(A/N: Thanks for reading! A couple of things left to catch up on and then it will all be over, two years after it has started. Think I'll tack a monologue onto the end of this story.)
Tumaini finished up her lap. Sure, it wouldn't count. But there was something at the finish line that she was after: the scoreboard.
She had to dodge many creatures on her way there, as the audience members had now decided that it was safe to flood the track. As they did that, of course, many zebras, antelope and buffalo were moving in the opposite direction out from the track's infield.
Tumaini finally arrived to where the remaining scorekeepers were tallying everything up.
She knew she probably hadn't won…but there was always that possibility…
"Did I win?" she asked one of the leopards, who seemed to be in control of the whole scoring situation.
The leopard looked up to see who had asked the question.
"Afraid not," she replied.
Tumaini's heart sunk.
"Well…where did I place?"
"Eh…let's see here…Sarafina…Winda…Guvu…you were fourth."
Now it was time for her ears to drop down.
Tumaini looked down at the ground and sighed.
"Thanks for telling me," she replied to the leopard, and then slowly she turned around and lingered away.
"Mm-mmm-mm-mmm-mm?" asked a young lion cub, suddenly jumping into her line of vision.
Tumaini stopped. She hadn't expected that.
The young female was holding a piece of bark in between her teeth, beaming up at the lioness.
From behind the cub, Tumaini heard a lioness laugh.
"I think she wants your paw print," said the lioness, which Tumaini now worked out must have been the cub's mother.
"Oh!" replied Tumaini, "sure," she replied, now smiling a bit. She rubbed her paw hard down into the ground until she got into the wet mud that hadn't been basking in the sunlight.
"Put the bark on the ground now dearest," said the cub's mother, "it'll make it easier for her to sign."
No sooner had the bark been placed down on the ground though, than the young lion cub let out a wailing scream.
"Aargh! Tumaini – I LOVE YOU! I'm your biggest fan!"
Tumaini could help but smile a little. "I can tell," she said back.
"You were her favorite from the second hour," added her mother. "We were both rooting for you."
"Ah," replied Tumaini, "well I'm sorry to disappoint you with fourth."
"Are you kidding me?" replied the lioness. "I don't care – so you didn't win, you put on a show! My, when you brought all three of those beasts down at the same time…and when we all thought you were injured, and you jumped up and took that zebra from Sarafina – man, our whole pride was cheering for you!"
"I'm glad to hear that," replied Tumaini…and truly she was. She had been pretty disappointed with herself up until now, but this lioness was certainly helping her see things from a different angle.
"So…are you going to do it again next year?"
"I—well…I don't know."
"Please Tumaini," said the cub, "it wouldn't be the same without you."
Tumaini didn't know how she could smile even more than what she was now, but she managed it somehow.
"Sure," she then replied, "I'll be back."
"Yay!" the mother and cub cheered.
"Oh…and one more thing…" began the mother, a little bit nervous, "…um…would you mind?" she asked, handing out her own piece of bark to Tumaini.
Tumaini chuckled. "Sure," she replied, and she placed her dirty paw down onto the mother's piece of bark too.
"Geez, thank you so much Tumaini," said the mother.
"You're quite welcome."
"Come on sweetheart, it's time to go now."
The cub picked her piece of bark up between her teeth again.
"Say 'bye Tumaini!'"
"Mm Mmm-mm-mmm."
Tumaini and the mother laughed, and then they parted ways.
The fourth place finisher looked around. Surely there must be something else to do now that this was all over?
Well…there was no such thing as too much of a good thing.
"Hey, guys, if you want…" began Tumaini, in a loud voice so that all those around her could here, "…I'm willing to hand out paw prints."
A flood of fans soon crowded around the lioness.
"Uh…so…um…" began Nakshi nervously. She cleaned her throat…perhaps that would make this easier. "How's um…your leg?" she asked Rakusa.
"Just needs rest," replied the lion, smiling a little bit with his broken leg still hovering about three inches off of the ground. "Got my lap completed at the least. Eight place overall – same as last time I did this. Don't worry about it, Nakshi. Things happen. It's the Siku Choka."
