Under the Acacias cotpl-4

by John H. Burkitt

  Rafiki clutched the tooth in one palm, feeling warmth steal over him as Ahadi’s voice rang gently in his ears. "Where have you been, you old rascal?"

  "In misery," he said. "But I'm back to stay." He shuddered in a deep breath, the smell of wild honey enveloping him as he knelt and gave thanks.

  Presently he rose and wandered over to where Uzuri sat. He joined her, reaching around and holding her to him as they gazed across the land at the dim silhouette of Pride Rock. Uzuri looked at him, a smile touching her face as she saw the look of peace in his features. “I think we did the right thing.”

  “I for one can not disagree.” He grinned. “But you’d better hurry; it’s time for the hunt, isn’t it?”

  “Oh!” She purred, rubbing her cheek against his. “Thank you Rafiki!” Descending carefully, she bounded off, the years seeming to fall away as she loped through the grass happily, each landmark that went by stirring new feelings of happiness inside her heart. As she drew near her home, she detected a familiar scent and rushed toward it, a beatific smile beaming from her features. Breaking clear from the grass, she leapt upon a lioness who had been sniffing the ground nearby, knocking the startled creature to the ground. “Fini!!”

  “Uzuri?! Oh gods! You’re back!” Sarafina embraced her sister with her forepaws, nuzzling her amid joyful laughter. “Praise Aiheu!”

  Uzuri bounded up and smoothed her fur back into place as the other lionesses emerged around them, exclaiming at her appearance. “I feel like a good hunt. Is it too late?" She peered around at them, seeing the happy faces from her childhood, the old friends who had hunted by her side, her gaze finally coming to rest upon one she had trained from a cub. Uzuri nodded at Misha. “Would you have me? I’ll help out in any position you want me in.”

  Misha shook her head. “There is only one position I can give you tonight. She padded over to the decimated remains of the pride’s last kill, tearing off a small section of hide. She laid it at Uzuri’s feet, then pressed her paw to the inside of the skin, wetting it with the blood that remained.

  Uzuri’s eyes stung with tears as Misha placed her paw upon the older lioness’s cheeks. “I’d give you my most cherished possession, but he’s pledged to me. So I’ll have to give you this.” Kissed her. “Welcome home, hunt mistress.” She sat back and looked at her attentively. “Where will you have us?”

  "Eastern meadow," Uzuri says tersely. "Crescent maneuver, Isha on the left, Sarabi on the right, and girls, give us support from the wadi from the north. It’s good to be home...."

  She was in rare form. They killed a water buffalo and feasted royally, heading back home in the small hours of the morning with full swinging bellies and contented smiles all around. As they settled in to sleep, Uzuri heard Simba utter a final roar as he proclaimed his rule once again. And in the distant night, she heard her sons answer, their proud call bringing a smile to her face as it followed her down into peaceful dreams.

  CHAPTER: NO SHAME

  Uzuri quietly slipped in to Rafiki’s presence. There was no need to ask her what she wanted. Rafiki smiled and put his hands on her shoulder blade, rubbing in tight circles, then gradually spreading out like ripples in a pond to loosen up the joints and warm up the muscles. She grunted with pleasure as he worked his way down to her elbow, relieving her discomfort.

  “How is the Garu Root helping?”

  “It helps,” she said with a certain reserve.

  “But not as much as it used to?”

  “Not quite.”

  “I see.” Rafiki shook his head.

  Uzuri looked at him worriedly. “What’s wrong?”

  “Oh, you’d just get upset with me.”

  “No I wouldn’t.”

  Rafiki got some Garu root and began to grate it with a flint pebble. “It’s nothing really. Sometimes I think out loud, and you’re reading too much into it.”

  “If you don’t tell me, I PROMISE you I will be upset.”

  Rafiki sighed. “It’s not your health, old girl. I was just thinking of something that happened to me when Simba came back. Minshasa came to me that night while I was grieving for Taka.”

  “So you were there after all.”

  “Yes. You don’t stop loving someone just because they hurt you.” He switched to the other side and began rubbing at the shoulder blade. “Does that feel good?”

