Sarabi by Eva Janus

Sarabi woke up in the early hours of the morning. She had missed seeing
the land fertile, but now, with Simba at the throne, it would go back to
normal! She loved the land and it^Òs beauty. She loved her son, Simba,
very much, but.... something was missing.....

Later in the morning, she was out walking when she realized what she was
missing..... or who.....

"Mufasa..." she said quietly.

She lifted her head to look at the sky. It was daytime. She wouldn^Òt be
able to see Mufasa right now. She hung her head once more and walked on.

That afternoon, Sarabi barely made it home. Once she did, she collapsed
to the ground.

"Mother!" cried Simba.

He ran over to her and helped her inside the cave. Nala and the other
lionesses came to see what had happened.

"I don^Òt feel too good right now...." moaned Sarabi.

"It^Òs OK Mom," said Simba gently. "We^Òll take care of you."

Sarabi smiled and went to sleep.

When she woke up later, Sarabi was numb all over. You could stab her in
the side and she wouldn^Òt feel it! She opened her eyes and immediately
felt her stomach rumble.

"You sound hungry." said Nala who was nearby.

"Me?" said Sarabi. "Oh, no.... I^Òm not hungry. It^Òs just.... my
stomach.... doesn^Òt feel too good...."

Sarabi suddenly felt it coming. Her eyes flied open and she pushed
herself outside the den, into the grass. She hit the ground and threw up.
She fell down and rolled up against Pride Rock on her back. A rush of
wind blew past her. She inhaled as much of the fresh air as she could.

Simba came running down Pride Rock to see what happened. He looked at the
vomit, then to his mother.

"We need to get you to Rafiki!" he said.

Rafiki actually came to them, but.... anyway.... He gave Sarabi some
medicine, but it made her more sick.

As the days passed, Sarabi^Òs eyelids turned purple and she started
looking pale. Simba became more and more worried for his mother. She
became very weak one day and was having stomach and lung trouble. There
was nothing they could do, but watch and pray.

That night, Sarabi managed to reach the water-hole on her own. She looked
at her reflection: not the same beauty as before, yet the same
radiance.... She managed a weary smile.

"Mom?" said a voice.

"Simba..." answered Sarabi.

"What are you doing out here? You should be at home, resting."

Sarabi looked up and closed her eyes.

"Yes, I know...."

"So, come on. Let^Òs go."

"I can^Òt go Simba."

Simba turned around and stared at his mother for a moment.

"Why not?" he asked quietly.

"Because, I must go to see your father."

Simba looked at Sarabi in disbelief as she turned around to face Simba.
There was a moment of silence.

"You know what I must do then?" said Sarabi with tears in her eyes.

Simba returned the tears, "Yes.... but why?"

"Look at me.... I can^Òt survive much longer... Why stay here and suffer,
when I could leave early and be with Mufasa?"

Simba paused, tears rolling down his face.

"I^Òll miss you."

"Good-bye son....." said Sarabi.

She looked upon her son one last time before jumping over a cliff nearby.

Simba sniffed and managed to smile.

"Take care of Mother, OK Dad?" he said.

He walked back to Pride Rock and laid down next to Nala. She lifted her
head to look around.

"Where did Sarabi go?" she asked.

Simba smiled and said, "Oh, she just went to see Mufasa....."