Taka's Song


                                         "Flight"



     All at once they were on him; a mob of heavy grinding teeth and razor
claws. They meant to kill. There would be no amount of smooth talk which
would see him out of this.
     A chance glance upwards revealed to him the face of his enemy looking
down from the rocky crag above. A flash of anger surged through him as he
looked into that smug face. He was going to stand there and watch him die!
With a sudden rush of energy fueled by rage, Scar lashed out with his hind
legs. His long claws found the face of one of his attackers, knocking it
backward onto the fire scorched rocks surrounding the fray. The hyena gave
a pained yelp as the blisters already began to form on it's back. The clan
startled and looked to their wounded companion. The momentary distraction
was all that was needed. In a flash Scar was away and running across the
darkened savanna. He never looked back.
      He couldn't remember how long he kept running. It must have been for
hours, for the first pink rays of light were beginning to creep across the
endless expanse of grassland. Panting, his bony sides working like a
bellows, he looked about himself. He had come to a waterhole far from the
Pridelands. It was small but it held the promise of tall grasses and
cooling water. Scar dropped to the ground; every bone in his body cried in
pain. It had been a long night. Everything was gone. The kingship, his
home, even his very dignity has been snatched from his grasp in the space
of one night. There could be no going back, ever. He sighed. "I would even
have that damned Mufasa alive again if it meant I could go back to my cave
and forget all that's happened." Regret was a new feeling to Scar and he
was none too comfortable with it.
          Despite his protesting muscles, he dragged himself to his feet,
he winced. The pads of his feet were cracked and bleeding, traveling would
be difficult. He walked to the water's edge, looking into the still pool he
saw his reflection. The lone scar above his eye had been joined by many
others. He gave a half hearted laugh. "I shall have to add an "s" to my
name if I am to stay legitimate." He though ruefully. Lowering his head he
drank long and deeply, hoping that the blessedly cool water would wash
away some of the shame and fear which kept nipping at the back of his mind.
It could not, for he knew it was only a matter of time before the hyena
clan caught up with him. Unbidden the memory of how they had crowded in on
him the night before came into view. They were like demons, all glowing
eyes and angry teeth. Those teeth would find his throat eventually. Of this
he was sure. Taking a deep breath he lay his still dripping chin on his
forepaws and although he fought against it sleep washed over him.
          It is said that those who sleep like the dead sleep dreamless.
Maybe so, but Scar's sleep was fraught with desperate memories and
insatiable fears. He was dreaming he was back in the Pridelands, still
king. He was watching the hyena clan from the top of Pride Rock. They had
trapped a young wildebeest and were taking obvious delight in tormenting
it. The young animal bawled in terror as the horde of carrion eaters
snapped at it's heels and nipped at it's flanks. He watched the scene
dispassionately, and then, a sudden misgiving swept over him. He had to
stop the hyena clan! he couldn't let them do this. He leapt into their
midst. "Stop! I am the king, I command it!" There was a hyena standing at
his side, it was Shenzi, or at least it should have been. Her face was the
twisted caricature of a hyena, a death mask. Her jaws, which now seemed too
large for her head, housed dripping scythelike teeth. Her eyes were twin
yellow and red orbs glaring at him from deep tunnels cut into her skull.
The monstrosity laughed. "King? Oh no my friend you are carrion. Dead
Meat!"
          Scar looked about himself. The dream hyenas had suddenly gotten
smaller, but there were millions of them. They covered the land like ticks
on a rhino's back. He was surrounded, a small tawny island in a vast sea of
grey-brown fur and white fangs. "Dead meat! Dead meat!" The tiny beasts
chanted. The sea pulsed and cackled. The monster that was once Shenzi
smiled. "Now my friend we eat!' All at once the hyenas came up and covered
him like a wave crashing into shore. They were biting him everywhere.
Tearing off pieces of still living flesh. Devouring him alive! "No! Wait!,
Scar screamed, you don't understand, I'm king! I'm king!" 
            He wake with a start. His heart pounded in his chest,
threatening to burst forward onto the grass. The sky was dark. It was
night, he had slept the entire day!

