by Mario Routi
The lion jerked his head away with obvious irritation, so she put the meat back into the bag. She lay back down, mustering all her strength to keep stroking him.
The tiredness was threatening to overwhelm her and she kept nodding off despite her attempts to fight it. Once, she was jolted awake by the flapping of wings and saw huge black birds of prey swooping in from above, their talons stretched out in preparation to tear them apart. She jumped up, terrified, and they immediately disappeared, leaving only the night sounds of the jungle. “I must be hallucinating from lack of sleep.”
Still, the lion didn’t sleep. Rebecca knew that he was a nocturnal creature, sleeping by day and hunting by night. She also knew that lions can rarely stay awake for more than five hours at a time. She didn’t know how this one had managed to go for several days without closing his eyes.
He watched her constantly, showing no expression beyond sadness and resignation. It was as if he was wondering if there really could be good people who would decide to die along with an animal, when his experience told him that others were so wicked and hard-hearted they were willing to kill for no reason.
By morning they were both in a wretched state. Rebecca could hardly stand up, but she forced herself to take a few steps in order to get the circulation going in her legs. It was almost as if they didn’t belong to her.
The lion watched her impassively as she mustered the last of her strength. “Every day,” she said decisively, “humans, who are not as strong as you, lose children, wives, husbands, parents, loved ones, but we don’t give up. We struggle to keep going. Parents suckle and raise a child spoonful by spoonful, mouthful by mouthful, second after second, day after day, year after year, and then suddenly this child may meet a senseless death or die from some disease. The heart-breaking howls of the mother can be heard throughout the entire universe; even God covers his ears. But the parents go on living, and so do the grandparents. Will you, the archetype of natural strength, let your life go like this? Will you just roll over and give up?”
Rebecca thought she saw a change in the lion’s expression, as if he were pondering her words.
“I must be imagining it,” she thought. “I’m probably hallucinating again from lack of sleep.”
But she took heart and went on.
“During our lives, we sometimes feel like sparrows and sometimes like lions. A sparrow has to search a lot to find food, especially during a heavy winter when it shivers both with cold and with the chill of uncertainty. It never knows in the morning whether it will still be alive by nightfall. It faces the future with wariness. The same is true for us humans. Every day we search and we strive for our livelihood. We don’t know if we will make it, or what tomorrow is going to bring. There’s nothing we can rely on. A hungry sparrow goes out into the cold in search of crumbs, just as a father goes in search of his family’s next meal. Scared children and bewildered young people feel the fear of doubt about their studies and their futures. And then, all of a sudden, we become lions! We acquire great strength from some unexpected quarter. We strive against adversity and we overcome it. We find courage to face the future with all its hardships. These things happen to us because we have both you and the sparrow living inside us. So you, our shining example, can’t disappoint us by giving up like this.”
The whole time she was speaking, she kept her gaze fixed on his sad eyes. Now, for the first time in hours, the lion looked down at the ground as if ashamed. She softened her tone a little.
“Don’t you feel my love? Can’t you lean on me a little and draw courage and strength from me? You’re young, beautiful and strong. You, too, have resources and good reasons to go on living.”
The lion raised his head and looked at her pensively.
Rebecca filled her cap with water once more, and this time, when she offered it to him, he opened his mouth. Little by little, drop by drop, she began to trickle it onto his dry tongue, weeping with relief.
She didn’t let the lion drink too much at once, pouring the rest of the water on his head to cool him. Then she sipped a little herself, washed her face and poured some over her own head. She immediately felt stronger.
After so many days, he broke the tender embrace with his former mate. He turned languidly and rose on wobbling forelegs.
She poured more water into her cap and offered it to him. This time, he drank it all and she hugged him and kissed him on the head. She took out the meat and placed it in front of him, keeping for herself the piece that she had cut the day before. She began to eat her portion slowly, washing it down with water. At first the lion merely watched her, and then he began to eat too as she stroked his back. After a while she felt her strength filtering back. The sun wasn’t too high and a gentle breeze started to blow.
She took up the mattock and began to dig. Gradually, she covered the carcasses. At first the lion sat and watched her, but then he rose and paced in circles around her, as if supervising her work. It wasn’t easy to cover the animals properly with earth and, every once in a while, she stopped to drink more water and eat another slice of meat. Two hours later, she had managed to cover the corpses lightly, enough to protect them - temporarily, at any rate - from predators.
She sat down to rest and the lion lay beside her, resting his head on her legs while she stroked him and told him that soon, her friends would cover his companion and children better using earth and rocks. And she told him that this grave would remain there forever and that they would tend to it.
They drank some more water. Then Rebecca said, “Now I’m going back to join my friends and family and you’ll return to your kingdom.”
She rose, picked up the bag of tools and set out towards the small encampment. Emitting a low growl, the lion strode by her side like a formal escort. They stopped a short distance from the camp and Rebecca knelt down, placed her tools on the ground and tenderly embraced the lion one last time.
“Thank you for escorting me here,” she said and kissed him again and again. “You’re a true gentleman!”
