"I understand." Metutu kissed his mane. "I love you, Ahadi."
Ahadi smiled. "Yes, I can see it in your face. And that face is anything but plain to me, my little striped friend. There is another way I will show my gratitude. From this day on, you shall not be called Metutu but Rafiki, for you are my true friend."
CHAPTER 32: TWIN SONS
As Akase’s time to bear cubs came close, Rafiki watched with special interest. No male mandrill had ever witnessed a birth before, and he was more than a little curious. But far more than that, he felt a kinship to these lives that he had already saved once.
As it was, Akase had already shown great affection for Rafiki, and had asked him to place his ear against her side to listen to the cubs moving about. Now how many mandrills had ever done that before!
“And when will we be hearing good news from the shaman?”
Rafiki smiled wryly. “Akase, let’s say no new arrivals are on the way yet, but not from lack of wishful thinking.”
Akase patted him affectionately with her paw. “Surely the gods will give you fine cubs. I want to be there when their eyes open.”
Rafiki tried to hide his amusement. “They are born with their eyes open. Of course they don’t see too well for the first few days.”
“I want to be their Auntie, if you’ll have me.”
“Have you? I’d like to see you try and squirm out of it!”
Uzuri came in. The hunt mistress looked at Rafiki and laughed.
“What’s so funny, madam?”
“I don’t mean anything wrong by it,” she said, giggling. “It’s just you’re so cute when you walk on your back legs like that.”
“That’s not very polite,” Akase said with a frown.
“Oh, that’s very polite coming from Uzuri,” Rafiki said with a warm smile. “Yesterday it was these colored stripes on my face. Before that, it was these colored stripes on my....other end.”
He saluted her and walked on by. Then Rafiki wheeled about and saw Uzuri staring at his buttocks with a broad smile. “You’re just jealous.”
Rafiki went on his way with a happy hum. Uzuri used to laugh at his appearance, but there was a good natured friendliness about her that warmed his heart. He wanted a witty come back line, but she was so beautiful and possessed a silky smooth manner that surrounded her like a turtle shell and deflected even the most determined attack.
Due to the difficult nature of Akase’s pregnancy, Rafiki had to stay near Pride Rock day and night. The extra time around lions had been very instructive. For one thing, they stopped acting like they had company and just acted like themselves. Mothers began to groom their cubs. Itches began being scratched, regardless of their location. But much more than this, talk became more loose and free. Rafiki learned more in those days about what lionesses think than he had in the whole rest of his time in the Pride Lands. He also discovered a joy that would rarely be his--napping wherever and whenever he liked. He had a lot of time to kill for the first time since he was very young. The lionesses would drop to the ground in groups, enjoying the contact. This posed a bit of a problem for Rafiki since he was a mandrill. But Uzuri quickly solved it. When she lay down and saw Rafiki’s searching face, she would pat the ground next to her and flick her muzzle back. And gratefully he would come and snuggle next to her. In those special moments, there was no need for humor in their relationship. And sometimes Rafiki discovered that if he lay very still and pretended to be asleep, Uzuri would touch his cheek with her warm, moist tongue and purr. He would fight very hard not to break out in a revealing smile and stay very still.
Long days passed which turned into long nights. Though Akase was getting restless, she was not allowed to hunt, and had to suffer through the performance of her “royal duty,” avoiding any possibility of endangering the already perilous pregnancy.
Rafiki was even more restless. While Akase was brought food from the hunt, he looked at the delicacies he was offered and almost wretched. He would smile and eat a little meat, but afterward had to step away and find fresh grass, then take a little Tiko Root to keep it down. He would easily use up a week’s worth of work at each meal as the precious herb was downed, but without it the meat would come right back up. The strong minty fragrance began to linger around him, coming out in his perspiration and every breath he exhaled. Then one day Uzuri came back from the hunt bearing a cluster of wild grapes as large as a melon. “Do you eat these?”
Rafiki seized the prize greedily. “Yes! Thank you!” He ate the whole cluster in one setting, then sat back with his stomach full to capacity for the first time in several days. The sensation made him a little sleepy, and he looked forward to another nap beside Uzuri.