                                                  "Fear"

         Well rested, the muddled feeling from the night before had left
him. However the intense fear remained. What ever was he going to do? A
lion on his own, especially a weak and wounded one, had no chance of
surviving very long. There was no way he could hope to bring down large
prey. One good kick from a strong hoof could mean death, probably a slow
lingering one. The thought was not pleasant. He also ran the risk of
wandering into another pride's territory and the male who ruled it would
most likely no be welcoming. He had to admit it he was trapped.
         "Why have you chosen to abandon me!" Scar cried into the night
sky. Abandoned? Wasn't that always how he had felt? As a young adolescent
he knew that all eyes rested on his larger more handsome brother. They
respected him, even more, they had loved him. Himself, he was a useless
creature hovering in the background. Useless, for wasn't it a lion's place
to be protector of his people? His people neither required nor desired his
protection.
            They had always seemed wary of him. Kept their distance. In
this way he had felt himself marked as different, "other" in the eyes of
the pride. He had never quite understood this difference, although he had
an inkling of it. It had always seemed to him that the other lions were
content to live their lives as their forebears had. Letting one day bleed
into the next, an endless chain of eating, sleeping, birthing and dying.
The Circle of Life they reverently called it. In his mind it was more like
the Circle of Futility. There should be more to it. Things could be, should
be done to make life more interesting, better. Perhaps this was his
downfall. Maybe it was better to accept one's place in life. Not question
one's purpose. To eat, sleep and die without ever wanting anything more
than a full belly and a place to rest.
             With a heavy heart he made his resolve. There would be no more
running. No more trying to change what fate had placed at his paws. Here  
he would await whatever was coming for him. Be it the hyenas or vultures.
He was beyond caring.
               The he heard it! A rustle in the grass! Every nerve in his
body screamed "run!", he steadied himself. This was it. He prayed that
death would find him quickly and then lowered his head, bared his teeth and
prepared for the onslaught. And then, a somewhat familiar red and blue face
peered from between the strands of tall grass. It smiled. "I thought I'd
find you here!" 
     
                        "Wise Council and it's Consequences"


         Scar stared for a long time at the figure before him. It was
surreal. How could this creature, of all, be here. "Are you just going to
stand there with your mouth hanging open or are you going to speak." Rafiki
said. Scar was taken aback. He had never much cared for Rafiki. He resented
the way the pride accepted and valued him. An outsider had held the ear of
the king, while he himself was never asked for advice. "So, Scar growled,
come scouting for your king have you?  Better go and fetch him. But be
quick about it I'm short on patience tonight."
         The baboon laughed. "Phaugh!  That's what you think? Old Rafiki
walked all this way to turn you in? If that young cub wants you he can find
you himself!" Scar raised an eyebrow and regarded this. "Then why are you
here." Rafiki sat in the grass, cradling his staff between his shaggy
knees. "You don't like me very much, do you?"
            Scar turned from Rafiki shaking his head, that was another
thing about the old baboon, he always seemed to be reading your thought.
"Fine, Rafiki said, lie down and wait. You'll make a fine breakfast for the
vultures." With that he got up and made as if to go back the way he came.
Watching him go, a sudden desperate longing for company welled up in Scar.
"Wait, he called, Don't go! Please...I,I need help." Rafiki stopped,
without turning he said, "That was what I was waiting to hear."
             He turned and looked at the lion. Standing there, his thin
form covered with wounds, his limbs shaking with hunger and exhaustion,
Scar looked so helpless and afraid. He walked over to him and reached a
long arm toward his face. Scar flinched. Rafiki's slender finger traced the
scar above his eye. "This wound given so long ago has caused you much pain
Taka." His voice was soothing. "You remember my name, Scar said, I thought
that had been long since forgotten."
              Rafiki nodded. "Old Rafiki remembers many things others have
forgotten. He also remembers you were not always so bitter, so angry." Scar
snorted. "Now that was a long time ago." Rafiki once again made himself
comfortable on the grass, this time Scar followed suit. They sat together
for a few minutes saying nothing. "Look up at the stars Taka, Rafiki
whispered, the Circle of Life moves each creature in turn." Scar shook his
head slowly. "Where is my turn? I've never felt at ease with the world,
Scar said, my place never seemed right. Why? Why couldn't I be happy with
what the world had given me?"
             "For some creatures, Taka, for you, the circle causes pain.
