CHAPTER 62:  DIETARY REQUIREMENTS

	"Aiheu showed them that the earth was large but not boundless, and 
offered them a choice:  "You may choose amongst yourselves who will be 
fruitful and continue the line, or you may choose to be treated alike, 
and I shall decide how to limit your numbers."
	There was only a short discussion before they answered, saying:  
"My Lord, we are brothers and cannot deny others what we desire for 
ourselves."  In those days, their love for one another was fresh, for 
they were equal as spirit children and none oppressed the other.
	Aiheu smiled upon them, saying: "There is wisdom in compassion.  
You shall all be fruitful, but you will face challenges from your own 
people and from other peoples."
	Aiheu seperated them into two groups, and one group dwarfed the 
other.  "To the greater group, I give the plants of the field and the 
fruits of the trees.  But lest you strip the earth of all green things 
with your offspring, I give the lesser group a taste for blood.  To them 
I give the eaters of plants."
	Some of the plant eaters were upset and cried out to God that they 
should not all die.  To this, Aiheu answered, "I offer you to the 
hunters, but they must catch you first.  Be vigilant, wise, and careful, 
and you will not perish from the land I give you."
	For a while life was fearful for the hunter and the hunted, but as 
the seasons passed they discovered new pleasures, and from them new 
life.  And only then did they fully appreciate the wonder of their 
existance.

           -- THE LEONINE STORY OF BEGINNINGS, VARIATION C-7-A


	Rafiki and Makaka heard the climax of a hunt very close to the 
baobab.  Makaka is stunned; he was seeing his friends in a new light; he 
knew they hunted for a living, but he'd never seen a kill in all its 
gory detail before.
	Makaka turned to Rafiki.  "They are so gentle sometimes."
	"So are you.  You must the creation, when Aiheu offered a choice 
to all living things, and all of them agreed that this way was better 
than the alternatives.  We all live, love, and die.  We are all children 
of the same God, and when we do what we are called to do, we return to 
him, all reaching the same destination and the same joy.  There will be 
no room in a heart full of love and wonder for hard feelings."
	Makaka headed over to join the fray.  Quickly he grabbed a piece 
of meat and bit down.  As he chewed, his face screwed up in displeasure.  
But unwilling to spit it out, he continued to chew slowly.
	"Good, isn't it?" one of the cubs said.  Makaka nodded his head, 
swallowed hard, and went back to Rafiki.
	"Ugh!"  He stuck out his tongue as if it had been burned.  The 
moist, musky smell filled his breath as he breathed out, and flooded his 
throat, emanating from his red-flecked face.  "Eeew!  Do you have any 
Tiko root?"  
	Rafiki got some from a gourd.  He handed a piece to Makaka who 
chewed it rapidly, filling his breath with the rich minty aroma that 
took the smell of raw meat away and settled his stomach.  
	"They like this stuff?"
	"Love it.  Still, you were very brave.  I don't think I could have 
swallowed that stuff--not raw, anyhow."  
	He kept chewing the Tiko root.  "Oh yeah.  That's much better.  
May I have some water to wash it down?"
	Uzuri came over bearing a piece of meat with a broad smile on her 
face.  "This is the best part.  It was hard to get this away from those 
greedy gusses."
	"You did this for me?" Makaka said.
	"It was no trouble.  Not for my special little boy."
	Makaka looked at her expectant smile.  He picked up the piece of 
meat and without hesitation took a large bite.  "Thanks so much," he 
said, a little drop of warm blood running down his cheek.  
	Uzuri is pleased.  "My boy is going to grow up big and strong 
eating like that!"
	He came and put his arms around her neck, stroking her soft fur.  
Makaka's heart was so full of love, he forgot to feel sick.