Nakshi tried to smile. "But I still feel bad," she moaned.
"Don't," replied Rakusa. "Trust me Nakshi, I've got a couple of issues that take a much higher priority than this."
"Like wh—oh…" the lioness stopped herself before she had even asked it. "Yeah, geez, I—I'm sorry to hear about Juni. I really liked her."
"Mm," replied the lion. "So…tell me Nakshi…are the rumors true? Is Wamariri dead?"
Now Nakshi could finally smile for real. "From what I've heard," she replied. "She was disqualified before she was mauled in the crowd though, so she'll never be listed as a competitor that lost their life in the Siku Choka…cos she wasn't a competitor at the time she was killed."
"So…what made her break? Did she just…walk backwards?"
Nakshi shook her head 'no.' "Winda," replied the lioness. "Never laid a paw on her, but she got to her somehow."
"Well then I've got to go find her," said Rakusa, "shake her paw."
Nakshi, once again, now had another one of these scenarios where she knew she really shouldn't say something…but somehow it just slipped out.
"How you gonna do that?" she asked.
Fortunately for her, Rakusa just laughed as a response.
"Ah, don't you worry about it Nakshi, don't you worry about it," replied the lion. And with that, he limped away.
Rafiki made his way over towards a quiet spot on the outside of the track. Sure, the area was a bit crowded, but it was an area filled with utmost respect. It was the area where the dead Siku Choka competitors lied, so that any spectator or competitor that hadn't had a chance to say their final words yet, could be given the chance.
Lying still on the ground, Rafiki could see them all: Zoea, Maneno, Shairi, Ema, Uku and Juni.
"Ah, so g—g—glad your h—h—hear," began a stuttering hippo. "K—K—Kanafa said that y—you could formally d—diagnose what went wrong with these c—c—competitors."
"De cheetah told me dat he trusted his medical staff's opinions, but wanted me to second dem to ensure accuracy."
"C—c—correct," replied the hippo.
"At first glance, all de opinions look correct," began Rafiki, but then he frowned. "Except for that one," he added pointing.
"Broken w—w—windpipe."
"Seems twisted to me. Perhaps one of you tried rotating its head?"
"N—negative."
"Well!" replied the mandrill, "let's give it a shot, heh?"
"That one's been d—d—dead for a while, Rafiki. I—I'd be surprised if y—y—you could help it at all. They also suffered major b—blood l—l—loss."
"I agree," Rafiki said solemnly, "but let's just try."
"Nakshi!" exclaimed a voice from behind the lioness.
She turned around. "Jesse!"
Nakshi forgot about her problems, and ran up and nuzzled her long-time friend.
"How've you been?" asked Nakshi.
"Been watching you!" replied Jesse.
"I'm sorry if I disappointed anyone at all," said Nakshi, "I know that that wasn't the best game I've ever played."
"Hey," replied Jesse, "you're okay – that's what counts."
Nakshi looked behind Jesse. "Fay! It's great to see you too." The one-time champion walked by Jesse and now went to nuzzle her other friend.
"I'd expect to get a little appreciation as well," said another familiar voice.
Before Nakshi had even turned around to see who the voice had came from, she'd worked it out.
"Hi Lenny," she said, nuzzling him too. "Thank you so much for helping me out there. I'm sorry we came up short."
"Ah, it's okay – it was fun!"
Bahati came walking up beside Lenny, but Nakshi pretended to ignore him.
"So…eh…where's the rest of the pride?" Nakshi asked Jesse.
Jesse's smile fell. She'd known this was coming. "They went home, Nakshi," she replied, still a bit upset about the whole situation, "said they needed to 'restructure the monarchy.'"
Nakshi's ears dropped all the way back. "All of them?" she asked, heartbroken.
Jesse nodded sadly.
"Mom? Dad? The Queen?"
Jesse sniffed. "Yes, Nakshi," she replied angrily. Why was she questioning her this much?
"When?"
