Chapter 12

Nala's point of view

We immediately got up and raced back home, at this point I was upset but not terrified, when Nia said there was something wrong with mamma, I didn't ask, what was it because my mind automatically filled in the rest, I just knew she was weak and frail, she has been for a while now, my sister seemed frantic but I was still confident whatever she had I could surely make some medicine to heal her, I just had to get there.

"we were about to go to sleep and then she started coughing blood" my sister told me as we rushed back to our cave, when she said that my body just let go and for a moment there was complete vacuum of sound, a flood of thoughts going through my mind, this could something as simple as a very irritated throat resulting from a cough or it could be a chest infection which usually is not a serious problem if you're young and otherwise healthy but my mother is neither of those things so it's definitely a cause for concern but once again, the confidence my father had bestowed on me shone through and decided to remain calm until I saw her with my own eyes, telling myself again that I just had to get there.
The twins were standing outside, waiting for us, their furs smeared with blood but showing no emotion in their faces, the moment they saw us they broke down and started bawling, like they've been holding it together the whole time and then everything broke loose at once, they wanted to be held and comforted but before I could, I needed to see my mother.

"Wait out here with Nia and Simba, okay?" I told them before walking inside the den and there she was leaning against the wall clutching her chest with her blood covered paw

"Mamma, talk to me" I said rushing to her side "what happened?"

"Nothing to worry about, dear" she said in a brittle voice "It's just a stubborn cough"

"No mamma, in your condition a simple cough could turn into something much worse if left untreated" I said placing my paw on her forehead "you're burning up with fever, you need to lay down, I'll make you some medicine"

"Oh Nala, I've had enough of medicine" she wheezed out, this wasn't up for discussion, I was going to make her some medicine, whether she liked it or not "where are your sisters?" she asked laying down on the ground

"They're outside" I told her watching her intently; she looked frail and weak, tired. But it wasn't the first time in my life I've seen her like this, we almost lost her after when the twins were born, I healed her then and I can do it again.

"Go to them, go to your sisters, they need you" she said and I nodded, she closed her eyes and I sighed walking out of the den.

"How is she? Is she going to be okay?" Nia asked me, she was sitting next to Simba and each of them held a sleeping cub in their paws

"Seems like she has a chest infection…I-I'm going to prepare her some medicine" I said, avoiding to her answer her questions, because I genuinely did not know how to "you all need to sleep" I said and she nodded tiredly before picking up Asha by the scruff "Simba, can they sleep in your cave tonight?"

"Of course" he said picking up Ava, they sat the cubs down and Nia curled up around them falling asleep almost immediately "can you watch over them while I get some ingredients?"

"Nala, you need to be by your mother's side right now" he told me and I sighed "I'll get you everything you need" I thanked him and gave him a list of the different ingredients I needed and where to find them

"I'll be right back" he said gently nuzzling my cheek, I watched him walking away until he disappeared in the darkness of the night, then I turned my attention back to my mother. I sat by her side and held her paw, waiting and watching her breath, I was so afraid we were going to lose her, i was angry at myself for not being there, angry that the medicine I prepared for her every day had done nothing to prevent her from getting this disease, after a few minutes of waiting, she opened her eyes and began coughing violently

"Mamma, I promise I'm going to-" I began and she shook her head

"There is nothing you can do sweetheart" she said barely able to speak with all the blood on her throat "because there's nothing you need to do"

"No mamma, I can heal you, I will heal you" I countered,

"No darling, it's time for me to join your father" she spoke barely above a whisper but she was as calm and serene as I've ever seen her

"No! Don't say that" I said and she turned to look up at me and saw the look of horror on my face "you can't leave us…"

"It's okay, sweetie" she whispered and the second she did, I lost it. I started bawling, I couldn't control myself, my cry was not a cry of sadness, it was not catharsis, it wasn't me feeling sorry for myself, not of pain but of helplessness, she was my mother but most importantly she was Nia, Asha and Ava's mother and hearing her giving up like this broke me in two

"No, it's not okay! I don't want to lose you" I said and she shushed me gently squeezing my paw

"Don't cry, sweetheart" she tried to comfort me but I wasn't having it
"how can I not cry mamma? You're dying!" I snapped with tears streaming down my face "What about my sisters? What about me?"
"Nala, listen to me, listen, you are father's daughter, strong and determined, you can do this and you'll be alright" she said and I nodded my head, she gave me a small smile and coughed for a while longer

"I love you, Nala" she wheezed out

"I love you too, mamma" I nuzzled her and she closed her eyes, squeezing my paw one last time before she went limp exhaling her final breath.

