Mabatu left the group and headed off into the trees. He rounded the other side of a small kopje and collapsed.
With his cheek pressed to the earth, he reached out with his forelegs and extended his claws, digging them deeply into the grass and pulling back to plow furrows in the grass. "Kako!! God, why didn't you take me instead?? Why, why??"
His stomach knotted, and tears flooded his eyes. "I must stay in control," he stammered. He raised his head up and pulled up into a crouch, then tried to stand. He bit his lip to keep from crying, but couldn't. "I'm in control. I can do this!"
He raised up on his forepaws, then crumbled to the earth, rolling on his side and curling into a ball of misery, sobbing. "I must stay in control," he hissed through clenched teeth. "I must!"
For many moments he lay there and shuddered, too weak to move. Then with a supreme effort, Mabatu actually struggled to his feet. He turned about and started to head back home. His legs trembled so badly he could hardly control them, and his joints were weak. "I can't let Baba find out," he said. “He must never know.”
His stomach hurt, and tears streamed down his cheeks. He took a couple of steps, then collapsed again and lay helplessly as his body was wracked with powerful sobs that with passing minutes died down to a soft, plaintive utterance like the cries of an infant cub separated from its mother.
"Why, Aiheu?" he whimpered. "Why did you take her from me? Didn't you think I could be trusted?" He rolled on his back. "I was weak for a moment, but I overcame it! I could have withstood temptation!” He covered his eyes with his paws. “Help me! You have to help me! If you still love me, give me strength to go on!"
Just then, Umande breasted the wall of grass and shrubs. She smelled the fresh earth and saw the look on his face. "Oh Dad!" She wept and nuzzled him. "Daddy, I love you so much! So much!"
He pawed her face and kissed her. “My little Mandy! You don’t remember your Mom too well, but honey tree, she loved you with her whole heart! She used to call you Mimo.”
“I remember. Just this morning she called me Mimo, right before we went....” She broke down and wept. “This morning she was so alive! So warm and alive!”
“I know!” Mabatu rubbed his head against her cheek, but then he started. “Are you alone??"
"Yes. I was not followed." She came and laid her head in his soft mane and pawing him desperately. "I couldn't stand it anymore. How can I call Mother my friend?? She was so much more than that! She has to be mourned properly--we can't let her Ka slip away like that."
"You're right, you know." Mabatu looked about and kissed Mandy gently. "Let's do it right. Baba will think I'm proclaiming the border if we’re careful."
Mabatu and Umande got up and climbed to the top of the rock. They waited for Baba's roar of grief, and they picked that moment to answer. "I love you, Mother!" Mandy cried.
"Beloved, my heart is dead!" Mabatu shouted. Tears coursed down his cheeks and he drew in a deep breath, releasing it in a loud, long roar. Umande raised her nose to the sky and joined him. The foundations of heaven were shaken, and the sound of their pain echoed off the distant hills in a hundred eerie permutations.
When the sound finally died down, Mabatu kissed Umande. "Well, Mandy, let's go mark the boundaries. I think I'll need someone to lean on."
"Are you sure you can make it?"
"I have to make it. She died with such courage, surely I can find the strength to pee on a shrub." His voice had renewed strength, but a tear still managed to escape and roll down his cheek. "Honey Tree, I've made some sacrifices for my children, but they were paid back many times over. You are such a comfort to me. I love you."
"I love you too, Dad."