The Spirit Quest cotpl-2

by John H. Burkitt

  Rafiki looked at him with a devilish grin. He whacked Simba on the head with his staff.

  “Ow! Jeez, what was that for?”

  “It doesn’t matter. It’s in the past!” He laughed at his clever example.

  “Yeah, but it still hurts.”

  “Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or...learn from it.” He took another swing at Simba, but this time the lion ducked down. “Ha, you see! So what are you going to do?”

  Simba couldn’t resist the opening. “First, I’m gonna take your stick.” He batted the staff out of Rafiki’s hand with a sudden swipe.

  “No, no, no, no! Not the stick!”

  When he bent down to reclaim his staff, Simba hurried off.

  “Hey, where are you going?”

  Simba shouted, “I’m going back!”

  “Good! Go on! Get out of here!” He laughed, giddy with his success.

  Minshasa drew up next to him. “You did it, honey tree!”

  “I did it? We did it!”

  “Your humility serves you well.”

  “Your kindness serves you well.” He hugged her around the neck. “Oh gods, oh gods! Can he really set things right?”

  “Don’t worry, my child.” She nuzzled him and kissed his cheek. “Breathe in deeply.”

  Rafiki took in a deep breath. As he did, she blew softly in his face. The scent of wild honey filled his lungs, and his head began to clear. “Oh, my lady, do it again!” Rafiki took another deep breath and felt the odd excitement run out of him. “Oh yes, that’s better!”

  He looked down. “All those things I said to you. I’m so sorry. I mean, all that mushy goo....”

  “Look at me in the eyes when you say that,” Minshasa said softly. “You would never say something you didn’t mean because of a herb. No, it just loosened your tongue more than you would have liked.”

  “Well, perhaps.”

  She purred and began to nuzzle and groom his face. “Perhaps?”

  The colored patches on Rafiki’s cheeks showed a deep blush. “My lady, I must remind myself that you are not an ordinary lioness.”

  “There are no ordinary lionesses,” Minshasa said. “There are no ordinary mandrills, either.” Minshasa lay in the grass. One last time she blew on him, dissolving his tensions like dry earth dissolves in spring rains. “Rest here, good and faithful servant.”

  Rafiki lay his head on her side and closed his eyes. Moments later he fell peacefully asleep with her as a pillow, a gentle smile on his face.

  Uhuru and Fabana showed up. “Hey Rafiki,” he said. “Did you see that lion in the clouds?”

  Minshasa looked right at them. They caught sight of her, and Fabana and Uhuru fell before her and grovelled.

  “Shhh, he’s asleep!” Minshasa said. She smiled at Uhuru and made a kissing sign with the tip of her tongue. “Your prayers are a warm cub snuggled under my chin.”

  Uhuru looked at Fabana. His eyes were shining. “Isn’t she wonderful, Fabana?”

  “My gods,” she mouthed, but no sound came out.

  CHAPTER 51: THE STRUGGLE

  The fight upon Pride Rock was a horrible thing to behold. Lightning flashed and thunder ripped across the sky as Rafiki sought for a desperate foothold. High above him, Simba and Taka grappled, snarling and snapping savagely at each other as they fought for dominance.

  The two traded powerful blows, each striving to undo the other. Simba struck out, but Taka blocked his swing and countered, sending the younger lion sliding across the flat peak to the edge.

  Lightning flashed again, and Rafiki felt the air about him shimmering and roiling, like the air over the desert at highsun. A twisting, rippling shape flitted in and out of his vision, hovering over Taka like a ghostly thundercloud.

  “Makei,” Rafiki grated. The ground thrummed under his feet. Slowly reaching up, he clapsed the makeshift locket he wore around his neck. Always warm to the touch, it flared brightly now, full of its own inner heat as he held it in his fist. Gripping the thong, he placed a rock in the pouch to weight it down and began to twirl it about his head, the light making a glowing circle that lit his face, the scintillating light flickering over his aged and lined features, now set in determination.

  Faster, faster he twirled it, waiting. Simba twisted, struck by a heavy blow from Taka. The line was clear to the peak.

  “Aiheu, do not fail me now!” He released the pouch, watching as it shot through the air, a brilliant streak of light flashing to the peak....

  It intersected the billowing cloud of darkness over Taka’s head and exploded in a shower of thunder.

