My Own Brother

By Mat Growcott

Timon sat back in his hammock, staring at the gigantic lake which his best friend, Pumbaa, was swimming in. Timon noticed how Pumbaa kept putting his feet on the ground whenever he built up a speed.

Timon blinked, could it be his friend didn't know how to swim? But...they'd been swimming together a million times...although it had been shallow water. Or it had been diving. When he thought about it, he had noticed how Pumbaa almost always got out of the pool before him.

"Timon? Er...can you do me a favour?" The warthog asked.

"Sure buddy, what d'you want?

"Well...I want you to turn around while I get out the pool. I'm naked you see..."

"Pumbaa, you're a warthog...you're always naked. It'd be hard to find a shop in the savannah that does warthog accessories"

"Well...then...er...I have gas!!"

"Whats new there?"

"Timon...I don't have a reason. Could you turn around?"

"Oiiii...anything else you want me to do?"

"er...no Timon"

Timon turned. It was obvious Pumbaa was up to something. Behind him the warthog placed his feet firmly on the ground and walked out of the pool.

"Pumbaa?" The meercat asked "is there something you'd like to tell me?"

"Well Timon. The truth is I havn't told you one of my biggest secrets. I can't swim properly."

"How about the diving?"

"I get out by...er...other methods"

"Is this a gas thing?"

"Yes Timon."

"I don't wanna know"

Timon closed his eyes and lay back in his hammock; he took a drink out of his coconut shell and placed it on the ground.

"Well then my friend, I'm gonna have to teach you."

Pumbaa disappeared for a second and came back wearing a full swimming costume, a hair net and armbands.

"Can you go over the safety procedures Timon?"

"Er...if you drown...I'll pull you out"

"That doesn't sound very safe."

"Oh...its tried and tested."

"Then I guess its fine...Timon, how did you learn to swim?"

"My brother showed me."

"you have a brother?"

"no...er...maybe?"

Pumbaa gave the puppy dog eyes expression.

"And you never told me?"

"I don't like to talk about it...I have a sort of inferiority complex against him"

Pumbaa stared into the distance

"He's better then me in every way." Timon finished

"Ohh...one of my old girlfr..." Pumbaa trailed off at the end "I've said too much..."

Timon looked at Pumbaa, he knew that Pumbaa had no idea what was going on around him, but, for a warthog, that may be a handsome face. For every other creature, rock, tree and stationary object, it was the face from hell. And the smell had burned small animals of the face of the earth.

"get into the pool Pumbaa"

Everything seemed to go into slow motion. Pumbaa jumped in...and just floated there.

"This is another gas thing right?" Timon sighed. It was going to be a long day.

Somewhere else, miles away, a small meercat almost identical to Timon got out of a hole.

"Yeah. I know. Don't worry dear, I gotta go ask Timon something. Jeez, I don't see other meercats honey. No I gotta go see my brother now." He ran as fast as he could.

Meanwhile, Pumbaa was drying himself off on an offical lion king towel.

"Timon, do you ever wonder why twins look identical?"

"No..."

"I do...and you know what I think? I think its because you're the same genetically"

"You don't even know what a genet is Pumbaa"

"oh...sorry...I'll shut up"

"You did well today Pumbaa. Once we got over the problem you swam well"

"But you ran away screaming "I want to die" Timon."

"That would be the smell..."

The meercat walked into the oasis and looked around. He's heard that Timon had moved here during his wondering period. If he was anywhere he'd be here.

Pumbaa lay down under the stars...

"Timon, I just love looking up at the stars. Theres something about them which just calms me down"

"umbaa...would you ease get off" A little voice came from somewhere underneath him.

"What Was that Timon?"

"eesh"

The meercat came to the clearing. In the middle lay a fat warthog apparently talking to himself.

"Timon? Where have you got to now? Timon...are you playing burroroo again?"

The meercat walked up to Pumbaa

"Did you just say Timon?"

"There you are...I thought I'd lost you."

"Er...have we met before?"

"UMBAA. GERROFF"

The meercat sniffed

"Can you smell that?

"oh...sorry"

"No...not that...although that is strong. Timon is under you"

Pumbaa stood up and walked around the almost flat Timon.

"Timmy?"

Timon looked up and into his brothers eyes for the first time in years.

"Norm?"

The embraced, totally forgetting the stars, the moon, the pungent smell of pubmaa as it wafted though the midnight breeze...