"An hour ago – two! I can't remember. Fay and I are the only ones that stayed."
Nakshi couldn't believe what she was hearing. She knew that she'd probably hurt them, admitted herself that Maneno's death was partly her fault, but to have her whole pride just walk out on her like that? "Well…" she replied, before sighing, "…thanks for staying."
Jesse didn't respond.
Nakshi, herself, couldn't do anything other than look down at the ground, and run the whole situation through her head. Finally…she broke…
"Ooh…who am I kidding? How can I go back to a pride like that? I hate myself…I really do…but I'd thought they'd be there to support me."
"I know," replied Jesse.
"My own mom and dad…" she drew a huge breath, "…my own Mom and Dad? I knew they didn't support what I did! But…but…"
"I know," replied Jesse.
"What do I do Jesse? What do I do?"
Jesse shook her head. "I don't know."
The group just stood there in silence. They all knew this was hard for Nakshi. They all couldn't quite believe it themselves. Even Fay was wondering why the heck she'd ever considered leaving.
Nakshi sighed. "Bahati…" she addressed, "…I never said 'hi' to you…so…um…hi."
"Hi," replied the blood-matted-maned lion.
"Sorry about your injury."
"It's okay," replied Bahati, "it's the Siku Choka."
"Mm," replied Nakshi.
And then the group was silent again.
Lenny had never been a huge fan of silence and awkwardness, and so he was the one who decided to brighten up the situation.
"Go on," he said, "ask him."
Everyone stared at Lenny, wondering what he was talking about. Even Nakshi did, pretending…and hoping…she didn't know what he was talking about.
"What do you mean?" asked Jesse.
"Nakshi should ask Bahati whether she could stay with him…us," corrected Lenny. "She has a crush on Bahati, you know."
Jesse and Fay's faces lit up.
"Oh…really?" asked Jesse, smirking at Nakshi.
"Well…um…" began Nakshi, "…I…uh…"
"She's hooked," said Fay.
"Gone big time," replied Jesse.
"Hey! You don't know…"
"I do," replied Lenny. "I'm smarter than you think, Nakshi."
Nakshi chuckled. "Actually Lenny, I think you're pretty smart."
"Why do you want to deny it?" he asked. "Bahati likes you, you like us, you come live with us, perhaps be a bit happier, visit your family and friends often and…we'll go from there."
Truthfully, Nakshi loved the sound of the idea, but it was such a big decision, she couldn't help but hesitate a little bit.
"Why don't um…why don't you let me talk this over with Bahati a little bit…hmm?" she asked them.
Lenny nodded and they all took a step back. "Agreed," he replied, and then he, Fay and Jesse walked off.
"Mommy…why is that monkey kissing that dead lion?"
"I…I never got a chance to really say 'hi' to you again," began Nakshi, approaching Bahati.
"You did," replied the lion, "don't worry about it."
Nakshi was close enough to him now that she could now tell…
"You're still bleeding," she said.
"It's a lot better than what it was."
Nakshi still couldn't help but take another step closer though. It was time to knock out two birds with one stone. It was time to do what she'd been wanting to do all along.
She stuck her tongue out and licked the blood off of Bahati's cheek.
"Thanks," replied the lion.
Nakshi licked his cheek again.
"More blood?" asked the lion.
Nakshi smiled. "What do you think?" she asked.
Bahati sighed happily. "That's a 'no,'" he said, and with that he wrapped a paw around Nakshi's back and pulled her in close, causing Nakshi to laugh out loud. He then gave Nakshi her own lick on the cheek, and then they shared their first nuzzle.
"Um…guys…" said a female cheetah, interrupting a conversation between Rakusa and Winda. "You…eh…you might want to come over here," and with that the cheetah scurried off.
Rakusa and Winda exchanged glances, and then hurried up to try and catch up with the cheetah.
"Running again," said Winda. "Getting a little tired of this."
"What do you think is going on?" asked Rakusa.
"No idea," replied Winda. "It looks like we're going to the outside of the track – I have no idea what's over there anymore."
