Time
By Carissa "Krazy Kat"

The tree's branches reached for the sun, as if calling out for help for life.
The ground it was planted upon was cracked and dry, and its roots were
whithered. There was never a time of such sadness in the Pridelands..how many
lives had been lost and how many souls had been tormented in such a short
amount of time. It all had happened so quickly--so quickly that no one was
prepared and everything crumbled before them.

The tree seemed to have lost hope after a time and the dry air sucked the life
from the tree; all was lost, then. An old hand was brought down upon the tree,
feeling it's bark and observing it's once mighty, healthy branches. The
mandrill closed his eyes and a single tear fell from his eye and splattered on
the dry land. He shook his head slowly; almost as if he was in disbelief of
everything that had been happening. He slowly walked from the tree towards
Pride Rock. 

As he neared the mighty structure, he remembered how many had been born, how
many had died, how many important moments had happened there. But over the
thoughts of joy that had once been presented there burned a thought that made
Rafiki shudder and almost fear being alone. He remembered the announcement
that Scar had made; something in his eyes made him hollow and distanced from
the others. He remembered the shadows creeping up over the hill into full
view. He remembered the terrified look of the lionesses and the heartbreak he
knew could never be healed. 

He stopped in his tracks. He knew that he didn't want to go back anymore. He
didn't want to face that pain again, knowing that all hope was lost and soon
everything would be destined to die sooner or later. He remembered his
dedication to the pride, and so he was torn between these thoughts. He sighed,
knowing that he could not leave them to die.

Time was not something to be played with. He knew Time was fragile and the
wrong touch could throw everything off balance, and one could never go back to
the way things were. He sighed, knowing that Scar had trifled with time so
much that he would not only be destroying himself; he would be destroying his
lionesses, his hyenas, every subject, every plant, every tree, every living
thing that his rule ever stepped upon. Sometimes he wished he could take a
freeze-frame in time and keep it that way forever.  As it was at that point in
the Pridelands, Rafiki hated time.

Ta,
Krazy Kat