1
Hey. I'm Simba. I'm sitting here, remeniscing about falling in love with Nala. She was so beautiful. I remember tumbling down that hill with her. It was like we were cubs again. I was so happy lying there, and then she took me totally by surprise. She wrapped her paws around my neck, pulled me close, and licked me on the cheek. Then, she leaned back and gave me that smooth, seductive smile that pierced my heart. In that moment, she made all of my crooked straight. In that moment, I had the will to go back and be the best king that Pride Rock had ever seen. We nuzzled for hours after that, playfully licking while we watched the stars. After a while, Nala broke the exhilerating silence
"Simba, I want to tell you something. I remember when we were cubs, and Zazu told us that we were to be married. I know, I played it out like it would be too weird to marry you, but the truth is... I love you Simba, with all my heart. When I thought you died, I didn't want to live anymore. I tried to concentrate on hunting, running, helping the other lionesses deal with Scar, anything to take my mind off of you. It didn't work. I had dreams about you, dreams that you would just come trotting into the den without a care in the world, and we would play together for hours. Then I woke up, only to be disappointed by reality again. But something in the back of my head kept telling me, 'Simba's out there, alive, somewhere. Simba... oh Simba I love you so much." She nuzzled her head under mine and she shed a tear. Then, it was my turn to speak.
"Nala... since I left, I've never stopped thinking about you. Nala, you are my everything. I felt it, but I didn't know it when we were cubs, but... I love you too." I wanted to stay in that moment for all time. I led her to my special spot. The spot with my hammock. Nala tried again to persuade me to come back. It quickly escalated into an argument.
"You sound a lot like my father."
"Good. At least one of us does." Then I got angry.
"You think you can just show up and tell me how to live my life?! You don't even know what I've been through!"
"I would if you'd just tell me!"
"Forget it!"
"Fine!" She had the last word. I was such an idiot to her. It's just so hard to talk about it, though. How would she react if I told her that my father died because of me? What would my mother think? What would everyone think? Everything was a blur. I was running to I don't know where. This creepy monkey started to follow me. There was something strangely familiar about him. He kept following me, saying this weird chant.
"Come on, will you cut it out."
"Can't cut it out. It'll grow right back," he laughed.
"Creepy little monkey. Will you stop following me? Who are you?
"Ah, the question is: who are you?"
"I thought I knew. Now I'm not so sure."
"Well, I know who you are. Come here, it's a secret." He whispered in my ear, getting louder as he went along. "Asante sana, squish banana, we we nugu, mi mi apana!
"Enough already! What's that supposed to mean, anyway?"
"It means you are a baboon-- and I am not," he said, laughing, obviously thrilled by his own joke." At this point, I was a little weirded out.
"I think you're a little confused."
"Wrong! I am not the one who is confused... you don't even know who you are!" He said joking, while still in a matter-of-fact tone.
"And I suppose you do?" I replied sarcastically, not expecting a response.
"Sure do," he said. "You're Mufasa's boy." I was stunned. I turned around to ask him how he knew. He looked at me and said, "Bye!" He took off with lightning speed.
I called behind him, "Hey, wait!" When I caught up with him, he was sitting in a weird position on a rock. "You knew my father?"
"Correction: I know your father," he said in a monotone voice.
"I hate to tell you this, but... he... died... a long time ago."
"Nope. Wrong again! Hah hah hah! He's alive-- and I'll show him to you. You follow old Rafiki; he knows the way. Come on!" He sprinted through the woods like he had done this a thousand times before. "Don't dawdle... hurry up!" I heard him calling. I was running through the woods, ducking under logs, ripping through the thorn bushes. Suddenly, his hand shot out. "Stop! Shhhhhhhh," he whispered. "Look down there." I looked, and I saw a a small pond with very clear water. With the moonlight shining behind me, I looked, and saw only myself.
"That's not my father. It's only my reflection."