"Guess we'll find out," replied Rakusa.
Finally, after about a minute of running back down the front stretch, Rakusa and Winda caught a glimpse of the dead competitors.
"Oh," stated Winda, and they finally began to slow down. "Juni and Shairi must be there. She just wanted us to see them."
Rakusa was still a bit confused though. "Why was she in such a hurry?"
Winda didn't know the answer to that. What both of them did know, was the sooner that they got there, the sooner their question would be answered.
Before they could get there though, the cheetah came running back up to them.
"Be careful…and be very quiet…" she said, "…she's very cold…and very sick…" but then she lightened up, "…but she's alive."
Winda and Rakusa couldn't help but stare at the cheetah.
What?
One of them was alive? But if so, didn't she know that she was torturing them? Was it Juni or was it Shairi?
However, then Winda caught sight of something that helped answer her question.
The cheetah was standing in front of Rakusa…but was looking at her.
The cheetah didn't want Rakusa to move forwards…but she had had been talking to her.
Could it really be?
Winda began to make her way on by the cheetah and towards the group of deceased competitors. The huge crowd surrounding them began to part ways for her.
Winda kept on creeping up closer. Butterflies were filling her stomach. Then, they were released…multiplied. Winda wanted to gasp, but she just covered her mouth with her paw instead.
"Hi Winda," croaked her sister, looking up from the ground.
"Shairi!" exclaimed Winda, in a voice that was so quiet and high-pitched, that several wild dogs were probably on their way.
"How are you?" she croaked back.
"Ecstatic! You're alive – you've been dead for a day! Oh, this is fantastic! I—I…WOW! You have no idea…"
Shairi tried to smile, but it made her cough.
"What did I miss?" she asked.
"What did you miss?" restated Winda, thinking that there were a couple more questions a little more important that needed answering right now. However, instead, she decided to answer her sister's question, as if everything was normal. "Eh…what did you miss? Let's see here…um…while you were dead… you missed the payment on your house so they bulldozed that…eh…your boyfriend decided he should move on so he got married this morning…um…Wamariri won the Siku Choka and I finished second."
Shairi coughed. "Winda…I don't have a boyfriend."
"I know," replied Winda, "I just wanted to rub it in."
A couple of the lions around her laughed. Even Shairi could now manage a smile without coughing.
"And Wamariri died actually…Sarafina won the Siku Choka."
"The nyimbas?"
"Yeah."
"Good for her," replied Shairi, never having actually met Sarafina.
"So…Shairi…um…what's heaven like?"
"They sell zebras in stores."
Winda frowned. "What about the barcodes?"
"The cashiers can find them. They're intelligent in heaven."
"That's amazing."
"It really is. I thought you'd like it." Shairi coughed again. This talking thing wasn't good for her throat. "I figured…if you ever stole any of my stuff again…perhaps you'd like to pay them a visit?"
Winda smiled. "I'll bear it in mind."
Queen Nyimbo and Shatik now came running up behind Winda.
Shairi was still having a bit of an issue being able to see, so she had to strain her eyes a little bit to get them in focus. "Hi Mom," she said.
"Shairi…" began Queen Nyimbo, tears filling her eyes. She didn't want her daughter to see her cry though, even if they were tears of joy, and thus she turned around and walked back out a bit, before crying there.
"I'll be right back," Winda said to her sister.
The second-place finisher turned around. However, it wasn't her mother that she was looking for.
"Rakusa…" began the lioness, walking up to him, "…I'm really sorry if you're upset. I had no idea who it was either!"
"Are you kidding?" asked the lion. "I met your sister last time I was in the Siku Choka – it's great that she's alive Winda! She's a real nice lioness. And don't you worry about Juni, I'm just glad Wamariri's gone."
"I hope that's how you really feel," replied Winda.
"Could you do anything if it wasn't?" asked Rakusa rhetorically.
"I could kill Shairi again."
Rakusa laughed. "Don't worry about it, Winda."