  “Well? What did she say? Am I going to have to pull it out of you a word at a time?”

  Rafiki smiled. “You’re always in a hurry!”

  “Rafiki!”

  “All right, all right.” He scratched his head uncomfortably. “We were talking, and she asked me what I wanted as a reward for my service. And I guess I looked down at his body and thought about all the people I loved that I’ve had to watch die one by one. Maybe that was what was going through my mind.”

  “And?”

  “And I said that maybe I’d like a friend that would always be there for me, someone that I wouldn’t have to worry about losing. Someone that would be my friend in this world and the next.” A shy smile of mixed pride and embarrassment crept over his face. “She said, ‘That would be Uzuri.’”

  Uzuri smiled. “Was that it?”

  “Almost. She told me that her gift to me is that we would both die on the same day.”

  Uzuri looked penetratingly into his eyes. “She offered you a gift, and you chose that?”

  “I told you you’d be upset.”

  “I’m not upset. I’m just--well--surprised at you. There were so many things you could have asked for.”

  “That’s what I wanted then, and that’s what I want now. But you know something, old girl? I have so many things I have to do. I must train Makaka before I go to my fathers. You have to take care of yourself. I keep patching you up and sending you out for more wear and tear.” He shook his head again. “I’m glad you’re back where you belong, but why did you come back as Hunt Mistress? Misha is very good for one so young. Wouldn’t you like to live to see her do well at it? Why don’t you do that tonight?”

  “But the hunt mistress is what I am! If I wasn’t that, what would I be?”

  “You are so many things, all of them very special to me. Go ahead and hunt if you must, but you take such risks. I mean, every time you lunge at a wildebeest, I cringe.” He put his hands out and caressed her lovingly under the chin, running his fingertips gently across her cheeks. “I like that face the way it is,” he said reverently. “Already you have a scar across the bridge of your nose and that nick under your cheek, and that bald spot behind your ear from the gazelle.”

  “Thanks for noticing,” Uzuri said a little indignantly.

  “Oh gods, listen to me!” He began to gesture wildly. “Every time you go out there, I’m scared out of my wits! I can’t stand it when you get hurt. Every time you get hurt, a piece of my heart dies.”

  “Don’t be so dramatic.”

  “Hey you, listen to me! Avina was every bit as good as you, but gods, the horror of her face, the horror! I’ll never forget that face as long as I live! I can see that happening to you. I have nightmares about it!” He put his arms around her neck and waited a moment for his heart to stop pounding. Then he took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and began to speak to her fatherly. “I know we all have to die sometime, but I don’t want you to be frightened and in pain when you die. I don’t want you gasping out your life with your ribs stove in like Beesa’s.” He kissed her on the cheek and gave her a pat. “When the time comes, I’d want you to lay your head in my lap and drift away quietly. I would give you something for your pain. Then I would wait for Minshasa to come for us. I want it said that they found us together.” Rafiki turned away quickly, wiping his eyes. “I’ll get your Garu root now.”

  “Rafiki?”

  The mandrill did not turn around. He began soaking the Garu root in water. “I’ll just be a moment.”

  “Rafiki, if you think it’s best for Makaka that I step down, I’ll do it. You are the person to train him, and
I can’t be selfish and spoil his chances. And Misha would make a fine hunt mistress. I’m sure I could talk her into it.”

  Rafiki took in a deep breath and let it out. “Please, Uzuri?”

  “I’ll do it. For Makaka.”

  “Oh thank God!” Rafiki bent over and began to cry uncontrollably. “Thank God! Thank God!”

  Uzuri quietly stalked over and nuzzled him.

  CHAPTER: THE FOUR OF US

  Uzuri, having pledged to take care of Elanna, is playing with Makaka when suddenly Makaka says, "We're being watched." They are by the baobab at the time.

  "Are you sure?"

  "Yes, Uzuri."

  "Where are they?"

  "It's a lioness. I don't know her, but she knows you. It's coming from...." He began to scan a small region of brush and trees at the edge of the savanna. As if she knew the jig was up, Elanna came stalking out into the open.

  "Lannie! I thought you were dead!" Uzuri started forward.

  "Don't hurt me!" Elanna said, starting backward.

