Baba was anxious to hear news of his matchmaking game, but his mother's polite smile prepared him for disappointment. “It was interesting,” she said. “Things just didn’t work out. I felt guilty, like I was about to cheat on my husband, and he felt like he was sneaking out on his wife. In the end, we just sat and talked politely. He’s a good friend, and I’m glad I got to know him better, but neither one of us had nerve to go make love."
King Mabatu passed by. “Hello Baba. Good morning, Kako.”
“Good morning to you too,” she said. “I trust you slept well?”
“Yes, thank you.” He glanced at her longingly and trembled. “I enjoyed our little chat last night.”
“So did I,” she said, following the curves of his mane and the build of his shoulders with her eyes. She had to look away. Baba did not know what to look for, or he would have seen much that morning.
Listless and somewhat detached from the rest of the world, Kako went through the motions of her morning routine, taking a long cool drink from the stream, grooming her face and neck with a paw, and settling down for a nap with the Pride Sisters. Only her eyes rarely closed, and during a brief bout with sleep, she twitched and moaned a great deal, waking with a start and crying, “I can't!”
Mabatu fared little better. Baba saw him perched on a kopje, watching the goings on of the savanna with a sullen, withdrawn air. He climbed up and sat next to his father. “What’s wrong, Dad? Are you feeling sick?
“No, son. I was just thinking.”
“About what?”
“About you. How much I loved you, and how much I’d give up for you. You do love me too, don’t you?”
“For shame!” Baba buried his head in the old king’s mane and purred affectionately. “Of course I love you! I owe you my very life!”
Mabatu leaned on him. “Son, those words carry a bitter irony you can’t understand now. But someday you will.”
“What does that mean?”
Mabatu pawed his shoulder. “You have a son now. Bringing him into the world was one of life’s sweetest pleasures, but raising him is one of life’s hardest responsibilities. Look around at these faces. On the surface, they appear to be looking in every direction. But deep down inside they are all looking to me for protection and guidance. And someday they will all be looking to you. You see, son, there’s only one difference between you and a rogue lion.”
“What’s that?”
“A rogue lion has nothing to lose. Always remember that.” He laughed bitterly. “Listen to the old lion going on. I’m rambling and not making any sense.”
“I think you make lots of sense,” Baba said. “I never knew my real father, but I don’t feel so bad about it now.” He rested his head on Mabatu. “What did I do to deserve all this?”
The king purred. “You made an old lion feel much better. That is enough.”
That evening, Kako tried to lose herself in the hunt. But she does not concentrate well. One of her daughters said, “How do you stand it? I mean, you’re in your season--you and him together alone!”
“This is one subject not to mention in front of Baba or Isha. Is that understood?”
“Sure, Mom. But you were taking a big risk last night being alone with Dad. It’s clear to all of us that you still love him.”
“I kept my head about me. Nothing happened.”
“Oh? Really? You weren’t even tempted for a moment?”
“My son lives, doesn’t he? My love for your father is strong, but my mother love is even stronger. God bless him, Baba was trying to fix me up with a date. He doesn’t know, and he must never know why your Dad and I are not together.”
“I think it’s a shame to give up so much and not be able to tell him.”
“I think it would be a worse shame to have him feel guilty.”
“True, true," the others said.
Kako sounded in control and very rational, but she could barely concentrate on the task at hand and she was very forgetful. Umande watched her in anguish as she strove to act normal with the turmoil she felt inside.
Kako taught them Uzuri’s crescent formation, and they decided to use it. She took up her old post on the left point, but gave the pre-arranged signals with her ears that guided the others unfailingly through the steps of the predatory ballet.
Wildebeests had congregated on the meadow near the termite mounds. The splashing of water in the creek was a perfect cover for the delicate leonine tread that brought the huntresses ever closer.
Most of the young calves were in the center of the herd protected by a wall of formidable adults. But one young mother let her inexperience show, and she was at the rim of the herd with her calf. “Aiheu abamami,” Kako silently mouthed. “Aiheu provides.”
Her ears flicked forward. At once, several lionesses plunged from the surrounding grass. The Wildebeests cried out in alarm, taking flight. The central column of huntresses drove the well-ordered herd into two bodies that fled in opposite directions. Shennanii tore into the right company, grabbing hold of a large bull by the shoulder, climbing on his back and slowing him just enough for others to seize his flanks, stomach and lower back. He fell into their deadly embrace as Shennanii closed on his throat.
Kako strode swiftly after the screaming calf, cutting it off from the rest of the herd. She bounded ever closer and readied herself to aim a blow at its shoulder that would make it hers. Then out of the corner of her eye she saw the cow approaching, horns lowered.
Umande heard a lioness scream. Galvanized, she broke off her pursuit of a calf and searched frantically for the source. Lying in the grass trembling was a golden body smeared with its own red blood. Trembling, she drew close.
“Momma!! Oh gods!!”
Wide-eyed, Kako reached for her with her one good arm. “Mandy, go get Mabatu! Quick!”
“Momma!!”
“Go, honey tree! Run! Get Mabatu!”
Umande, sobbing, ran screaming past her pride sisters. “Kako’s dying!! Get Mabatu!!”
“Which one??”
“Both of them!”
Umande and Shennanii rushed back to the Pride Kopje and saw Mabatu and Baba going over some star lore and laughing, blissfully unaware of the tragedy unfolding near the termite mounds.
“Come quick!” Mandy shouted. “It’s Kako! Hurry!”
Mabatu and Baba tore across the grassland. The peaceful stars were beginning to come out, and a hush was settling across the land. Crickets serenaded the newborn moon and a distant hyena was heard serenading his lady love. With maddening consistency, the flow of life did not pause even for a minute as Kako lay gasping in a pool of her own blood.
Mabatu drew near and shuddered. She started to say something to him, but she looked over and saw Baba. "Be strong. Remember the promise."
“Even now?”
“Even now.”
"You were a good friend to me."
"So long, my king.”
"Yes, my friend. So long."
Baba drew near. Tears streamed down his cheeks. “Oh Momma!”
“My little boy! Oh, but you’re not little anymore, my handsome lion. Be good to Isha.”
Isha fell to the ground and wailed in anguish. Habusu and Lisani huddled next to her and sobbed.
“Don’t die! Please don’t die!” Baba lay his head against her side like a helpless cub. “Oh gods, I can't lose you, I just can't! Get up, Momma! I’ll take you to the shaman! Get up, Momma! Please!"
Mabatu touches his mane softly with a paw. "Nothing can stop it now. Don't spoil her last moments with you."
Baba looked into his mother's eyes. "I love you, Mom! You hear me? I love you."
She managed a weak smile. "You have no idea how much I love you," she said. Her eyes looked over at Mabatu, then closed.
The lionesses sat about stunned. Mabatu got up stiffly and nudged his Prince. "Baba, you lead the roar. She was your mother. I have to go patrol the border now."
"Right now?"
"Yes. I'm sorry." He stroked Baba’s mane. “I remember when my mother died. I know what you’re feeling my son.”