  Taka twisted as he flew through the air. Simba’s feet sank into his belly, driving the breath from him and sending him flying over the edge of the peak. Rafiki watched in horror as the lion’s form dropped through the air to dissappear in the rocks below.

  “I am sorry, my boy,” he whispered. A cold drop splashed from his head, and he looked up, blinking in surprise. A second drop fell, then antother, faster, faster--soon he was deluged by the gentle caress of rain. Minshasa's voice rang in Rafiki's ear. "Let us make life!"

  The old mandrill fell to his knees, hearing the hiss and sputter as the fires around him were quenched by the blessings of heaven. "Even so, old friend! I touch your face!"

  CHAPTER 52: BUSA SIMBA IYO!

  Sarabi truged slowly through the downpour, tears and rain blurring her vision to the point she was nearly blind. Blinking rapidly, she took a deep breath and fought to control herself. Her breath shuddered out of her as she rounded the foot of Pride Rock slowly, glimpsing the other lionesses at the base. A cream colored lioness looked up and brightened immediately.

  "Sassie!" Sarafina rose and padded over to her, rubbing her cheek against Sarabi's. "Are you okay?"

  "I'm fine, Fini." Sarabi nuzzled her gently. "Where's Nala?"

  Sarafina nodded over her shoulder. "Over there, resting. We're all waiting for Simba to come down." Her eyes glowed as she looked at her friend. "Gods, Sassie, did you see him in the fight? He looks beautiful!"

  "I know." Sarabi's voice faltered, her eyes stinging suddenly. "Oh, Fini, my son lives! Praise Aiehu, he lives!"

  Sarafina rubbed Sarabi's cheek with her own. "Look, there he is!" They turned to look up the slopes of Pride Rock. Simba emerged from the smoke and mist, moving slowly but surely to the bottom of the path where the rock met the ground. Sarabi, unable to bear it any longer, rose and went to him.

  He looked at her and smiled uncertainly. "Mother?"

  "Yes?"

  "My nose hurts."

  Sarabi laughed, her tears mixing with the rain as she looked at the scorched spot on his muzzle. "If that's all that's hurting you, you shuld count yourself lucky." She licked his face gently with her warm, moist tongue and nuzzled his wet mane. "Oh, my son, I love you so much."

  Simba closed his eyes, shuddering. The words which he had thought he would never hear again since his father's death now rang in his ears. "I love you too, mother." He smiled at her. "I've missed you so much."

  "And we, you." He turned to see Uzuri smiling at him, her eyes lidded in satisfaction. "I told you if you listened to me and ate right that you'd grow up to be big and strong like your father." She cocked an eyebrow and studied his lean, muscular form. "What have you been eating, anyway?"

  "Don't ask." A warm shape brushed against him, and he turned back to see Nala standing before him. "Beloved," she purred, nuzzling him firmly.

  He moved to respond, but they were interrupted by the dry rattle of a seed filled gourd. They all looked to see Rafiki perched atop a small outcropping. The tired old mandrill nodded at Simba and lifted his staff to point at the outthrust promontory of Pride Rock.

  Simba felt a wave of fear ripple through him, followed by a tingle of excitement. Slowly, he moved away from his family to stand in front of Rafiki. The mandrill's brown eyes looked kindly into Simba's amber ones. He smiled and bowed deeply before the lion.

  Simba f
elt a wave of warmth drive away the dampness of the rain. He lifted a massive forepaw and gently draped it over Rafiki's shoulder, drawing the mandrill to him in an embrace. Rafiki wrapped his arms around Simba's shoulders and held him for a moment, then drew away. He met the lion's gaze again and nodded.

  "It is time."

  Simba returned the nod and moved away. Placing a paw tentatively on the granite outcropping of the promontory, he began his ascent.

  Below, the lionesses followed his progress in awe. "Gods forgive me," Isha said, "but I never thought I would live to see this day." Her voice broke, and she nuzzled her young cub Habusu, crying. "Look, Habu! There is your king!" Habu stared upward, neck craned back until it ached, jaw gaping in delight as he watched the magnificent lion above him.