“It’s time!” Akase shouted. “Hurry!”
Rafiki’s sleepiness vanished. He ran into the cave to where Akase lay, bathed in sweat and panting. While he offered her a gourd full of water, Uzuri took up her position as midwife.
“Are you all right?” Rafiki asked?
“I’m being slowly twisted in half. Otherwise, I’m fine.”
Uzuri nuzzled Akase. “How are the contractions coming?”
“Strong. Fast.” Akase stared at no one in particular and panted. “Oh gods,” she said. “Here they come!” Her water broke, and Akase gnashed her teeth. Her breath came deep and fast.
“I see a nose,” Uzuri said excitedly. She watched closely to see who was first born. “Here he comes!”
Rafiki watched in horror. Despite all he heard about birth being a beautiful thing and a miracle, he saw that it was also very gory in some respects. He quickly grabbed another sprig of Tiko Root and bit down.
“He’s a male! Oh, look at him!” Akase cleaned off the tissues and fluids with the excitement of a child opening a birthday present. “He’s so beautiful!” Actually, he looked to Rafiki like a drowned rat.
Another nose came out, shortly followed by the rest of a cub. “Another male! Twin sons!”
Akase smiled. “Twin sons!” Various other things came out, leaving quite a mess on the cave floor.
“He’s not breathing!” Uzuri prodded and licked the second cub. “Oh no, he’s dead!”
“The will of Aiheu,” Akase said quietly. “At least I have a son. That’s more than I ever thought I’d have.”
Rafiki was seized by a thought. Later he would say it could have been a vision. Queasiness was forgotten. He quickly grabbed the wet, dead cub from Uzuri and put him on the floor. With his hands together, he pumped the small chest a couple of times, then putting his mouth over the cub’s tiny muzzle, blew into it until the chest rose. He let the air run out, then repeated it.
“What are you doing??” Uzuri stared. “He’s dead. Let him rest in peace!”
“Bear with me.” Rafiki blew several more breaths into the cub, and then when he was about to give up, the cub grimaced, coughed, and took in a deep gasp.
“Oh my gods!” Uzuri shouted. “He raised the dead!”
“What happened?” Akase asked. “Did I hear what I thought I heard?”
“He’s alive!”
Swimming in a sea of elation, Rafiki held the little cub close to his heart. “Thank you, Aiheu! Thank you!” He kissed him and whirled about, holding his wet body to his face. “Oh, you precious little thing! God bless you! Live forever!”
“He must nurse,” Akase reminded him. “If you’re finished, my friend....”
“Oh yes.” He put the undersized cub next to his brother and watched the two of them draw life from their mother. He bent down and kissed Akase, then he went to Uzuri, hugged her and kissed her cheek.
“We have a custom,” Akase said softly. “You have saved his life twice now. You are his uncle now, and he is your nephew.”
“I like that custom.”
He looked down at the cub. “What is his name?”
“I call him Taka. And his brother is Mufasa. I had thought of those names for a long time.”
“Taka,” he said. “My little Taka.”
Then in the middle of his haze of joy, he remembered hugging and kissing Uzuri. He looked back over at her. A blush of embarrassment made the colors of his face all the brighter. She stared back at him, rubbing her cheek with a paw.
Quietly, he gathered up his staff, his empty water gourd, bowed to the queen and headed out.
He dared not look around, but could hear behind him the padding of lioness feet. As he headed at long last toward his baobab, he tried to be casual about it. Still the feet followed him. He cringed inside.
“Oh Rafiki?”
He stopped still but didn’t look around. “Yes, Uzuri?”
She came up beside him and sat down directly in his path. “Am I mistaken, or did you kiss me in the cave?”
“I think it was on the cheek, actually.” He made a feeble attempt at laughter. “I was just so happy for little Taka. You know, the cub I saved?”
“So that was it? You were so happy for little Taka?” Betraying no emotions, she drew closer. “Did you enjoy it?”