  "Hon, I won't hurt you. I'm your friend, remember?"

  "Well, I was hoping you wouldn't hurt me." She came toward Uzuri and nuzzled her desperately, "Oh Uzuri, I've been so alone!"

  "Not any more, dear. Not any more."

  "But I can't come back. The others--they hate me. I just know it. They'll never let me stay." She started to cry. "Uzuri, I don't know what to do! I've been alone for the longest time. I can't stand it anymore! I tried to join Mabongo's pride but his wife is insanely jealous. She tried to kill me!"

  "Oh honey tree!" Uzuri nuzzled her again.

  “It was in the hunt. She said it was an accident, but I know better! I almost ended up like Avina!”

  "Poor thing!” She stroked Elanna’s cheek with her paw. “You remember my sons Togo and Kombi, don't you?"

  "Yes. How are they?"

  "Well Kombi's a king and Togo's his Prince Consort." Uzuri smiled. "Their father died, but his death gave them a new life. Life is like the wind--if you don't like the way it's blowing, wait and it will change." She kissed Elanna's cheek. "They will be glad to take you in, my dear."

  "Really?"

  "Yes, and you could have a fresh start...." She frowned. "No! Your home is here, and you're going to come home where you belong."

  "But they all hate me. They'll never forgive me for marrying Taka."

  "I think they will. Don't you want to see your sister Sarabi again?"

  "Oh gods, I'd give anything to see her. But it will never work!"

  "I don't want you give anything--just the effort to trust me and come back. Give it a try."

  "But facing all of them alone...."

  "You're not alone. I will be with you."

  "Why are you so good to me?"

  "Because I love you, and because I promised Taka that I would look after you the way you asked me to look after him."

  "How is he? What happened to him?"

  "He died like a real lion. You would have been proud of him."

  "You are good, Uzuri. So good to me. If it's the two of us, I will give it a try. It can't hurt."

  "The three of us," Makaka said.

  "The four of us," Rafiki said. Rafiki threw his arms around Elanna's strong neck. "First Simba came back from death. Now my Lannie. God has been generous."

  Bravely, hopefully, the four friends headed for Pride Rock.

  THE EPILOGUE

  Makaka looked anxiously toward the mouth of the cave. He was not used to being excluded from Uzuri’s presence, but Uzuri had a few words for Rafiki alone. And since she was so old and in such pain, Makaka was used to granting her every whim whenever possible. Later he planned to pour out many things from his heart--that is, if he could figure out where to begin.

  Her last bout with fever had not been going well, and he resented every moment he could not spend by her side. Anasa tried to comfort her husband as well as she could, but though she was an accomplished shaman in her own right, she could not work miracles. And she thought it would take a miracle to bring the smile back to his face.

  Gur’bruk and Kambra came to the cave, and they were allowed in at once. Rafiki ushered them in as if they were expected, but asked Makaka to be patient a while longer. Makaka went back to Anasa with a light flush of anger clouding his eyes.

  Inside the cave, Rafiki sat bent over with age. In his lap was Uzuri’s head. She was too old and sick to pretend anymore, and when Rafiki put his hand down to stroke her cheek, she took his fingertips in her mouth and gave them a gentle squeeze between her teeth. Tears welled up in Rafiki’s eyes.

  “Gur’bruk, Kambra, would you stand over there for a while?” Uzuri said hoarsely. “Be polite and don’t listen in, OK?”

  The hyenas nodded respectfully and went to sit in the corner. Uzuri looked at Rafiki. “Honey Tree?”

  “Yes, my dear?”

  A tear began to roll down her cheek. “It must be hard to love someone the way you loved me and feel so helpless.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t pretend with me. A female knows these things, whether she’s a mandrill or a lioness.” A smile came to her face. “I thought you were such a fool, wanting to die with me. I didn’t understand then. You weren’t foolish at all. You were just in love.”

  “You can’t die, Honey Tree. You mustn’t think of dying.”

  “Now you ARE being a fool.” She coughed so hard that her whole body shook. “Don’t worry, my dear friend. Death is but a doorway to the world of Ka, and we will go through the door together. I’ll wait for you in the east. Then we’ll be together forever.”