  Simba strode toward the end of the promontory, awash in such an array of emotion that it made him giddy. Reaching the end, he looked down upon the hopeful faces of the lionesses below staring up at him. Lifting his gaze skyward, he peered at the gray clouds overhead. The rain poured down on him, streaming into his ears and soaking his mane, but still he waited. Abruptly, a rift opened in the clouds overhead, and he saw the stars burning brightly overhead in the vault of Heaven. A voice filled his ears, numbing his mind as he recognized it as his father's.

  "Remember..."

  Simba stood at the tip of the promontory, suspended halfway between Heaven and Earth, floating on a wave of feeling so intense he could barely breathe. He felt each drop of rain as it struck him, the gentle breeze caressing his face, carrying upon it such a myriad of scents his head fairly exploded with them. Lifting his face again, he closed his eyes and roared, the sound filling his soul as if God Himself had touched him with thunder.

  Below, Uzuri bellowed into the driving rain. "Behold, the King!" She answered Simba with her own roar, the other lionesses joining her. He returned it tenfold, the sound echoing off the kopjes and stones. It reached across the freshened plains to the mighty forests. At last, at long last, Mufasa's anointed was king.

  Nala watched him descend, her eyes tracking his every move as he leapt gracefully to the ground. Pacing over, Simba stood in front of her, breathless, the steam rising from his body as the rain evaporated. As the lionesses looked on, he lifted his left forepaw and rested it upon Nala's shoulder, caressing it, feeling the muscles playing underneath the pads of his paw. She answered with a purr from deep in her chest. Looking up, she met his gaze, and their eyes locked. The light from the last of the rapidly dying fires gleamed in her eyes, the twin pools of emerald radiance holding him in an iron grip he had no wish to break. Simba took a deep breath and spoke.

  "Before the gods, before the stars, before the assembled host I swear to give you my protection, my life, and my comfort, forever."

  Nala trembled. "Till the last beat of my heart, to the last breath I sigh, our lives are one, so help me gods." She moved close to him and settled her head against his mane, purring.

  Simba nuzzled her, oblivious to the pain in his scorched muzzle. "Until this day I have been but half a lion. You have made me whole."

  Rafiki made the pilgrimage to the bottom of Pride Rock where Sarabi and Fabana sat watch over the body of Taka, washed in blood and rain. He knelt beside the body. With fumbling fingers, he reached into his pouch and removed a strip of jerky. Sarabi and Fabana watched silently as he produced a piece of Tiko root. He knelt by Taka’s face, its weary features relaxed at last, and laid the two objects by his muzzle. “I cannot breathe life into you now, my little boy!” He took Taka’s large paw between his hands and tears began to stream down his face, mixing with the silvery curtain of rain that drew itself around him.

  CHAPTER 53: DIVERGENCE

  Kidnapping a lion cub, Uhuru thought disgustedly, shaking his head. What next?

  He was silent as he watched Skulk and his group of rebellious miscrants fade into the night. It never seems to end, he thought disgustedly. One trial after another. He half jokingly wondered if he was being punished for the sins of one of his long dead anscestors.

  Sighing, he shoved the thought away. He had been true enough to Aiheu’s calling, and he knew it. Perhaps with the removal of Shenzi’s malign influence, things would go back to normal. He hoped so; Uhuru was sorely sick of fighting, deception, and betrayal. The past three years had seen enough of that. But it seemed an insurmountable wedge had been driven between the children of Roh’kash and Aiehu, and he was helpless against it.

  He picked up a slight movement in his peripheral vision and turned to see Simba making his way toward him. Grimacing, he sat up and headed toward the king. Things were about to go from bad to worse, it seemed. The arena-like atmosphere of the Shi’khal had dissapated, and the hyenas and lions stood apart, polarized around their rulers like iron filings near a magnet. The noise of conversation diminished as Simba moved to stand in front of his group of lionesses. The hyenas parted to make way for Uhuru, who nodded at them. The two leaders contemplated each other silently for a moment, then Uhuru crouched, extending a forepaw before him. “Incosi aka Incosi. I touch your mane.”

  Simba breathed a silent sigh of relief. “I feel it. Rise, my friend.” He blinked wearily; the events of the past several days had exhausted him terribly. Still, as he looked at the hyena standing before him, he felt supremely satisfied; his faith had been vindicated. His gaze moved to the hyenas standing to either side of Uhuru. Their appearance was similar in all respects; the poor creatures were slat sided and thin, their grey coats dull and staring. But they now stood shoulder to shoulder with a hyena that they had previously denounced not three days ago as a traitor. Uhuru had given them back their faith as well. Unlike Shenzi’s ragtag lot of hooligans, they had not sided with him for personal gain, but because they knew he would never betray them to save himself. Uhuru had returned their capacity to trust. Now it was time to give them back their hope.