To the watching wardens, the girl and the wild animal formed a striking tableau - a shining example of the coexistence of humankind and nature.
“I’ll miss you,” she whispered, and the lion sighed. “I’ll be thinking of you. I love you. From the warmth of your breath, I feel that you love me too. You’re like an inexhaustible spring of rich feelings. I promise to come and see you soon. You have my word that we’ll meet again. But go now, please.”
Rebecca disengaged herself and the lion turned and padded steadily away as she knelt and watched him. After a few yards, he stopped and looked back at her thoughtfully, as if resisting the urge to return to her. He gazed at her for a few seconds before turning around again and breaking into a gallop. She watched until he had disappeared into his homeland, the jungle, to carry on with his turbulent life.
As soon as he disappeared, the wardens ran towards Rebecca with excited cries. Her grandparents remained calm, but their pride was obvious as they each hugged her in turn.
“Can we bury the dead bodies properly, please?” Rebecca asked. “I know you’re tired, but I promised him we would.”
“Don’t worry. Some of us will stay behind and take care of everything,” Thomas assured her, his voice trembling with emotion. “It will all be properly done.”
Reassured, Rebecca climbed into the jeep and instantly fell asleep with her grandfather’s arms for a pillow. She was still asleep when they arrived back at the lodge, so they carried her straight to bed. She slept for the rest of the day and the whole night too.
4
When Rebecca finally woke, she heard voices she recognised coming from the living room. She scrunched up her eyes in an effort to listen, trying to work out what was happening.
“She was wonderful,” Martha was saying. “She’s definitely ready.”
“I’m sure she is, Mom,” A
drianna replied.
Rebecca leapt out of bed with a squeal of delight and ran barefoot to the living room.
“God,” she said, “I thought I was dreaming!”
She hurled herself into her parents’ arms and they hugged her as if they never wanted to let her go.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, eventually freeing herself from their embrace.
“We came because your grandparents told us about the lion,” Julius said.
“You came all this way because of that?” Rebecca was confused.
“It’s time for us all to have a talk,” Adrianna said in a quiet voice, gently squeezing her daughter’s hand. “There are things that you are now ready to know.”
Julius walked to a sofa and sat, beckoning Rebecca to sit with him.
“Have you ever wondered why you were so different to the other children when you were growing up?” he asked.
“What do you mean?” she asked. “Different how?”
“You were a martial arts expert before you were fifteen, Rebecca,” he said. “Your sword skills have always been amazing. But more importantly, you have greater maturity than any grown woman.”
Still puzzled, Rebecca nodded, her eyes widening as she tried to make sense of the things her father was telling her. “Yes, but I always thought it was because I have such different parents, isn’t it?”
“Well, yes, that is a part of it,” he smiled. “But think for a moment, Rebecca. The connection you made with that lion - can you imagine any of your friends even attempting such a thing, let alone succeeding?”
“Well, it’s just that I feel love - and I have to share it with those in pain - like the lion.”
“But that’s exactly it, Rebecca. You feel love, and only love! You love everybody and they love you back. If this weren’t so, you could never have gone to the lion. Your grandparents wouldn’t have allowed it anyway. And, think about it, you’ve always had more strength and stamina than other people of your age. And have you ever fallen ill?”
Rebecca thought for a moment, realising that what her father was saying was true, but unsure of where it was leading. She looked to her mother and each of her grandparents in turn, as if searching for answers, but their faces remained impassive. She turned back to her father.
“Why am I different then?”
Julius took her hands in his. “Because, like us, you are an Orizon!”
She nodded again, not sure why this strange news was not as shocking to her as she would have thought it should be.
“What, or who, are we?” she asked quietly.
“There are many Orizons on Earth, Rebecca,” Paul said, “all working to save the planet. The Earth is under constant attack from Evil. Our job is to serve the Good, to support and strengthen it.”
The look of puzzlement on her face was gradually replaced by relief as his words sank in.
“It sort of makes sense,” she said as if talking to herself.
“Completely, my darling,” her mother agreed.
“And this summer, dearest Rebecca, just like every member of our family before you, you will begin a new life,” added her grandmother. “When you were born you received something called The Sacred Flame of the White Sun. It glows within you. It is the accumulated energy of the universe and the force that keeps it in balance. It is what makes us Orizons different. It is also why our race matures faster than normal humans. That’s why you have always spoken and behaved like someone much older than your years. Above all else, it is our duty to protect the Sacred Flame.”
“That is why you have such a loving heart,” her mother said. “With the Flame in us, we feel no jealousy and no greed, but our characters are as strong as steel. We are peace-loving and modest, but generous in our praise. We rise above insults and we never insult others.”
“It’s amazing, yet somehow, it feels so right! Oh, I have so many questions!” whispered Rebecca.
“All will be answered in time,” her father said, patting her hand, “and by the proper people. Everything will be fine, I promise. Now, breakfast time!”
The day passed and at night, they all sat together again in the kitchen, finishing dinner. Rebecca’s expression was still a mixture of love, confusion and excitement.