“I’m not sure. Should I have?”
She cracked a grin. “Why don’t you try again, and this time pay attention.”
He smiled an embarrassed grin and came forward. “Like this?” He put his arms around her neck, rubbing his hands along her side and nestling his cheek to her shoulder. “Uzuri, I enjoyed every moment of our time together. You are a very special lady, and very dear to my heart.”
She touched him with her tongue. “You must teach me how to breathe into a cub. Where did you ever learn that?”
“You know, I didn’t learn that,” he said, still holding tightly to Uzuri. “It just came to me.”
“That’s amazing.” She touched him with her tongue again. “You may let go now.”
“Oh.” He gave her another pat and let his arms slip down. “I got a little carried away.”
“That’s all right. But wash off before you hug me again.”
“Oh.” Blood and humors had matted his hair and made him smell like a newborn cub. “Ycch! Good heavens!” He left straightway for the creek.
CHAPTER 33: THE PREDICTION
"And so it was when Koko the Gorilla, who had thrown mud into the holy lake, became sorely afraid. For from the fouled milk of Mara arose the Makei. Their faces were terrible to see. Just enough mud had been cast into the lake that they could take the shapes of Ma’at, but not the substance. And while they longed for pleasure, they were unable to experience it. Grief and anger, however, were theirs and they plumbed them to the depths for only when they were sad or angry did they feel alive.
“They cried out to Aiheu. ‘Lord! Why have you given us only pain? Where is our beauty, our happiness?”
And Aiheu wept, for their suffering was dire. And he said, “Though the cause does not lie in your own actions, you are polluted. Do not be filled with resentment, but rather be mindful of the hope I offer you. Cleansing comes from within, in a clean heart and truthful witness. You will be sorely tempted by the mud, but you are also full of my milk, and it will overcome all else if you let it. Remember in your darkness that my light is with you, shining on the true path."
-- THE LEONINE STORY OF BEGINNINGS, VARIATION D-4-A
When Ahadi’s sons were old enough, they would come to Makedde who loved children of all kinds. He would tell them stories from the simian past and the leonine past. Rafiki loved to hear these as well, and he would get snacks for the cubs when they came. Making these treats was no small task, for they were small strips of meat cured and dried with spices. It was a sign of Rafiki’s devotion to the children that he would scavenge the meat, for while mandrills were corban to the lions, the hyenas did not honor the Peace of Asumini and would gladly snack on mandrill! However Rafiki soon forgot the danger when he saw the smiles on the cubs’ faces when he held out the jerky from behind his back. “Are there any good little cubs here?” The resultant tumult was deafening, but both Rafiki and Makedde loved every minute of it.
Makedde would not have approved the extra tidbits that Rafiki handed out when his back was turned. At times he wondered why the children always flocked to his younger brother whenever they came calling. But of all the cubs, only Taka would get an occasional piece of rare Tiko root. Rafiki would hold up the root and say, “Who do you love?”
“You, Uncle Fiki!”
“How much do you love me?”
“More than life!”
Laughing, Rafiki would drop the Tiko root and Taka would snap it up. He never let it hit the ground once. But after the prize was eaten, Taka would wait to nuzzle Rafiki and say, “I really do, honest.” He knew to close his eyes quickly, for sure as the world Rafiki would kiss him on the face and whisper, “My precious little boy!” These were the moments of unbridled joy by which Taka would later measure the depths of his pain.
Rafiki was nearly crushed by the enormous number of things he had to learn. Makedde was patient, but he knew that there was much his young brother needed to know to be confirmed as a shaman, and he pushed Rafiki as far as he safely thought he could. And this urgency was not without just cause. The struggle of Aiheuism and Pistism was heating up again, or so Wandani had said when he made the long trip to the baobab. Makoko did not have the years of acceptance that had made his father a fixture in the political landscape. And even worse, he did not have the talent or the desire to dig up secrets on his enemies which he seemed to inherit simply by being Kinara’s son.
