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CHAPTER: SOMEONE TO LEAN ON
The day’s event had taken their toll on the two lions, and when the sun had slipped below the horizon, they quietly searched for a clearing which to bed for the night. Upon finding one, Ela
Kubali’s ears were pricked on this weeping. Looking over at her for a few moments, he rose up and moved towards her. Hearing no protest on her part, he lied down next to her, still keeping a small gap between their bodies. Almost absentmindedly, Ela
Morning came quickly for the pair. Ela
Suddenly, she realized she wasn’t at Pride Rock anymore. She turned her head to see her paw across Kubali’s mane.
"I'm sorry!"
"Don't be. My nurse used to do that." He sighed. "I bet he was special, this mate of yours."
"He's dead."
"Oh...." He touched her face again. "That's why you were crying
last night. I haven’t known you that long, but I already hate it when you cry."
Ela
“Kubali.”
“Yeah. You’ve been very sweet to me, but I don’t want you to get any unrealistic expectations. I need a friend now, and I think you could be that friend. But I don’t know if I could ever fall in love again.”
Kubali smiled gently and touched her nose with his. “I need a friend too. Someone I can lean on when the trail is long and weary. I wouldn’t take a chance of ruining this.”
Ela
Over the next three days Ela
Then on the fourth day a remarkable thing happened. They stopped being afraid and decided to enjoy their friendship.
Ela
“My husband called me La
“Fine. Lots of things make me feel uncomfortable. I think we’re both pretty miserable.”
“Are you saying we should part?”
“No. I’m saying we should stop being miserable.” Kubali said, “I’ve been holding back from you. Surely you wonder about my past.”
“I try not to.”
“See there--that’s what I mean. This secrecy is tearing us apart. I mean, if we’re really friends, let’s be honest with each other.”
“Are you saying I’ve lied to you?”
“No. You have to say something first.” Kubali looked around with building frustration. “Look, I have a sordid past. If I can tell you what I did to wind up here, you can tell me, can’t you?”
Ela
“Then we have a deal?”
“It depends,” Ela
Kubali sighed nervously. “Where shall I begin? Well, I think it started when I was a little cub. My mother died the day I was born, and I was raised by nurses. My dad is a king, you know. I was the heir apparent, and I guess I had free rein to do what I pleased.” He laughed nervously. “Oh yes, it pleased me to do a lot of selfish things--a whole lot! The lionesses got fed up with me and one day they said my polite little brother would make a better king--or else.”
“Or else?”
“Or else they would leave. Dad banished me.” Tears came to his eyes. “I’ll never forget the look on his face when he said good bye. It will haunt me for the rest of my life.”
“Poor Kubali!”
“I deserved it, though. I really messed up my own life, and I have no one else to blame. Now I have to make a new life for myself, and I’ll be different. I begged Aiheu for a friend. Someone--anyone--that would end my awful loneliness. I swore I’d be better. I meant it too. Then I saw this feisty lioness facing off a whole group of hyenas. I knew that you were the answer to my prayers.”
Ela
“Am I kind? I wondered if I was doing well.”
“Better than well, my friend.” She nuzzled him. “My husband was a king. His name was Taka. He was never popular, but I loved him. I loved him the way snow loves the mountain peaks, and you know the snow would never leave the mountain peaks lest it should melt and die.”
“What did he do to be so unpopular?”
“Well he....” She sighed. “He was not completely sane. He did a lot of strange things. Very strange. But it was not his fault. I did not know that he had killed his brother to take the throne. Not till after the hyenas ripped him alive.”
“Whoa, you poor dear!”
“I loved him, but I wouldn’t have stayed with him. Not if I’d known. Still the knowledge has not killed my love. Somehow I ca
“Wrong. Lay your head on my mane, dear. It doesn’t matter if you love me or not. I have enough love for both of us.”
She laid her head on the soft fur of his mane and sighed peacefully. “I’m glad we had this talk. And I didn’t mean what I said before--call me La
“It’s not a right, it’s a privilege. A privilege to be earned daily. Your suffering is over, La
CHAPTER: HAVE IT YOUR WAY
If calling Ela
With each passing day, Kubali and Ela
With all the truth and experience, however, small quirks showed up in their behavior. Ela
One day, they went on a hunt together. Quietly, before they were close to any prey, he jokingly nuzzled her and said, “So...what do you feel like today, my fair lioness? The sava
She smiled up to him, “Oh...I don’t know...you pick.”