“Our land is in the First Parallel Dimension of the universe,” Adrianna explained. “It’s called The Land of the White Sun.”
“I can’t wait to go there, but I’ll miss you all so much,” Rebecca said.
“We’ll be at your side at all times, dear,” Martha assured her. “You’ll feel our presence just as we will feel yours.”
Rebecca beamed, her face as bright as a star.
After dinner, as Julius drove them all in the Land-Rover along a deserted track towards the savannah, Adrianna explained more.
“Our good friend, Bull the Minotaur, who’s one of our most beloved instructors and guardians of our young Orizons, will collect you. Your other grandparents will be waiting for you there. You’ll be going with several other young Orizons. They are also going to their homeland for the first time.”
“In the Land of the White Sun there are powers of both Good and Evil,” Julius continued as he drove, the Land-Rover’s headlights tunnelling deep into the blackness of the savannah. “The powers of Evil wish to seize the Flame. It is our job to defend it. But Orizons only kill in self-defence. Sometimes, war breaks out. We call these wars the Lomani. Unlike Earth wars, Orizon wars are fought only with the sword, bow, and javelin. Strategy, courage, and skill are what count.”
As soon as the vehicle stopped, Rebecca jumped out. The others were silhouetted against the empty savannah horizon as they followed her.
“The existence of the Orizons has been kept secret for thousands of years,” Paul said. “Orizons never lie, but in difficult circumstances they can play with the truth and hide parts of it. But remember: Whatever you say must always be true.”
Rebecca gazed at the sky for a few moments as the others gathered around her, watching and smiling.
“How will they know where we are?” Rebecca asked.
Before anyone could answer, a bright star appeared to fall from the sky and materialized into an Orizon spaceship as it landed beside them.
A childlike look of delight and amazement washed over Rebecca’s face while she watched open-mouthed as the crystal steps were deployed and the mighty form of Bull emerged from within, his arms spread wide in greeting.
“Good to see you, Bull!” Julius said as they shook hands.
“Wonderful to see you all again,” Bull replied, nodding a greeting to the others before turning to Rebecca and extending a strong, gentle hand towards her.
“Rebecca, you look exactly as I always imagined you would. You carry your mother’s and both of your grandmothers’ beauty.”
Rebecca looked up at him in awe. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“Come now,” he said. “It’s time to go.”
Rebecca looked at her father and, for a second, she was unable to hide her anxiety.
“You’ve nothing to fear,” he reassured her. “You’re being called to a higher duty. We’ve all been through this process and it is a wonderful experience. We’ll see you soon in the Land of the White Sun!”
Rebecca hugged and kissed her parents and grandparents before Bull gently guided her up the steps and onto the ship. She waved one last farewell as the door softly closed behind her.
5
Rebecca found herself in a large, circular cabin where everything was made of glittering crystal, causing her to exclaim aloud in wonder. Along one wall was a control panel and the pilot’s seat. Bull walked over and turned to address the many sets of smiling eyes. Rebecca realised that these must be her fellow young Orizons.
“Alright guys!” he announced. His kind voice was redo
lent with authority. “This is Rebecca. She’s from England. I want you to introduce yourselves and find out about each other. We all have a great deal to learn, so settle back and enjoy the journey!” With that, he took his seat and turned his attention to the control panel.
The others were all sitting in a semicircle of crystal armchairs, each one padded in soft white leather. As she returned their welcoming smiles, Rebecca could see that they were all about the same age as her.
She took the last seat next to a lively looking, pale-skinned boy. “Hi,” he said. “I’m Sergei, I’m from Russia. And this is Bill.”
“Hi! I’m from Washington, USA,” Bill grinned, reaching across and taking her hand in a firm grip. Even though he was sitting, Rebecca could see the young American was tall. He had tousled, sandy hair which looked in need of a comb.
On the other side of her chair, two girls stretched out their hands to greet her.
“Hi,” said a delicate Japanese girl. “I’m Tamina, from Tokyo.”
“Hey there,” added a tall, blonde girl, who leaned over Tamina and offered her hand. “I’m Samantha and I’m from Australia!”
The others in the semicircle all introduced themselves in turn, leaving Rebecca struggling to take in all their names.
“Look,” Sergei interrupted them all, “we’re taking off again!”
Rebecca felt the movement and saw Bull’s shoulders relaxing as the controls took over. Once he was happy that the spaceship was on course, he swung around in his chair to face them all.
“So,” he laughed, “you must all have questions! Now would be a good time for us to talk a little. Come on, don’t be shy. Who’s going first?”
Sergei raised his hand.
“OK, Bull,” he said, as all eyes turned to him. “How do you make money in the Land of the White Sun? This spaceship must have cost a fortune to build.”
“In the Land of the White Sun there is no need for money,” Bull explained. “It simply doesn’t exist. Money was a bad invention and became the principal cause of conflict and war. Greed for money has always corrupted people’s lives, so we have created a system without the need for it.”