"No... look harder," Rafiki calmly whispered and calmly brought his finger to point just above the water. I looked again, and this time, I focused. A little bit harder, a little bit harder and then, the ripples made themselves a distinct form. I was sure I was seeing things. My father was staring back at me with that rock hard glance, that regal posture. The royalty of his glance made me feel so small... like I was a cub again. "You see, he lives in you." Just then, it looked like a storm was coming. The clouds were moving in very rapidly. They started to take the shape of... a lion? Yes, it was a lion. The lion then spoke to me in the familiar, deep voice that I always knew to be my father's.
"Simba."
"Father?"
"Simba, you have forgotten me." I was shocked.
"No... how could I?"
"You have forgotten yourself, and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the Circle of Life."
"How can I go back? I'm not who I used to be."
"Remember who you are. You are my son, and the one true king." His image in the clouds started to fade away. "Remember..." His last word echoed as I begged and pleaded with him not to go. The clouds were soon gone, and I was alone once again. Or so I thought.
"What was that? The weather, "the monkey scoffed "very peculiar, don't you think?"
"Yeah, it looks like the winds are changing."
"Aah, yes. Change is good."
"Yeah, but it's not easy." I was arguing, making inferences with myself, and then I felt something literally knock me out of my personal argument. Turns out, the monkey had cracked me over the head with his stick.
"Oww! Jeez! What was that for?!"
"It doesn't matter! It's in the past," the monkey laughed.
"Yeah, but it still hurts."
"Ah, yes, the past can hurt, but the way I see, you can either run from it, or learn from it." The monkey swung his stick again. This time, I ducked. "Hah, you see? Now what are you going to do?"
"First," I said, as I thought a sly idea, "I'm gonna take your stick." I grabbed the stick in my teeth and tossed it to the side.
"No no no no! Not the stick!" Rafiki shouted as I threw it. I bounded off, knowing my true task and what I had to do. "Hey! Where are you going?"
"I'm going back!" I shouted, not looking back at Rafiki.
"Good! Go on! Get out of here!" I heard the monkey whooping, howling and laughing behind me. Nala, I need your help...
Hey. I'm Simba. I'm sitting here, remeniscing about falling in love with Nala. She was so beautiful. I remember tumbling down that hill with her. It was like we were cubs again. I was so happy lying there, and then she took me totally by surprise. She wrapped her paws around my neck, pulled me close, and licked me on the cheek. Then, she leaned back and gave me that smooth, seductive smile that pierced my heart. In that moment, she made all of my crooked straight. In that moment, I had the will to go back and be the best king that Pride Rock had ever seen. We nuzzled for hours after that, playfully licking while we watched the stars. After a while, Nala broke the exhilerating silence
"Simba, I want to tell you something. I remember when we were cubs, and Zazu told us that we were to be married. I know, I played it out like it would be too weird to marry you, but the truth is... I love you Simba, with all my heart. When I thought you died, I didn't want to live anymore. I tried to concentrate on hunting, running, helping the other lionesses deal with Scar, anything to take my mind off of you. It didn't work. I had dreams about you, dreams that you would just come trotting into the den without a care in the world, and we would play together for hours. Then I woke up, only to be disappointed by reality again. But something in the back of my head kept telling me, 'Simba's out there, alive, somewhere. Simba... oh Simba I love you so much." She nuzzled her head under mine and she shed a tear. Then, it was my turn to speak.
"Nala... since I left, I've never stopped thinking about you. Nala, you are my everything. I felt it, but I didn't know it when we were cubs, but... I love you too." I wanted to stay in that moment for all time. I led her to my special spot. The spot with my hammock. Nala tried again to persuade me to come back. It quickly escalated into an argument.
"You sound a lot like my father."
"Good. At least one of us does." Then I got angry.
"You think you can just show up and tell me how to live my life?! You don't even know what I've been through!"
"I would if you'd just tell me!"
"Forget it!"
"Fine!" She had the last word. I was such an idiot to her. It's just so hard to talk about it, though. How would she react if I told her that my father died because of me? What would my mother think? What would everyone think? Everything was a blur. I was running to I don't know where. This creepy monkey started to follow me. There was something strangely familiar about him. He kept following me, saying this weird chant.
