. It wasn’t like he expected to find another baobab just waiting for him to move in, but he needed a quiet and private place to go when he wanted to think. Sleeping on the ground with the pride was a romantic notion but not a viable option; he had to set up the paraphernalia of a shaman and paint protective icons. Also, some of his herbs could kill as well as heal. They had to be kept away from small paws.

He invited Makaka to come along with him, but he also had a number of uninvited guests as well. He was crowded with boisterous young cubs. Rafiki was fond of children, but they made so much noise and bustle that he could hardly hear himself think. Sh’aari also tagged along, trying to control the cubs that got seriously out of line, but doing little to curb the incessant noise and endless questions. And all the usual questions came pouring out.

“Why do you have those stripes on your face?”

“May I touch them?”

(“Yes, you may.”)

“Are those stripes on your bottom the same?”

“May I touch them?”

(“No, you may not touch them!”)

“Will you do a magic trick?”

“Do it again!”

“Is Makaka your son?”

“Are his Mommy and Daddy in heaven?”

“Does he have any brothers and sisters?”

“Will we see them some time?”

“Why do you walk with that stick?”

“Say something in monkey language!”

“What’s in the gourd?”

“Can I have one?”

“What’s that smell?”

“Can you really tell the future?”

“Can I watch?”

After the first hour or two of this, Rafiki began to wonder if cubs were more rough and tumble than they used to be, or if he was just getting older. “Probably both,” he thought, sighing.