  “Forever,” Rafiki said, his tears splashing on her soft cheek. “That’s a long time to put up with me.”

  “I’ve had practice.” She coughed again, this time weaker. “Maybe we won’t be so different on the other side.”

  “How are you feeling, old girl? Did the herbs help you any?”

  “I can’t tell,” she gasped. Her face clouded with pain. “No, they didn’t! Do you have anything stronger?”

  Rafiki looked up helplessly. “Kambra? Gur’bruk?”

  Old Gur'bruk came and looked deeply into her eyes. “What color are my eyes?”

  “Don’t you know?”

  “Come on, Uzuri. What color are they?”

  “Well...hazel. No, brownish green...or green. Yes, green. Or is it the light in here? Now they look blue.”

  “Blue?”

  “Yes. Sky blue. No, there are clouds and...it's the sky!”

  Rafiki stroked her head lovingly. “The sky?”

  “Yes! I can see the clouds move!”

  Gur’bruk smiled. “Are there birds in the sky, dear?”

  “A red bird. Can you see him, Rafiki?”

  “Yes.” He wiped away his tears quickly and began to fondle her shoulder and arm while there was still time.

  “That red bird is your pain,” Gur’bruk. “It’s flying away. Can you feel it flying away? Getting less and less?”

  “Yes.” Her jaw trembled. "Yes, it's going. Thank the gods, it's finally going. It's finally....oh look, it’s Ugas! Ugas! My beloved has come back for me! He’s come back for...." Her breath went out.

  Gur’bruk looks up, heartbroken. “Rafiki....”

  “I know.” The mandrill touched Gur’bruk’s cheek and fondled Kambra’s neck. “I need a moment alone with her. Please give me that, but don’t tell Makaka she’s dead. I want to tell him myself.”

  Gur’bruk found Makaka still sitting anxiously at the mouth of the cave waiting for some word on her condition.

  “How is she?”

  “Resting peacefully,” Gur’bruk said.

  “Well, is she going to be all right?”

  Kambra nuzzled Makaka. “Ask Rafiki. But I wouldn’t go in there just yet--he’s very busy.” She slinked off with Gur’bruk, anxious to be clear of the cave before the tears started.

  Makaka turned to Anasa. “I know Rafiki was close to her, but so was I. Tell me if I’m wrong, but I th
ink I ought to be in there. I mean, those two got in.”

  “They came to help,” Anasa said firmly. “You should show them respect.”

  “I’m sorry.” He hugged her. “I don’t know what I’d do if she died. Really, I don’t.”

  Meanwhile, Rafiki swept Uzuri’s eyes closed and gently sealed them with a small drop of Dwe’dwe resin. “You must look good, old girl. Your son is coming for a last look-see.”

  He pushed her claws back in and smoothed her ears back. He gently put her tongue back between her teeth and lifted her jaw, bracing it up with an arm so that she looked asleep. Then from the locket around his neck he took some silverleaf and rubbed it between his hands, stroking it lovingly into her fur along with his tears. “I want you to smell nice, old girl. I wish I’d had jasmine--it was Penda’s favorite. There now, you look presentable.”

  Suddenly he began to sob. “Oh gods, you were always beautiful to me!” He grabbed her paw, giving it a squeeze, kissing it and holding it to his cheek. “Uzuri, my beautiful Uzuri! Remember when we first met? How young we were? Soon we’ll both be fresh and new, my beloved. Your shoulder won’t be stiff anymore.” He laid her paw down and gently ran his fingertips over her bad shoulder. “I bet half the time it wasn’t even hurting, you little trickster. You just wanted my attention.” Tears coursed down his cheeks. “I didn’t mind it one bit. Not one bit. We had an understanding, you and I.”

  Makaka sat in anticipation for several more minutes, but loyally he had not moved a single inch. Nor would he if it took days.

  “Rafiki?” he called. “Can I come in now? Will she see me?”

  The old mandrill came out of the cave. He had a relieved look on his face, and Makaka breathed a sigh. “Good news?”

  Rafiki said, “Yes. No more pain. It’s over.”