Most creatures are happy with knowing that the Circle never ends. They do
not think about tomorrow, when there is a full belly and a warm bed
today." Scar sighed. "That never seemed right to me, life should be more,
it......oh, I don't know!"  Rafiki patted the lion on the shoulder. "You,
my friend, think too much about tomorrow. You can see way past the
mountains, but you cannot see what lies in front of you very nose."
          Scar leapt to his feet. "But it's not fair! I was smarter than
Mufasa! I could have been a great king!  It, it's not fair!" Rafiki nodded,
"You have much anger, it is eating away at your heart. You must be done
with it." Scar opened his mouth to answer when they both heard it. Aloud
commotion in the tall grass surrounding them. Then the smell hit them.
"Well, well, well Banzi, what do we have here?" Shenzi stalked out of the
grass. Banzi, Ed and another hyena Scar couldn't recognize flanked her.
"Looks to me like our dearly departed dinner, Banzi slavered, and look!
Dessert!"
           Scar nudged Rafiki to his feet and pushed him. "Go on run. I'm
ready to die. I may even be able to take one of these stinking flea
banquets with me."  "Ooo, now he's gettin' personal." Shenzi jeered. Then
she turned to her three companions barking orders. "Ed! Banzi! Zaki! Get
ready boys, on my word we finish him!" They moved forward slowly, snarling.
Rafiki jumped in front of them. Nose to nose he stood with Shenzi looking
her squarely in the eye. "There will be no killing here."
           The hyenas broke into cackling gales of laughter. They had come
a long way for revenge and they would not be put off. "Oh really?, Shenzi
spat, What are you going to do? Some fancy tricks with that stick of yours?
I'll snap you in two!" To emphasize the point she snapped her jaws mere
inches from Rafiki's face. The baboon remained nonplused. "I know clan law
as well as you do madam. In killing this lion you will be breaking the
sacred trust of all hyenas. I know he was a brother to you."
          Shenzi canted her ears back and growled. The old ape had her.
While the hyenas could be cruel and ruthless to those outside the clan,
they were surprisingly gentle among themselves. An injured or elderly
hyena could look forward to being fed and cared for by his brothers. They
never turned on each other. It was the way the clan kept themselves
together. Their bonds were unbreakable. No transgression could result in
one hyena killing another. To do so would shake the very foundation the
clan rested on.
           Scar had been a hyena in all ways except the skin. He shared
kills with them, participated in their rituals and had free access to their
dens. To them, he had been a brother.
             "Does this mean we can't kill him?" Banzi piped up from behind
her. "Shut up!" She wheeled around growling at him, then she turned to
Scar. "From this moment forward you are no longer of the clan, lion. You
can have your miserable life this time. But mark me, if you ever cross
paths with us again we will gut you." She turned sharply on her heels and
gathered her companions. "Let's go."
             Rafiki watched them as they clambered back through the grass.
"That my friend was your first mistake." In the distance they could hear
Shenzi instructing the others. "If you don't keep your muzzles shut I'll
tear your tails off." Scar looked at Rafiki dejectedly. "Yes well, I
suppose I should thank you, but I won't, you should have let them have me."
Scar lowered his head. WHACK!  A sharp blow sent him sprawling on the
ground. "What is it with your bloodline? Do you all need to be hit on the
head to be made to see sense."  Rafiki shook his stick angrily in Scar'a
direction. Then he took a small gourd that had been tied to it by a twisted
length of grass and broke it open. Something small and brown fell out.
"Come here, I want to show you something." Scar walked to where the ape
stood. Rafiki held the bit under Scar's nose. A scent both faintly sweet
and pungent wafted up to him. It was a strange but exciting odor. It
intrigued him. "What is it?" It looked to him like a small piece of dried
fruit or mushroom. "It is something very special. Something we shaman use
to "see" ourselves."
            Scar was puzzled. "What do you mean, see?" Rafiki smiled. "A
shaman must see all sides of himself. He must be clean of old fears and
hate, or he will be of no use to himself or anybody else." Scar looked at
him suspiciously. "Why are you showing me this?" Rafiki reached out and
touched the top of Scar's mane, looking deeply into his eyes he said, "You
must be cleansed. Taka, you must trust me."

                                                   "Dreaming"
   
            Scar backed away from Rafiki. What was the old ape asking for?