Scrying was Rafiki’s favorite activity. He would have been even more enthusiastic about it if Makedde did not impose such strict rules. The pursuit of the future and past can take one’s mind off the present, and that is where all of Aiheu’s creatures find their rightful work. Rafiki had a tendency to cling to his unfortunate mother, something that only served to deepen his hurt for he could see her but not touch her. Makedde was strict, but only as strict as he had to be, so there were times it was all right for Rafiki to contact his loved ones.
Opening a window on the spirit realm was not without risk. It had to be done carefully and only after certain precautions had been taken. The lesser Makei were by and large morose spirits in search of salvation, and were by their nature prone to try and better themselves. The greater Makei, however, were ruthless and would take any means to work mischief on the world of Ma’at. They waited for someone to open a passageway they could go through. For this reason, no shaman would scry without first invoking the chief Nisei. Mano and Minshasa were of all the Nisei the most powerful, and their link to Aiheu was very strong. They would sweep away the dark spirits to let only the truth come through. Rafiki was working on his guardian prayers when three visitors came to the baobab.
“Rafiki, mix a poultice quick!” Makedde rushed to the bleeding cub. “Oh Master Taka, what have you done now!”
Rafiki looked up. His favorite cub was suffering. “Oh gods!”
Makedde held up his hand on one side of Taka's head, then the other. "No sight on that side. This is bad. Very bad. But perhaps I can fix it."
Makedde got some moistened Alba from Rafiki and squeezed it on the ground. The dust became mud, and he took this mud carefully in his hand.
“These are badger marks,” Makedde said. “If I couldn’t see it, I could sure smell it.” He shook his head. “What on earth possessed you to play with the badgers? You know they are dangerous.”
“It was a white badger,” Taka said. “I wanted to get a wish, like N’ga and Sufa.”
“Oh I see.” He frowned. “You don’t know the difference between a white lioness and a white badger! So you wanted a wish, did you?”
“It was my idea,” Mufasa said. “When we died, I wanted my brother to sit by me with the great kings of the past.”
The remark misted Rafiki’s eyes.
“Noble sentiment indeed,” Makedde said, “but all living things are precious to Aiheu.”
Makedde packed Taka’s damaged eye with herbal mud, then pressed it carefully back into its socket. The eyeball had been lightly scratched but not punctured. Makedde was
hed away some of the mud a little at a time, then he sealed the edges of the cut with Dwe’dwe resin.
Rafiki brought a gourd of water for Taka to which Makedde added blood builders, pain killers and a disinfectant. A little honey went in to sweeten the mix, but not by much. “It won’t taste good, but it will feel good.”
Taka found the mixture hardly bearable, but he was terribly thirsty after losing so much blood in the heat. And it did feel good.
Sarabi asked, "Will that eye work again?"
"Rafiki," Makedde asked, "You heard the lady. What will come of Taka?"
Rafiki was nervous. He was as afraid of the answer as Taka was. It was his first time to scry for another, so he looked into the water thoughtfully, trying to remember all his brother taught him. A wind came out of the west and stirred the water. It carried with it the odor of decay. The ripples died down, and he gasped. "Wait, something appears. It tells me...."
"What?" Sarabi asked impatiently.
Rafiki stared into the water. A chill swept over him as he suddenly felt his spirit being seized within his own body by a tremendous force. “Makedde, help me!” he shouted, but no sound came out. He tried to show his distress by gestures, or even by a look of horror. He had no control of his own body, but apparently the spirit inside him did.
A deep voice came from inside him. “The road is long and hard. Those who smile to your face bare their teeth as you leave.” Rafiki felt himself leave the bowl and stoop in front of Taka. He fought but was weak and helpless as a newborn. Pointing an accusing finger, the spirit said, “Friends come from unlikely places, then abandon you in your hour of need. He who is first to touch you shall beget your doom, and she who gives you love shall let it turn to hate."
The prayer! Rafiki had forgotten the prayer of protection. “Mano!” he cried out in spirit. “Minshasa! Help me! Aiheu! Oh gods!”
"Rafiki!" Makedde shouted. "Control it! It’s an evil spirit!"
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