Simba's point of view

It took me a while but eventually found all the ingredients Nala needed and when I did, I headed back, I ran through the jungle hopping I wouldn't drop any of the herbs I was carrying in my mouth, I walked inside the den and stopped right on my tracks when I saw Nala sitting outside the cave with her head hanging low, I dropped the herbs before her and asked "Nala, what's wrong?"
"She's dead" she whispered and I sat down slowly taking in what I heard, I was in shock, I know she's been sick for a while but I never thought it was so serious, it didn't seemed like it, Sarafina was a high spirited lioness and she always wore a smile on her face, she's been nothing but kind and welcoming to me. It was hard to believe it happened and what made it even more surreal was Nala's demeanor, she was calm and collected, without a tear in her eyes

"What?" I asked dumbfounded
"She died a few minutes ago" Nala explained and I sighed

"Nala, I'm really sorry" I said and tried hugging her but she pulled away
"You need to go" she told me looking away from me, I decided not to push her, if she needs space, I'll give it to her but she needs to know I'm here for her
"I'll give you some space" I said standing up "if you need me just-"
"No, I mean it's time for you to leave" she said looking into my eyes, she's crazy if she thinks I'm going to leave her, especially in this moment
"Nala-" I began
"Whatever it is you want from me…I can't give it to you" she told me and I frowned "My only priority right is taking care of my sisters, they're my responsibility now and I have to raise my family"
"And I'll be there to help you" I said and she shook her head
"You don't have to" she said looking away
"But I want to" I said cupping her face with my paw
"what? What do you want from me?! you want me to fall in love with you and be your mate?" she snapped slapping my paw away "I can't do that Simba, as you can see I have a lot going on, I can't live the life of a normal young adult" she ranted backing away from me "I'm doing you a favor Simba, go and find what you want somewhere else"

"But I want you, all of you!" I said and she stared at me intently "I care about them as much as I care about you" I told her taking a step forward "you, Nia, Asha, Ava and your mother showed me what a real family is like and if you let me, I would love to be a part of it" she stared at me in silence and since I started I decided I might as well tell her the truth, the whole truth, I knew I would have to eventually

"Simba…" she began

"Nala, I'm a-"

"Nala?" a brittle voice asked and we turned around to see Nia standing a few feet away from us, we probably woke her up "is everything alright?" she asked walking towards us, Nala sighed before shaking her head "what happened to mamma?"

"I'm sorry Nia but there was nothing I could do" she told her sister who only shook her head slowly

"No… please tell me it's not true, Nala please tell me mamma is okay" the younger lioness begged

"Mamma is dead, Nia" her older sister told her and she let out a blood curdling scream as she ran inside the cave

"Mamma, no!" she cried hugging her lifeless body, we watcher bawling from a distance for a moment until Nala sighed before approaching Niani

"Come here" she said opening her arms "I'm right here for you" she whispered patting her back

"What are we going to do?" Nia asked her sister holding on tightly to her, her voice full of despair

"We only have each other now and we need to be strong for Asha and Ava, okay?" Nia let out a shaky exhale before nodding her head

"Okay" she said pulling away from the embrace and wiping her tears away.

Dealing with death of a loved one is never easy, you're dealing with so many emotions and on top of that you still need to deal with the other aspects of it and since there was nothing I could do or say to make them feel better, I decided to make myself useful and help in a practical way throughout the day because I might have to leave soon, if Nala truly doesn't want me here anymore.

Nala, Nia, Ava and Asha said their final goodbye to their mother that afternoon; the twins were much too young to understand, but they felt the loss, the bond with their mother, the strongest and most significant in life was severed by death. The grieving cub will need a lot of love and support; luckily they have two wonderful sisters and while they cannot ignore their own grief and mourning, they must focus as much as possible on helping the twins mourn.

That night I passed by their cave to say goodnight to them and the two little ones begged me to stay with them that night, I couldn't possibly say no to them, so despite the tension between me and Nala from earlier, I went inside the cave and laid down with them, Nala left the cave saying she needed to get some water but I think she was just avoiding me to not continue the conversation we started. The cubs curled down between me and Nia and the three were soon asleep, after a few minutes Nala came back "thank you for everything you've done" she said watching me from the entrance of the den and I thought this was her way of saying goodbye, I looked down at the cubs and sighed

"You're welcome" I told her tried to stand back up

"Please, don't go" she said suddenly walking towards me with tear-filled eyes

"I thought you wanted me to leave" I said looking up at her and she shook her head

"I don't think we can stand to lose another member of our family" she told me laying down by my side and nuzzling my cheek

"You won't" I said nuzzling her back "I'm here for you, for all of you"