How could a bit of dried fruit solve his troubles? He must be out of his
mind. "Perhaps I should take my leave now, thank you for all your help." 
He turned and began to nake his way through the tall grasses. From behind
him came a sardonic laugh. "So, the great king is running away, jeered
Rafiki, he is too afraid to face himself!" Without warning Scar spun around
and charged Rafiki, slamming his slender body into the baboon knocking him
to the ground. "You're calling me a coward! You mad! As sick as a hyena
with foaming mouth! You tell me a bit of dried fruit will "cleanse' me. get
rid of all this dung rolling around in this brain of mine. Is that what
your trying to say?"
         Rafiki looked at Scar with a sly smile on his face. "I'm telling
you just that." Scar regarded the bit again. The baboon held it in front of
his nose, waving it back and forth in a comic manner. Scar felt his anger
slip away. What did he have to lose? He'd make the old ape happy, he'd take
the fruit, nothing would happen and they'd both look like fools.  "Fine,
give it to me, but for your sake you better not be trying to poison me."
        Rafiki held up a finger. "One moment my friend, there is something
I must tell you first. You may see things that frighten you, that are
strange. The experiences you have may cause great pain, but don't run from
them. Learn from them, look at them closely." Saying that he held the bit
out to Scar who took it in his mouth. "Hold it there, let it melt. I will
wait here for you."
        Rafiki walked away and sat on the grass a few feet from Scar. He
had a clear view of the baboon from where he stood. His shaggy form was
silhouetted in the faint moonlight. Then Scar began to feel warn and
somehow the quality of the light changed. Rafiki no longer looked like a
solid form but rather seemed to be made up of bits of light which winked on
and off like dying stars. He looked around. The landscape was no longer
visible. All that was left was the blinking form in front of him. "How
strange." He thought surprisingly calm. Then the lightform began to fade.
Blinking out, becoming softer. Then gone.
The heat surrounding Scar began to rise. He heard a distant sound. Cicadas
in high summer, a ceaseless drone filling his skull. The buzzing became
louder, ferocious. Coming from all sides, cresting, rising. It became
lower. Pounding. The sound of a thousand drumming hoof beats in the dust.
He felt the air becoming close. Hot. He felt like he was tumbling in empty
space. There was a terrible squeezing in his chest. The drumming became
louder still. Squeezing, the air sucked from his lungs. He couldn't
breathe! The air became thick, like mud. He was choking! It felt as if the
life was being squeezed from him. He was dying! He couldn't speak! His mind
screamed.............then.
                                           Light.
           White, hot, blinding light. He felt himself covered by something
wet and he was terribly cold. Something rough ran across his fur, with a
gasp he took in air. It hit his lungs like a keen slap. He didn't know how
he knew, but he knew he was covered in birth blood. Blinking, he looked
around. A stone floor, jagged stone walls, he was in a cave! Then he heard
a deep booming voice from above. "He is so small."
Another voice, this one lighter and calming, came. "Please Ahadi, he is my
cub also." The booming voice came again, this time full of derision. "He
will take away milk from the stronger cub." The calming voice returned,
pleading. "No he won't. Please Ahadi, it is such a small litter. He will
not interfere with the other cub, I swear it."
        After a short pause the large voice returned. "Very well, for you
he may live. But mark my words, he will grow to be a useless eater, a
burden." The roughness returned to wash over him again. He turned his head
and looked up into a face filled with great love and at the same time great
sorrow. He himself was filled with a terrible sadness. Ahadi, his father,
did not want him to live! He had wanted to kill him at birth! He grieved
for the cub whose father had not wanted him. Something warm pushed up
against him. His mouth flooded with warm, sweet milk. Again he looked up at
the kind face above him. Mother and cub locked eyes and shared a moment of
knowing. She smiled at him. "My little cub, I've always been here for you.
You forgot me, but I've always been with you, watching."  Scar felt the
love radiating from his mother. A boundless well of compassion and
understanding. He held fast to it. Then pulled his eyes away.
          When he looked back up he was no longer an infant, but a young
cub. He was standing at the pinnacle of Pride Rock. "Hey Taka, want to
play?" It was Mufasa, a sturdy young cub himself, full of business and
adored by all. He bounded up to him, tail wagging in a kittenish invitation
to play. Words formed in Scar's mouth without thought. "Not now Mufasa. I
want to stay here and look at the land. Just think." Mufasa pouted. "You
never want to play." A voice came from behind, Scar did not need to turn
his head to know who it was. Ahadi. "Leave your brother alone Mufasa. Come
on, I'll tale you to the waterhole to catch frogs, how does that sound?"