"Come on, will you cut it out."
"Can't cut it out. It'll grow right back," he laughed.
"Creepy little monkey. Will you stop following me? Who are you?
"Ah, the question is: who are you?"
"I thought I knew. Now I'm not so sure."
"Well, I know who you are. Come here, it's a secret." He whispered in my ear, getting louder as he went along. "Asante sana, squish banana, we we nugu, mi mi apana!
"Enough already! What's that supposed to mean, anyway?"
"It means you are a baboon-- and I am not," he said, laughing, obviously thrilled by his own joke." At this point, I was a little weirded out.
"I think you're a little confused."
"Wrong! I am not the one who is confused... you don't even know who you are!" He said joking, while still in a matter-of-fact tone.
"And I suppose you do?" I replied sarcastically, not expecting a response.
"Sure do," he said. "You're Mufasa's boy." I was stunned. I turned around to ask him how he knew. He looked at me and said, "Bye!" He took off with lightning speed.
I called behind him, "Hey, wait!" When I caught up with him, he was sitting in a weird position on a rock. "You knew my father?"
"Correction: I know your father," he said in a monotone voice.
"I hate to tell you this, but... he... died... a long time ago."
"Nope. Wrong again! Hah hah hah! He's alive-- and I'll show him to you. You follow old Rafiki; he knows the way. Come on!" He sprinted through the woods like he had done this a thousand times before. "Don't dawdle... hurry up!" I heard him calling. I was running through the woods, ducking under logs, ripping through the thorn bushes. Suddenly, his hand shot out. "Stop! Shhhhhhhh," he whispered. "Look down there." I looked, and I saw a a small pond with very clear water. With the moonlight shining behind me, I looked, and saw only myself.
"That's not my father. It's only my reflection."
"No... look harder," Rafiki calmly whispered and calmly brought his finger to point just above the water. I looked again, and this time, I focused. A little bit harder, a little bit harder and then, the ripples made themselves a distinct form. I was sure I was seeing things. My father was staring back at me with that rock hard glance, that regal posture. The royalty of his glance made me feel so small... like I was a cub again. "You see, he lives in you." Just then, it looked like a storm was coming. The clouds were moving in very rapidly. They started to take the shape of... a lion? Yes, it was a lion. The lion then spoke to me in the familiar, deep voice that I always knew to be my father's.
"Simba."
"Father?"
"Simba, you have forgotten me." I was shocked.
"No... how could I?"
"You have forgotten yourself, and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the Circle of Life."
"How can I go back? I'm not who I used to be."
"Remember who you are. You are my son, and the one true king." His image in the clouds started to fade away. "Remember..." His last word echoed as I begged and pleaded with him not to go. The clouds were soon gone, and I was alone once again. Or so I thought.
"What was that? The weather, "the monkey scoffed "very peculiar, don't you think?"
"Yeah, it looks like the winds are changing."
"Aah, yes. Change is good."
"Yeah, but it's not easy." I was arguing, making inferences with myself, and then I felt something literally knock me out of my personal argument. Turns out, the monkey had cracked me over the head with his stick.
"Oww! Jeez! What was that for?!"
"It doesn't matter! It's in the past," the monkey laughed.
"Yeah, but it still hurts."
"Ah, yes, the past can hurt, but the way I see, you can either run from it, or learn from it." The monkey swung his stick again. This time, I ducked. "Hah, you see? Now what are you going to do?"
"First," I said, as I thought a sly idea, "I'm gonna take your stick." I grabbed the stick in my teeth and tossed it to the side.
"No no no no! Not the stick!" Rafiki shouted as I threw it. I bounded off, knowing my true task and what I had to do. "Hey! Where are you going?"
"I'm going back!" I shouted, not looking back at Rafiki.
"Good! Go on! Get out of here!" I heard the monkey whooping, howling and laughing behind me. Nala, I need your help...