I wondered through the jungle for days, becoming more and more lost in the thickness of the bush. Memories of running through thistles sniffing the air kept on coming to my mind, but I didn't understand what they meant. I tried to find Simba or one of his friends, but I had no luck. The teenage lion and his companions were no where to be seen. I fell asleep in clearings every night and just walked around all day.

One night I lay, thinking of Sara, when the image of a beautiful lioness came into my head. I didn't recognise her and felt no care for her when I saw her, but I was sure this was a memory. She was a dusty brown colour and was standing in front of a large, oddly shaped, rock formation. She was smiling at me. I fell asleep with this image in my mind.

When it was time for me to return, I had no idea where I was. I climbed a large hill and looked down on the jungle. I was looking down when I heard someone approach me from behind.

"Simba, that's not you, is it?"

"Simba!" I spun around, surprised that the name of the lion I had been searching for had just been mentioned. I recognised the warthog that the meerkat was normally with.

"You know Simba?" He asked, a little nervous.

"Yeah, well, I think I do."

"What do you mean?"

"I've lost my memory but parts of it come back occasionally. I remember speaking to a cub called Simba who called me dad when I last saw the lion that you hang around with."

"Well, you look a lot like him, but, I, erm…You're one of Sara's group now, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"I've got to go," he said quickly, before running away from me. It was only later that I realised that he must know that we eat warthogs. I shrugged, knowing that I'd have plenty of time later to search for Simba, once Sara knew about him, and turned back towards the jungle. I spotted the clearing easily now and headed for home. When I got back, I was met by Sambi, a lovely but shy dark brown lioness. She smiled at me, walking forward with her head down and ears back, out of respect.

"Hello, Sambi," I said, greeting her with a quick hug. I looked around at the group of happy lionesses, curiously, "Where's Sara?"

Sambi giggled and Li-Li stood up to speak to me.

"She's inside the den."

"Is she okay?" I asked, worried.

"Okay's an understatement," teenaged Lotus, a cheeky lioness, told me. I nervously walked towards the den, all eyes on me and took a breath before stepping around the side of the cave. This would be the time I would tell Sara about my child and that I used to have another wife.

"Leave them alone!" I heard Li-Li shout from outside and I felt the eyes of the pride stop staring at me. The sight I saw when I walked in completely shocked me. My wife, Sara, was asleep, lying on her side. She was completely healthy. I was glad to see this, but I was a little surprised to see two tiny bundles of fluff curled up beside her. Startled, I stepped towards her, moving quietly. I lay down, facing her, and licked her nose. She blinked and looked up sleepily.

"What?" she mumbled.

"Sara, it's me, Milo," I whispered.

"Milo? Milo! Oh my god, I've missed you so much. I was worried every day and thought the worst had happened!"

"Would I really let that happen to me when my wife and two cubs were waiting for me?"

"You knew?"

"Not a clue."

She smiled and got up from her side so that she could lie facing me.

"I've given them name's. Is that okay?"

"As long as you like them, I'm fine with it."

"The golden brown one with the little tuft of cream hair is called Athadan. He's the youngest one. Kishak, she's the other one, the dark brown one, she's going to be the queen."

"Kishak and Athadan, those names suit them both really well. How long ago were they born?"

"This morning."

"Really!? Happy birthday cubs."

Sara laughed.

"It's good to have you home, Milo."

"It's good to be home."

I spent that night lying next to Sara with our cubs in between us. Over the next few weeks they grew and grew. Their personalities started showing, too. Kishak loved play fighting and was very clever. She was the best choice for queen, which was good. Athadan was happy to just trot along behind her and do what she did. He looked up to her and loved trying to beat her. He didn't like us setting boundaries for him and would often go off on his own, after persuading Kishak to lead the way.

"Would you like to give them the Great Kings of the Past talk?" Sara asked me one evening, when the cubs had reached six months of age.

"Are you sure? I don't want to take that privilege away from you."