Mufasa leapt to his father's side. "Great! Will you teach me how to pounce
too?" Ahadi laughed. "Anything. I'd do anything for you Mufasa." They went
off together. Scar could hear them talking excitedly, laughing. "He never
said a word to me, he thought, never wasted time on me."
            He felt a cold, hard knot of bitterness well up inside of him.
At that moment he hated his father. He wished he could jump on him, tear
him to shreds. Call him names, kill him. No! This was wrong! A cub should
never wish his father dead! He shook his head as if to dislodge the
distasteful thought from his mind.
        He stopped. He was back at the waterhole. He sighed with relief. He
would get that old baboon for putting him through this! He looked around
for him. He was nowhere in sight. Scar felt a sudden wrongness. Then a dark
figure stepped forward. It was Ahadi! It was impossible! He was long since
dead. He couldn't be here. The looming figure before him spoke. "You want
to kill me, Taka?" It moved closer. It was his father, there was no
mistaking that stern face. "N,No father, he stammered, I don't" Ahadi
laughed, it as a cold sound. "Come on you weakling. I know you. You've
always hated me." Scar backed away. "You're not real!" He said. The huge
lion rushed forward and smacked against him, hard enough to knock him to
the ground. "How did that feel coward? Real enough for you?"
       Lying on the ground Scar felt all of his past resentment boil up
inside him. He looked again at the huge beast. It was smiling at him
smugly. Scar rose to his feet. "I hate you." He snarled between bared
teeth. Ahadi moved closer, he could feel his hot breath on his whiskers.
"Come on now, his father spat, say." Scar moved closer to the apparition.
Rage swelled in him. "Yes father, I do hate you. You never wanted me! Never
cared a bit for me! If it weren't for mother I'd be dead right now!" He was
growling now, the fierce noise rising in waves from his chest.
        "You're right Taka, Ahadi circled him, you should be dead right
now. You useless bag of bones! Come on Taka, kill me."  Scar crouched low.
"Oh yes father, I will kill you. I've waited many years for this." He
roared. It was a thunderous sound, it echoed across the land. Ahadi jeered,
"Come on weakling, do it now." Scar tensed his haunches. "NOW!" Ahadi
bellowed. Scar leapt. He hit Ahadi squarely in the chest, throwing him on
his back. His throat was exposed. With snakelike speed, Scar buried his
fangs into that vulnerable flesh. Hot blood poured into his mouth. He
twisted his head upwards and tore. The blood flowed in rivers from Ahadi.
The great lion shuddered, then lay still. "You're DEAD!" Scar roared into
the night sky. "A useless lump of flesh! It's over! You're gone!" He let
out a massive roar as he stood over his father's lifeless body. Peace
overcame him. All the hate he had held for his father disappeared. It was
done. Gone.
            Then the waterhole way gone as well. He found himself in a new
place. Here were no grasses, no trees, just miles of sand. A lifeless
desert stretching endlessly into the distance. No living creature had ever
been here, it was a place of great sorrow and death. "Where am I?" He said
aloud. A reply came from above. "You are in the place of atonement Taka."
That voice! It was Mufasa! "Brother, where are you?" He said scanning the
land looking for him. "I am everywhere Taka, trust me I am here." Guilt
flooded Scar's senses.  He knew his brother had never wished him any harm.
Mufasa could not have helped how things had turned out. Yet, he had taken
him away from the mate and cub he had loved so much.
           "Why did you kill me Taka?" It was not an accusation, just a
simple question. Scar fell to his forelegs. "Mufasa, I am so sorry. I was
selfish, greedy and arrogant. I thought killing you would give me
everything I wanted. I was a fool.  I hated that you had what I wanted.  I
let that hate consume me. I know it was not your fault. Please brother,
forgive my foolishness."
             "I forgive you brother." Scar felt a presence at his side, he
looked. Mufasa was there. He put a paw on Scar's shoulder. "You must change
yourself Taka. This path is over. Find a new one." For me." Scar looked
into his brother's eyes. "Yes, I will. Your cub is doing well. I will not
interfere. Thank you brother." A weight had lifted from his heart. "I must
go, Mufasa said, our time is done here. Do well Taka."