  Simba cleared his throat, a deep rumbling sound that carried clearly. “I say this before the gods, and the great kings of the past: the ban which great Ahadi placed on scavenging in the Pride Lands is over and done.” Eyes widened and heads turned on both sides as Simba continued. “There is no reason why you cannot live as Aiheu intended.”

  For a heartbeat, dead silence reigned. Then a raucous cheer arose from the hyenas as they began to dance with joy. Uhuru sat amidst the tumlut, struck with wonder as his brethren flocked to Simba, falling prone before him and humbling themselves. “Ebu Simba,” they cried joyfully. “Roh’mach aka Roh’mach!”

  Rafiki clapped the hyena on the shoulder, making him jump. “Congratulations, my friend. You handled Shenzi well.”

  “Not as well as you did,” Uhuru grinned. “You planned that, didn’t you? You knew I was going to win.”

  “My boy,” Rafiki chuckled, “I had no idea.” The mandrill walked to a low hummock of grass and sat down, grunting with relief. “So! What now? What are you going to do with yourself, now that you have the whole of the Pride Lands on your side?”

  “I don't know, to be honest.” Uhuru looked at him. “I really don't like this, Rafiki. Simba should have chosen someone else to do this.”

  “Why?”

  “Maybe this could all have been avoided.”

  “Indeed. We could have avoided this. We could still be fighting each other. Don't sell yourself short, Uhuru.” Rafiki rubbed his friend between the ears affectionately.

  Uhuru grinned at him, then glanced at the crowd. "Look at them," he whispered.

  Rafiki watched the hyenas as they streamed homeward in small groups, the night air filled with cries of happiness as they laughed and joked together, whooping gaily.

  “I’ve not seen them like this since my childhood,” Uhuru said wonderingly. “You can feel it.”

  “Even so. I told you of ‘The Peace of Asumini.’ Your children will know this as the beginning of ‘The Peace of Uhuru.’ A wonderful thing has been born, tonight. Nurture it. Care for it like you would your own son.”

  “I want to! By the gods, I ca
nnot leave my people now! But a son must bear love for his father, much as I do for you.” Uhuru looked at the mandrill, torn with indecision. “How can I leave you like this? Who will help you out at the tree? And don't you DARE tell me you’ll get by, Rafiki; I’ll not see you out in the fields pulling roots at your age!”

  Rafiki laughed and patted Uhuru’s back. “Not to worry, friend. I’ll not argue that point with you. I have friends in the mandrill villages who will be willing to trade. There are enough strong backs there to keep me in my medicines.”

  “But-”

  “But nothing. Aiheu has shown you your place in this world. Don’t refuse him.” Rafiki reached out with both arms and embraced his friend. “Do not fret. You are making the right decision." Places his hand atop Uhuru's head. "Aiheu abamami, Uhuru. God bless. And Uhuru, go propose to Brill today. There is a saying among our people: ‘Harvest while the fruit awaits.’"

  The hyena smiled. “You read my mind!” He turned to leave, but froze, staring at the last remaining hyena who stood, silently, waiting for him.

  Rafiki peered at the figure. "Ah, is that her?"

  "Yes," Uhuru said, captivated. "Isn't she beautiful?"

  Rafiki scratched his head, musing over the hyannic features. "Er, ah, yes, of course. Her beauty shines from within," he said truthfully.

  "Doesn't it?" Uhuru agreed. He padded over to Brill, nuzzling her on the cheek. She returned his caresses, then leaned on his shoulder, her head tucked under his. Rafiki watched as the two walked slowly away, their shapes fading into the darkness.

  CHAPTER 54: FEELING HIS AGE

  Life returned to some semblance of normality in the Pride Lands. Simba and Nala had a son named Tanabi. He married his childhood friend Misha, and not surprisingly, she was soon ready to kindle the next generation.

  Rafiki, by contrast, still lived alone, and his premature aging, like a cheetah, was making a swift rush to its victim. Only his skill in pharmacology kept him active and alert.