"I'm positive. Anyway, you know it all somewhere deep down inside. Also, it's tradition for the king to give the cubs the Great Kings talk."

"Okay," I said before shouting to the cubs, "Athadan, Kishak, come here. Tonight I'm going to take you somewhere special."

"Okay, dad!" Kishak called.

"Coming!" Athadan called after her. They ran over to me, fighting to get to me first. I smiled down at them. It had been a few months since I had thought about Simba, but this made me think about him again. What was he like? Did he want to always be with me? Did he have any brothers or sisters? Was he friendly or stubborn or unkind? No, I told myself, put the past behind you. Simba was my child and I was probably very happy with him but now I have two other children and Simba has his friends.

Athadan followed me along the paths that I walked whilst Kishak ran ahead, looking back every now and then to make sure we were still there. Eventually we came to a clearing in the jungle where you could see the moon and the stars above your head. At this time of the day, it seemed like a magical place, where anything was possible. I saw a small puddle in the ground and lay down in front of it.

"Kids, come over here," I said in a deep, wise voice that they had never heard me use before. They ran over to me. Kishak sat on my mane and Athadan by my side. As I began to speak, parts of my memory started coming back. I told them about the great kings and then I carried on. I told them about how my brother and I had grown up as they had, happy and playful, until my father had hit my brother, forcing him to change his name to Scar. I told them how Scar planned the stampede with Simba as bait and I told them how I had woken up after everyone had left and tried to follow him but ended up here. I told them that I thought he was here too. At the end of my speech Kishak was the first to speak.

"You don't love us then?"

"What's makes you say that?"

"You have another home, another wife and another kid. You don't love us."

"I love you and I love your mother," I told them, "I woke up in the desert with no memory and until now, I have lived that way. As I was speaking to you here, I remembered."

"Do you have an amazing kingdom?" Athadan asked me.

"Yes," I told him, "And right in the middle of it is a large pointy rock that you can see for miles around."

"You're making that up," Kishak protested.

"No I'm not. If I ever get the chance, I'll take you there."

"Dad, is your real name Milo? You told us that mum and you just called you that because you can't remember your name."

"My name is Mufasa."

"Wow, dad, your name's so cool!"

"Thanks," I said, smiling at Kishak, "And now, we go home."

"Home," the cubs announced. We slowly walked home, the cubs playing in front of me. I memorised every name and every picture my memory showed me. It seemed like I could memorise my whole life. I smiled, I was very lucky that we had gone to talk about the Kings.

"Sara," I called as we came into the clearing, "Sara?" I immediately knew something was wrong. Not only did my instincts tell me, but the scene I met reminded me of something I had witnessed. I had heard it, not seen it, down in the gorge when I had 'died'. The lionesses were gathered in a circle, crying and leaning against each other.

"Dad?" Kishak asked nervously.

"Kishak, Athadan, stay here please," I told them, walking over to the group.

"Milo!" Li-Li cried out in pain, "There were leopards, five of them, we tried to stop them but the hunters were gone and the cubs couldn't do anything."

"It's okay, Li-Li, calm down. What happened?"

"Sara!"

"Sara?" I pushed through the lionesses and on the ground I saw a body I knew well. A mix of near white cream fur and pure red blood was painted over Sara and the ground she lay on, "No!" I cried out in pain for the lioness lying on the floor.

"Milo?"

"It's Mufasa!"

"You remembered?"

"Yes. With Sara dead, I have no reason to stay here. I will go back to my old home and take over Scar's rule. I am going to take my cubs and any lionesses that want to come. From what I remember, it is a beautiful land, more lush and green than most places I've known."

"I'll come. My sister, my best friend, is now dead," Li-Li said, "I have no reason to stay here."

"I'll come too," Sambi said, "And so will my cubs."

More and more lionesses volunteered until the whole pride decided to follow me. We set off at midnight, running the whole way. Half way there we say a figure running along. The pride was faster that it, so we soon caught up with it.

"Mufasa?" It asked, surprised, "You're alive, too?"

"Rafiki?"