              The vision of his brother began to fade. Mufasa was soon gone
and with him went the overwhelming guilt. "Thank you brother, Scar
whispered, rest well."
             "Well, well, a shadow appeared from nowhere, going off to join
the great Circle of Life are we?" The shadow was lean and sleek. "I thought
you were smarter than that." Scar peered into the darkness trying to make
out the form which was sidling up to him. "Who are you?" Fear was in his
voice. Something was very wrong here. The shadow came forward, revealing
itself. He couldn't believe his eyes. It was him. Only larger, darker, more
fierce looking. It grinned sardonically. "Surprised? Don't be. I've been
with you all along. Although I must say I'm disappointed in you. I thought
you would listen to me. Ah well, live and learn."
               Now Scar knew who this was. It was hate and bitterness. It
held the rank scent of broken promises and greed. It was all fear and
loathing. It was everything that had made his life miserable and it wasn't
leaving without a fight. The shadow beast circled him, stalking. "I don't
need you." He said The beast chuckled cynically, "Oh no? Dear friend
without me you'd be worm fodder by now. I would say you do need me, more
than you know." It moved  in closer now. He could smell it. It was the
scent of old death, of rotting meat left in the midday sun. It continued,
"Now you want me to leave. After all the help I've given you. All the times
I kept you from falling apart when the  others rejected you. I'm very
disappointed in you." It now stood nose to nose with him. Scar shuddered,
for he could see himself in the oily creature before him. Had he really
been like this? This hateful? Shame crept through him. "That's over with,
he said, I'm different now." The beast broke out in gales of laughter. "Oh
it's a miracle! What a wondrous transformation! Indeed, I'm very impressed,
it mocked, Come now, Scar it's not that easy."
                 That name! That detestable name! Scar. It embodied
everything that the shadow beast was. All his negative feelings were
bundled up in that hated name. He found his tongue. "I am Taka, that other
name is your and yours alone." The beast smirked. "I am Taka, it jeered,
you are truly a fool. Frankly, I'm embarrassed to be part of you. In fact,
I believe I'll take over from here." It reared up and cuffed Scar across
the face. It was a hard blow, but Scar moved not a muscle. "You've consumed
me for most of my life, he growled, eaten away at my being. Nestled
yourself in my brain and tore away all that was god in me. My life is in
ruins because of you."
                  The beast lashed it's tail. "You loved every minute of
it, make no mistake of that friend." It was snarling now, showing teeth as
black as onyx. Scar remained nonplused. "Maybe so, yes you're right, he
said softly, I did welcome you. I let you consume me. But now "friend" it's
your turn." It snorted, looking smug and arrogant. "Whatever do you mean?
I...." It never had the chance to finish. It found itself knocked to the
ground, pinned to the sandy soil. "Oh yes, my friend, Scar hissed, it's
your turn." With that he found the beasts left forelimb and bit down with
all hi strength. The flesh fell away, crumbling like so much dust. The
horrible creature screamed. "Stop this! You're killing yourself!" He found
the right foreleg. Chomp! It broke to bits. "No I'm killing you, so I may
live!" Again he buried his fangs into the fetid flesh. It was terrible. The
taste of rot and sickness. the screams continued. It was the sound of all
the pain he had carried and all the pain he had given. It writhed and
thrashed, desperately trying to gain purchase on the sandy ground. Scar
pushed his full weight onto the beast. "Now, now, he scolded, mother told
us to finish all our meals."
                  Again and again he tore into the screaming beast. In a
few moments all that remained was the head. He stopped and looked into the
angry eyes of the creature. There, there was the beast who could kill his
own brother. The animal of despair and hate. It spoke in a gentle and
cajoling whisper. "It's not too late to turn back." Scar regarded it for a
brief moment. He grinned. "Goodbye." Then he buried his teeth into the
monster's face. Dust poured from his mouth, got caught on the wind, then
was gone.
                He looked into the night sky. His body felt different,
lighter. Sudden joy poured into him. He began to run through the darkened
sand, leaping and gamboling like a creature gone mad. It was gone. He was
Taka!  "My cub, a sweet voice filled his ears, you have done very well."