CHAPTER 63:  MOURNING BECOMES HER

	Uzuri had been depressed since the mantlement of Togo and Kombi.  
For that reason Habusu was sure he was bearing the most wonderful news.  
He rushed quickly to find the hunt mistress.
	"Guess what, Uzuri!  I just saw Togo and Kombi!"
	"You did?  Where??"
	"Right next to the Pride Lands!  They are our neighbors now.  They 
took over their own kingdom when Ugas died.  How about that!  Now you 
can sneak down and see them whenever you want."
	"Yes," she said, a little weak in the knees.  "I see."
	"I knew you'd be thrilled."
	"Yes, of course."  Uzuri's jaw began to tremble, and tears filled 
her eyes.  She ran off quickly rather than be seen in that state.  She 
knew the only place where she could go and find understanding in her 
predicament, and she headed at once for Rafiki's baobab, running across 
the savanna without a single pause to rest.
	Rafiki was looking into his scrying bowl.  Without even looking 
up, he said, "Come in, Uzuri.  I've been expecting you."
	She looked at the bowl of water.  "Just how much do you know?"
	"I knew you would come by."
	"And how about Ugas.  Is he?"
	"Yes, he is."  Rafiki looked at her face with some concern.  "So 
you found out today, did you?"
	"Habusu told me."  Trying to maintain her perpetual dignity, Uzuri 
seated herself, head erect even in grief, and only her tail tip betrayed 
her inner struggle.  "I want you to help me.  This is secret--tell no 
one.  Ugas, my husband, must be mourned."
	"Of course."
	"I want you to come with me.  My heart is heavy, and I have no one 
I can tell.  I need someone, Rafiki, as once you needed me."
	"What an honor," he said, putting his hand over her paw and giving 
it a little squeeze.  Her regal demeanor was well-kept, but Rafiki knew 
how she must feel inside.
	"Uzuri," he shyly ventured, "Ugas was my good friend.  He spoke 
often of you.  He would ask me about Togo and Kombi.  Too bad he never 
met them--his own sons."
	"It was too bad," she agreed tonelessly.
	Rafiki worried about all the pent-up grief she carried.  "Where do 
you want to hold the ceremony?"
	"Our special place.  The bank of the stream that runs along the 
border of our kingdoms.  There is a patch of reeds there.  We would meet 
there at times."
	"I know."
	"He told you?  Did you know him that well?"
	"Very well."  Rafiki watched the tip of her tail twitch.  Her 
stare was regal but rigid and forced.  His heart went out to her.  "I'll 
keep your secret, but you must keep mine.  I have a little something for 
you."  
	He reached in a gourd and pulled out a lock of golden fur.  "I 
brought this back for my shrine."  Presenting it to her, he watched her 
quivering nostrils smell the old fragrance.
	Her trembling paw reached out and stroked the lock of mane.  Her 
eyes welled up with tears and she bent to face the ground.  "Ugas," she 
stammered.  "My beloved Ugas!"
	Rafiki took the liberty of putting his arms around her strong, 
shapely neck and held her to his breast.  She leaned her head on his 
shoulder lightly. 
	"Uzuri, how it breaks my heart to see your grief.  I know what 
it's like to lose a mate.  I will pray for you day and night."
	"You're a good friend," Uzuri said quietly.  "I knew you would 
understand."
	That was the closest Uzuri came to telling Rafiki she loved him 
too, and the mandrill gave her a little squeeze.  "You were always a 
queen to me.  You always will be."
	Uzuri, as soon as she regained her composure, said, "Until high 
moon."  She pulled herself erect, walked with regal dignity out of the 
baobab, and bid him farewell.
	Rafiki was nervous.  He had wanted to arrange the service a little 
earlier, for there was a danger ahead, and the "special place" would be 
used for other matters.
	He stuck a stick straight into the ground.  As the moon's shadow 
shortened, he watched the midmoon hour approach.  "Please, o gods, let 
us get this over with before it's too late."
	As if in answer to his prayers, Uzuri came a little early.  She 
stalked in somberly and for this brief time set aside her reserved 
manner.  Ugas was dead, and she would not want his spirit to look down 
on her and find her cold.
	"Oh, Ugas!  Oh gods, my husband, my lover, my heart!  He's dead!"
	Tears began to stream down her face.  She wanted to roar, but 
dared not.  Instead, she nestled in the sanctuary of Rafiki's arms and 
sobbed.
	"That wonderful lion!  That kind and gentle soul!  What little 
time we spent together made me more noble, more grand just for having 
loved him!  And let me tell you, Rafiki, more important than his breath 
on my cheek was being there with him.  He was caring, with a voice as 
warm as a good nuzzle, and a nuzzle as warm as the sun.  Sometimes we 
would just lie side by side, and I would smell the honest fragrance of 
his mane against my cheek.  He always made me feel special and 
beautiful.  The last time we made love, he said--"  Tears began to 
stream down her face and she looked at the ground unable to control 
herself.
	"What did he say?"
	"He looked at me sadly and said `Love me as if it was for the last 
time.'"  The words stung Rafiki, and he put his arms around her neck, 
kissing her around the face.
	"My poor girl!  My poor little girl!  It will get better with 
time.  You will never be the same, but you will learn to live with the 
