Epilogue

"You're supposed to be falling asleep." Calandra smiled down at the young boy in her arms.

"Not tired." He squirmed and yawned.

"I don't think that excuse is going to fly with your Mum." She laughed.

"A story?" he looked hopefully up at her, as if she'd ever be able to tell him no.

"Hmmm," she said pretending to think about it. "I suppose I could tell you a story. What story do you want to hear?"

"Lion." He said through another yawn, settling down in her arms.

She smiled. He asked for this story all the time.

"You've heard that one a hundred times, you sure you don't want to hear a different one?"

He shook his head.

"Alright, then." She conceded. "One story, then it's off to bed with you or your parents will have my head."

She sat back in the rocking chair and held the small boy close to her.

"Once upon a time, in a magical land, there lived a young lion," she started.

The little boy nodded and said, "Special lion."

"That's right, love. This lion was a special lion. He was made of light. This lion was a handsome thing, too. He had a great long mane and a lovely smile, but he hardly ever showed it. See, this lion lived in a den of snakes. These snakes were horrid things. They were cruel to the lion. They tried to strike at him and hurt him and poison him to take away his smile. They hated the lion, those snakes. They liked the dark and tried to snuff out the lion's light."

She rocked slowly in the chair, holding the boy close.

"Soon, the lion left the den of snakes and went off into the world. That's where the lion met his very best friend, a young tiger. The two of them were inseparable. The tiger showed the lion that not all of the animals were like those snakes, not even all of the snakes were like those from the den. The lion and the tiger became closer than brothers. They were always by each other's side. They spent their days playing together and enjoying their freedom."

The little boy sighed against her as she told the story. She rubbed his back as she rocked.

"It wasn't all fun and games for the lion, though. A great darkness had settled over the land. Shadows covered the forests and the deserts and jungles, and none of the animals that shone with light were safe. The lion, brave thing that he was, fought that darkness. So did the tiger. They bit back the shadows and helped the other animals hide. Soon, though, the shadows came for them. The darkness took the tiger and it was such a sad time."

She breathed in the smell of the boy and her mind went back to twenty some years ago when she'd rocked another small boy with a tuft of that same black hair.

"It was especially sad because everyone thought the lion was the reason why. They knew he'd been raised by those snakes who loved the darkness, and the other animals thought that he'd been poisoned by them. They thought he'd turned on the tiger and led the darkness to him."

She stroked the boy's messy hair.

"They couldn't have been more wrong. The lion loved that tiger. He'd have laid down his life for him. But they locked him away. They threw him in a cave so deep and so dark, they thought he'd never find his way out."

"He got out." The little boy smiled.

"He did," she nodded, rocking. "It took him years and years, but he got out. Do you know why?"

"The tiger cub." The boy answered.

"That's right! His friend, the tiger, had a little cub and the lion heard that the cub was in danger, so he found his way out of that cave and he went to the cub. The cub was so like his dear friend. The cub loved the lion and came to him for everything. He looked to the lion like a father. The lion vowed he'd never let anything happen to the cub, that he'd keep him safe. And that's just what he did. When the darkness came for the cub, the lion fought it. He ran out of his own safety and took on the darkness."

The little boy rested his head against her shoulder.

"The snakes he grew up with were hiding in that darkness, though. They saw the lion fighting for the tiger cub and they attacked. They enveloped him in the darkness until he was nothing but mist. The snakes left him there, transparent and faded. But he had saved the tiger cub. He'd kept him safe. The lion floated up into the night sky. There he stayed for years among the stars. The lion was trapped there, softly glowing, watching over the tiger cub."

The little boy's breathing slowed. She caressed his cheek.

"The lion watched the tiger cub grow and fight the darkness. He was so proud when the cub defeated those dark shadows and light filled the world again. The sun shown again, and the animals were safe."

"The lion was content with his lot; his tiger was safe. The sun watched the lion smile down on the cub and her heart went out to him, for he had lost so much. She came to him and breathed light back into him, making him whole again. He floated back down to earth, as radiant as he always was. The tiger cub was overjoyed to see him again, and that brave lion lived out the rest of his days basking in the glow of light and happiness."

The little boy yawned and sleepily said, "I'm glad, lion came back."

A creak of the floor made Calandra look up toward the door. She smiled when she met the grey eyes that held her entire life in them.

"Me, too, James." Calandra said. "Me, too."