His mother stood before him, a smile graced her lovely face. He ran to her.
"Mother, you're here." She nodded. "As I've always been." She nuzzled his
cheek. "My bright, beautiful cub, all has been forgotten. All is done. Now
let me finish what you have begun." She reached out and began to wash the
scar above his eye. He felt a slight prickling sensation where she lay her
tongue. "It is done now, she smiled at him warmly, you are Taka. Don't ever
forget who you are." Taka felt his eyes fill with tears. "Never."
                    She gestured to the west. "There Taka, in the direction
of the setting sun lies your destiny. The path lies clear now. To the West
you will find the peace so long withheld. Go now. Find your place." She
backed away from him. Breaking up, fading. "Goodbye mother, and thank you."
She was gone. The West. He must find his place in the West. His head began
to feel fuzzy. His eyesight was fading. What was happening now? He only had
a moment to wonder. He teetered. Then fell unconscious to the ground.

                                      "Reclamation"

                He felt someone shaking him. He tried to open his eyes but
it hurt. His head pounded. "Come on, get up." Someone was trying to lift
him to his feet. He mewled in protest. "Leave me be, his voice rasped, ooh,
my head!" He heard a laugh. Rafiki! He was back. "Everything comes with a
price, Rafiki said, even a Cleansing, Come on, to your feet." Again he felt
the old baboon pulling at him. This time he capitulated. Standing was
difficult. The world spun crazily in front of his eyes. Something was being
pushed into his mouth. He clenched his teeth. He wasn't quite ready for
another journey. "Take it, Rafiki insisted, it will help with the
dizziness." He opened his mouth, something bitter was put in his tongue.
"Now swallow, you'll feel better in a few moments." He swallowed the
bitterness. Slowly the world came to a halt. His vision cleared. It was
still dark. time had hardly seemed to move since he had left. "How
long...?"  His throat was raw. "Have I been gone long?" Rafiki shook his
head. "not long at all, come over to the water when you feel ready. There
is something you should see."
                Although the world had thankfully stopped spinning, Taka's
head felt heavy as a log. the experiences of the past night had left him
weak and overwrought. He looked up from the grass. Rafiki was gesturing
wildly for him to join him and the water's edge. He heaved a long  sigh.
Very well. He groggily rose to his feet. Stumbling he shuffled to where the
old baboon stood. "What is it that can't wait?, he could barely contain the
annoyance in his voice, You find a strange frog or something?" Rafiki
cackled with laughter. Taka winced, the sound was like sharp stones
piercing his brain. "Please, softly." He whined. Rafiki patted him on the
shoulder. "I know how that feels, but you must look in the water, you will
like what you see." 
                  Slowly Taka peered into the still pool, half afraid of
what he would see there. At first he didn't notice anything different, but
then. It was gone. The large pink scar which had been with him for so many
years was gone! He stared at his reflection saying nothing. It was
incredible!  The horrible mark that had marred him with that ugly name was
gone with out a trace. He reached his paw to the area as if to convince
himself that what he was seeing was real. He turned to Rafiki who stood at
his side smiling. "How can this be? The scar.." He was unable to finish,
his voice cracked as a lump of emotion rose to his throat. 
          "It is a sign, Rafiki whispered, Your Cleansing is complete. The
path is clear to you now. You must follow your destiny Taka. You are Scar
no more. You are whole." Taka looked at the baboon. This creature, this 
animal he had so distrusted and envied had saved him. Changed the course of
his life completely. Taka reached out and pulled Rafiki close. The two
embraced. "Thank you Rafiki, said Taka, I can never repay you for all that
you've done for me." Rafiki looked into Taka's eyes. "You can my friend, by
following your destiny and by never forgetting what you have learned here.
You are a special creature Taka. Use your unique gifts. Don't squander
them.  In that way you will repay me in full."
             The sun was beginning to rise over the savanna. "To the West."
Taka whispered. Rafiki nodded. "There you must go. Good luck on your
journey Taka." Taka nodded back. "Goodbye Rafiki, I'm off to seek whatever
lies for me over those hills." Without another word he began to trot away.
Rafiki watched as the lion faded into the distance. "You are a very
interesting lion, he thought, you shall have many adventures."
    
                                          End

Margaret Petrie http://www.erols.com//sollaris/