loss, as I have."
	Uzuri looked around and touched Rafiki's face with her warm 
tongue.  "I was right.  You do understand."
	At that painful moment, another lioness showed up--Barata.  Rafiki 
sighed.
	"What is she doing here?" Uzuri asked curtly.
	"Uzuri, dearest, try not to be too upset."
	Uzuri went to Barata who was embarassed and intimidated by the 
wrath of the hunt mistress.  "You are here because of him, aren't you??"
	"He had an affair with you too?  I didn't know!  I swear I didn't 
know!"
	"Affair??  He was my husband!"
	"You never told me!"  Barata rolled over on the ground.  "I swear, 
Uzuri, I would never have cheated on you.  It was only once, and it was 
many moons ago.  Oh gods, I love you!  You're my pride sister!  I'm 
sorry!"
	Uzuri nuzzled her.  "Get up, friend.  I should have gone to be 
with him.  I left him alone, and I can understand how this might 
happen."  She tilted her head puzzled.  "Still, I always thought you 
never had an interest in--you know."
	"Just because I never got pregnant didn't mean I never...."  She 
glanced over at Rafiki.  "You know."
	Ajenti poked her head through the bushes.  She saw the other two 
lionesses and gasped.  "Oh my gods!"
	Isha pushed past her.  She looked appraisingly at the other 
lionesses.  And shook her head.  "I knew I wasn't the only one, but I 
underestimated the old boy."
	"Watch what you say about my husband!" Uzuri spit.
	"Your husband??" Isha said.
	"Your husband??" Ajenti chimed.
	Rafiki held up his hands and tried to begin the ceremony.  "Death 
has struck down our friend Ugas.  Let us remember him as a brave lion, a 
good lion, whose heart was full of love...."
	"Yeah, you can say that again!" Ajenti quipped.
	Isha nodded assent.  "He was Bango's father.  And I must admit he 
was a good lion--quite good."
	"Yes," Sarafina said.  "He was good, wasn't he?"
	"Sarafina?  You too?"
	Rafiki stood helplessly as the lionesses began to compare their 
relationships.
	"I couldn't imagine you'd like him," Sarafina told Isha.  "I like 
a comfortable routine, but you would have gone crazy.  The same old 
thing every time."
	"Never the same thing twice!" Isha said.  "Are we talking about 
the same Ugas?"
	"And his sense of humor," Sarafina said.  "He always told the 
funniest jokes.  Most of them don't bear repeating in public, but there 
was this great one about the elephant and the rhino that would kill 
you!"
	"Jokes??"  Uzuri was outraged.  "That somber, powerful and tragic 
lion of destiny??"
	Barata said, "It seems he sized us up like prey.  He chose a 
different approach with each of us.  Sisters, we were had!"
	"It was worth it," Sarafina said.
	"I learned a few things," Isha said.
	"Now ladies," Rafiki said forcefully.  When he got their 
attention, he lowered his voice to some semblance of dignity.  "He meant 
a lot to you all, and we honor his life.  He was devoted to his extended 
family, he had enough love to go around, and he died the way he lived, 
doing what he loved best."
	"It must have been `Old Number Four.'" Isha said.  "That will do 
it if you have a weak heart."
	Rafiki shook his head.  "Ladies, put aside your judgment.  He was 
with us for a time, now he is gone.  Let us remember that whatever else 
he was, he was a child of Aiheu, a compassionate lion, a fair lion, a 
wise ruler, and for me a dear and gentle friend.  And we will all miss 
him.  His first wife died of Babesa, very horribly.  His second wife was 
killed in a hunting accident.  After that, he was always afraid of 
commitment.  He was, as Uzuri saw so plainly, a very tragic lion who had 
known much suffering.  The comfort you brought him was the only good 
thing to brighten his long and lonely life.  Out of love, he wanted you 
by his side, but out of love he sent you away to keep you safe from 
harm.  Now from the stars he looks down and sees your sad faces.  Now he 
is no longer afraid to love you with his whole heart."
	They all roar, then start bawling.  It felt good to be able to 
share that hidden grief with a friend, and they huddled together as they 
wept.
	The moon drifted ever onward, and by ones and twos the lionesses 
left to return to Pride Rock and try to sleep.  Finally Uzuri had Rafiki 
alone and she clearly had unanswered questions.
	"Why, Rafiki?  If this is true, why did Ugas marry me?"
	"So your children would be legitimate heirs to reign after him.  
You see, you are the very image of his second wife.  He often called her 
Kamba--`Honey Tree.'"
	"He would call me that when he...."  She looked at Makaka and 
paused.  "You know....at the height of passion."  Her eyes filled with 
tears.  "Oh gods!  Bless his precious old heart!  That poor, sad lion!"
	Quiet except for her sobs, she turned and wandered slowly into the 
night to be alone.  
	Makaka pulled at Rafiki's arm.  "That's so sad.  We ought to say a 
prayer for her."
	"We will."
	"And we ought to say a prayer for him and his other two wives."
	"There were no other wives," Rafiki said.  "But you must never 
tell another soul that.  Especially not Uzuri."
	"You told a lie?"
	"In her case, it was the only merciful thing to do."
	Makaka looked puzzled.  "What's Old Number Four?"
	Rafiki patted him on the back.  "Isha promised to tell me someday-
-when I'm old enough."


