The Lion King In The Human World Part 3

Rani Has Yet To Leave Africa.

RANI

The next two days were fairly normal, I think. I don't know what's normal for this village, but there was no landlord coming in or strange cousins from another country showing up. Amahle, Aba, Grandfather, and African Grandmother showed me all of the fields, flocks, pastures, and the rocky formation far off in the distance. That was part of a nature reserve, so that was as much as I was going to see unless I pay for a tour.

Then a lion came to town. 

It was the middle of the afternoon when Amahle came running into the village. She and her mother had gone for water and she returned without water jars or Aba. "A lion!" she cried, "It jumped out from nowhere and pounced on Mother." Amahle shook with fear. "She told me to run and I did. I don't know what happened to her!"

I ran to pull her into my arms. Poor Amahle sobbed, but I don't blame her. A lion attacked her mother, do lions normally attack people?

Grandfather went into his hut and came out with a hunting gun and a pistol. "Men!" he shouted, "We must look for Aba. Get your weapons. Rani," He forced the pistol into my hands, "Keep an eye out for the lion. If it comes here, shoot it."

I gulped. "Isn't there like a law or something about hunting lions?" I asked, hopeful that there was something like that because I've never used a gun of any kind before and didn't want to.

Grandfather cocked his gun. "Not if the lion is this close to a human village," he said, "This close to people, all laws protecting lions don't exist."

So Grandfather and most of the men left, leaving a few younger men in the village armed at the ready and me, with a crying Amahle in my arms and a pistol in my hand.

A FEW HOURS LATER

When you know there's a lion out there somewhere and so many men have gone to kill it, time seems to crawl by. Amahle had calmed down now and was just staring into the fire. She refused to go inside until her mother came back. No one really has the heart to tell her that Aba is most likely lion chow. Since the men left behind were patrolling the outside of the village, as the only woman with a gun, I was left outside with her for safety. 

I slapped another bug away. The bug spray I used wasn't working, at least African Grandmother had a lotion for that. I sat next to Amahle, at a lost for what to say. I sighed. "How are you doing?" I asked.

"I want Mother," was her answer. That was also her answer to if she was hungry, or thirsty, or if the bugs were bothering her. I believe this would be a lot for her. Do lion attacks happen in Africa a lot? Maybe less than it used to happen? I don't know and I don't think I even want to know how often lions attack people.

This lion has ruined the zoo for me.

Then I heard something by one of the huts. I looked to the shadows, something moved. I instantly thought it was the lion! But it couldn't be the lion, it would be shot before it got in the village. Maybe some other animal? Yeah, it has to be another animal!

"Stay here," I told Amahle. I grabbed the pistol and walked towards the shadows. I held the black pistol in front of me. I'm pretty sure I just cock the thing and pull the other thing to shoot it, if I have too.

My lungs drew shaky breaths, my hands shook, my heart pounded. Would a lion play with its food like a house cat or just eat me? No! I shouldn't think about that. It's a duck! It's just a duck! Just a little duck named. . .Tape! That's the only duck name I can think of. Tape is just in the shadows and scaring me. It's just Tape, just Tape.

Yellow eyes stared at me from the shadows. I don't think ducks have yellow eyes. I pulled the thing.

BANG!

A roar followed the bang. Ducks defiantly don't roar. I screamed. It wasn't Tape, it was the lion!

"Easy," I said to the lion, "Easy. I don't want to hurt you, even though I already did."

The lion stumbled into the firelight. Amahle screamed in fear at the lion. I could see the bullet hole, right between its eyes. I threw the pistol at it and it fell.

Amahle and I stared at the lion, it didn't move, we didn't move, the people who peered out from their houses didn't move. Then I took a risk, grabbed a stick, and poked the lion. Nothing. I threw the stick at it. Still nothing. Then I gathered my nerves and touched it, running back as soon as I felt fur. The lion still didn't move. I gathered my nerves again and touched it again, this time for longer. I looked into its face. The eyes were open, but they were glassy and blank. Didn't blink. I put my hand in front of its nose, no breath.

I just killed a lion.

I killed a lion!

I don't know whether to be happy, to freak out, to call for help, or to be horrific that I killed something. 

Then I saw the lion's left front paw, a small scrap of fabric was wedged between its claws. I lifted the heavy paw and pulled the scrap out. I looked carefully at the fabric. I recognized that fabric. Aba had showed me how she wrapped her hair up in a scarf, a scarf that was this exact tribal pattern. I gulped. Amahle cannot see this.

Why?

There's dried blood on the corner and I think that I have a pretty good idea whose blood it is. My hands shook. Why haven't any men come to help? Did they not hear the bang and the roar? What is wrong with those men? I had to kill the lion!

O.M.T! I killed a lion. I made up my mind, I freaked out.