John Burkitt: The Promise

“I think it’s a shame to give up so much and not be able to tell him.”

“I think it would be a worse shame to have him feel guilty.”

“True, true," the others said.

Kako sounded in control and very rational, but she could barely concentrate on the task at hand and she was very forgetful. Umande watched her in anguish as she strove to act normal with the turmoil she felt inside.

Kako taught them Uzuri’s crescent formation, and they decided to use it. She took up her old post on the left point, but gave the pre-arranged signals with her ears that guided the others unfailingly through the steps of the predatory ballet.

Wildebeests had congregated on the meadow near the termite mounds. The splashing of water in the creek was a perfect cover for the delicate leonine tread that brought the huntresses ever closer.

Most of the young calves were in the center of the herd protected by a wall of formidable adults. But one young mother let her inexperience show, and she was at the rim of the herd with her calf. “Aiheu abamami,” Kako silently mouthed. “Aiheu provides.”

Her ears flicked forward. At once, several lionesses plunged from the surrounding grass. The Wildebeests cried out in alarm, taking flight. The central column of huntresses drove the well-ordered herd into two bodies that fled in opposite directions. Shennanii tore into the right company, grabbing hold of a large bull by the shoulder, climbing on his back and slowing him just enough for others to seize his flanks, stomach and lower back. He fell into their deadly embrace as Shennanii closed on his throat.

Kako strode swiftly after the screaming calf, cutting it off from the rest of the herd. She bounded ever closer and readied herself to aim a blow at its shoulder that would make it hers. Then out of the corner of her eye she saw the cow approaching, horns lowered.

Umande heard a lioness scream. Galvanized, she broke off her pursuit of a calf and searched frantically for the source. Lying in the grass trembling was a golden body smeared with its own red blood. Trembling, she drew close.

“Momma!! Oh gods!!”

Wide-eyed, Kako reached for her with her one good arm. “Mandy, go get Mabatu! Quick!”

“Momma!!”

“Go, honey tree! Run! Get Mabatu!”

Umande, sobbing, ran screaming past her pride sisters. “Kako’s dying!! Get Mabatu!!”

“Which one??”

“Both of them!”

Umande and Shennanii rushed back to the Pride Kopje and saw Mabatu and Baba going over some star lore and laughing, blissfully unaware of the tragedy unfolding near the termite mounds.

“Come quick!” Mandy shouted. “It’s Kako! Hurry!”

Mabatu and Baba tore across the grassland. The peaceful stars were beginning to come out, and a hush was settling across the land. Crickets serenaded the newborn moon and a distant hyena was heard serenading his lady love. With maddening consistency, the flow of life did not pause even for a minute as Kako lay gasping in a pool of her own blood.

Mabatu drew near and shuddered. She started to say something to him, but she looked over and saw Baba. "Be strong. Remember the promise."

“Even now?”

“Even now.”

"You were a good friend to me."

"So long, my king.”

"Yes, my friend. So long."

Baba drew near. Tears streamed down his cheeks. “Oh Momma!”

“My little boy! Oh, but you’re not little anymore, my handsome lion. Be good to Isha.”

Isha fell to the ground and wailed in anguish. Habusu and Lisani huddled next to her and sobbed.

“Don’t die! Please don’t die!” Baba lay his head against her side like a helpless cub. “Oh gods, I can't lose you, I just can't! Get up, Momma! I’ll take you to the shaman! Get up, Momma! Please!"

Mabatu touches his mane softly with a paw. "Nothing can stop it now. Don't spoil her last moments with you."

Baba looked into his mother's eyes. "I love you, Mom! You hear me? I love you."

She managed a weak smile. "You have no idea how much I love you," she said. Her eyes looked over at Mabatu, then closed.

The lionesses sat about stunned. Mabatu got up stiffly and nudged his Prince. "Baba, you lead the roar. She was your mother. I have to go patrol the border now."

"Right now?"

"Yes. I'm sorry." He stroked Baba’s mane. “I remember when my mother died. I know what you’re feeling my son.”

Mabatu left the group and headed off into the trees. He rounded the other side of a small kopje and collapsed.

With his cheek pressed to the earth, he reached out with his forelegs and extended his claws, digging them deeply into the grass and pulling back to plow furrows in the grass. "Kako!! God, why didn't you take me instead?? Why, why??"

His stomach knotted, and tears flooded his eyes. "I must stay in control," he stammered. He raised his head up and pulled up into a crouch, then tried to stand. He bit his lip to keep from crying, but couldn't. "I'm in control. I can do this!"

He raised up on his forepaws, then crumbled to the earth, rolling on his side and curling into a ball of misery, sobbing. "I must stay in control," he hissed through clenched teeth. "I must!"

For many moments he lay there and shuddered, too weak to move. Then with a supreme effort, Mabatu actually struggled to his feet. He turned about and started to head back home. His legs trembled so badly he could hardly control them, and his joints were weak. "I can't let Baba find out," he said. “He must never know.”

His stomach hurt, and tears streamed down his cheeks. He took a couple of steps, then collapsed again and lay helplessly as his body was wracked with powerful sobs that with passing minutes died down to a soft, plaintive utterance like the cries of an infant cub separated from its mother.

"Why, Aiheu?" he whimpered. "Why did you take her from me? Didn't you think I could be trusted?" He rolled on his back. "I was weak for a moment, but I overcame it! I could have withstood temptation!” He covered his eyes with his paws. “Help me! You have to help me! If you still love me, give me strength to go on!"

Just then, Umande breasted the wall of grass and shrubs. She smelled the fresh earth and saw the look on his face. "Oh Dad!" She wept and nuzzled him. "Daddy, I love you so much! So much!"

He pawed her face and kissed her. “My little Mandy! You don’t remember your Mom too well, but honey tree, she loved you with her whole heart! She used to call you Mimo.”

“I remember. Just this morning she called me Mimo, right before we went....” She broke down and wept. “This morning she was so alive! So warm and alive!”

“I know!” Mabatu rubbed his head against her cheek, but then he started. “Are you alone??"

"Yes. I was not followed." She came and laid her head in his soft mane and pawing him desperately. "I couldn't stand it anymore. How can I call Mother my friend?? She was so much more than that! She has to be mourned properly--we can't let her Ka slip away like that."

"You're right, you know." Mabatu looked about and kissed Mandy gently. "Let's do it right. Baba will think I'm proclaiming the border if we’re careful."

Mabatu and Umande got up and climbed to the top of the rock. They waited for Baba's roar of grief, and they picked that moment to answer. "I love you, Mother!" Mandy cried.

"Beloved, my heart is dead!" Mabatu shouted. Tears coursed down his cheeks and he drew in a deep breath, releasing it in a loud, long roar. Umande raised her nose to the sky and joined him. The foundations of heaven were shaken, and the sound of their pain echoed off the distant hills in a hundred eerie permutations.

When the sound finally died down, Mabatu kissed Umande. "Well, Mandy, let's go mark the boundaries. I think I'll need someone to lean on."