CHAPTER 64:  SUNSET

	"I tell you he's smiling.  And well he might smile.  His life will 
be easy and free from pain, at least if I have any say over it."

                                       -- CHIEF KINARA

	Makaka was too quick to hurry up the side of Pride Rock.  It 
triggered an asthma attack, and Rafiki nervously rummaged through his 
medications in the wan light of dusk looking for silver vein mint.  He 
was only sure by the smell, and when he crushed a few leaves and held 
them under Makaka's nose, the youth began to settle down and breathe 
deeply.
	"I can carry you back down, but I can't carry you to the top."
	"Let's go on up.  I can make it."
	With more caution and reserve, Makaka went up the shaft of stone 
to the tip, followed by Rafiki.
	"You need to be more careful," Rafiki said, taking his seat on the 
end of the shaft.
	Makaka sat next to him.  "I'll try.  Well, some of the time."
	"What does that mean?"
	"I was just thinking."  Makaka paused for a long time.  "You know, 
it's like Minshasa told me.  I was safer in the village, but I'm happier 
here."
	"I must admit I'm happier with you here."
	He put an arm around Rafiki.  "I love you too."
	As they sat together, the African Sunset came to its climax, the 
red orb of the sun wavering as it sank below the horizon.  Overhead in 
the afterglow a few stars winked into the purple sky, watching over the 
land and its peoples.  A lioness came and sat next to them quietly.  
Makaka scooted over to her and slipped his arms around her plush, strong 
neck.  Uzuri touched the child with her warm, pink tongue.  Then she 
looked over at Rafiki.  "It's you I came to see."
	"Me?"
	"Yes.  Makaka can wait in the cave."  She sent the child away with 
a gentle pat of her paw, then twitched her head for Rafiki to come 
closer.  "You are tired, honey tree.  This world has worn you thin.  I 
can almost see the moonlight through you."
	"We're none of us getting younger, old girl."
	"How well I know."  Her eyes, old but still alert, met his.  
"There is not much time between sunrise and sunset.  If you would not be 
caught out after dark, you must leave some time to do all the important 
things."
	Rafiki put his hand over her paw.  "Do not talk of sunsets, my 
dear.  I've seen more than my share."
	"Don't make this harder than it has to be."  Uzuri sighed deeply.  
"I slipped in the hunt tonight.  A hoof nearly caught me in the cheek.  
For one moment I looked death in the face."
	"Uzuri, dearest!"  He gave her paw a squeeze.  "You must be more 
careful.  Don't put a thorn in my heart.  You, Makaka, and Misha are the 
reasons I go on living.  You must never die."
	"Someday we all must die, but I have things I need to say before I 
go.  Important things."
	"Is it what I think it is?"
	"I hope so."  She touched him with her warm tongue and looked 
penetratingly into his eyes.  "I love you, Rafiki."
	"Oh Uzuri!"  Tears of joy began to stream down his face.  He 
reached out and fondled her strong, soft neck and felt the gentle rhythm 
of her heart.  "I love you too."


THE END:  THE SPIRIT QUEST

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