Winda smiled. "Thanks," she replied. "I'm glad she's alive – she's actually a really, really decent sister."
"Alright guys," called Bwana Zungumza, "time for our last formality," he said, standing in front of a large number of spectators and competitors that were all feasting on the prey that had been killed. "As those of you who have followed the Siku Choka for a long time know, back near my home we have twenty-four buffalo skulls, each signed with a paw print from each competitor that has been fortunate enough to survive the Siku Choka that they competed in. It's time to add another one to our collection," he said, signaling down towards a giant buffalo skull next to him. "Kanafa, may we have the finishing order please?"
"Certainly," replied the cheetah. "First up, is our sixteenth place finisher, with a grand total of zero points…Wamariri. Unfortunately, she is no longer with us and thus can't sign the skull."
Everyone cheered.
"Yes…now fifteenth, having scored two points before her untimely death was Zoea. May she be in your prayers.
"The same goes for the lion that ranked fourteenth. Maneno. Six points."
"Wow," said Simba, off to the side as he, Nala and Sarafina feasted off a buffalo, "it's sad when you hear him listing all the dead ones first. It makes it seem like it was ten times worse."
"Don't worry," replied Nala, "he'll get to the live ones in a minute."
"Now…our first live one…" began Kanafa.
"See," said Nala.
Simba, however, was stumped. "Um…Nala…isn't it a bit early for him to be listing a live one?"
"…ranking in thirteenth place, and back from her trip to the dead, Shairi with 15 points."
As the lioness slowly made her way up, the crowd became mixed between those reacting by jaw-dropping, and those reacting by absolutely hollering.
Simba, Nala and Sarafina all fitted under the jaw-dropped category.
Shairi, however, just gave one small smile to Kanafa, then placed her paw in a coconut shell full of water, so that her paw could get wet, and then she was able to sink her paw into the mud, so that she could transfer dirt onto the skull.
"She's alive?" Simba finally blurted out. Fortunately, only those around him could hear.
"Oh – that's fantastic!" exclaimed Nala. "Oh…just think of when she finds out how Winda did…she'll be so proud."
"Nala…you seem to be missing the point here."
"What's that, hun?"
"Dead lions…aren't supposed to be alive."
Nala shrugged. "Shairi's not a dead lion," she replied.
"Twelfth place…also unable to sign the skull…with 78 points was Uku."
The crowd applauded.
"Eleventh place, also not here, with 123 points…Ema. Please, keep all of these lions in your prayers.
"Tenth place – 149 points – let's give it up guys, for Lenny!"
A huge round of applause broke out as the lightweight lion moved away from Bahati and Nakshi and went up towards the skull. He got his paw dirty, signed it, and then returned.
"Ninth place, with 180 points, let's hear it for Anzi!"
The rookie lioness now got up and went for her fifteen seconds of fame. Although she had only earned a low score for those that had been left alive, her pride was still proud of her for surviving and for giving it her best shot without any serious injury. King Machi, and her crush, Herik, were among those cheering her on as she went up and signed the buffalo.
"Finishing up in eighth place, with 206 points, let's hear it for Rakusa!"
"Woo hoo!" exclaimed Zazu, as the lion limped up towards the skull. "Greatest bloke I've ever met. Glad to see him do well," said the hornbill.
"Seventh place…from the same pride and with the same score of 206 points was Juni. She had completed more of the lap than what Rakusa had, and thus she is ranked in front. Please remember her in your prayers.
"Sixth place, and now having fully recovered from his incident, with a score of 219 points – is Bahati!"
The rest of the crowd joined in with Nakshi and Lenny, cheering for him as he went up towards the skull.
"Fifth place, with a grand total of 240 points, Nakshi!"
Simba stood up.
"Where are you going?" asked Nala.
"I want to see if I can get her paw print," replied the lion.
Nala shook her head. "Come down here," she snapped, although rather playfully, as she pulled her mate back down to the ground.
"Fourth place, with a staggering total of 266 points, Tumaini!"
Tumaini had been expecting a few cheers once her name had been called…but not this many. The ground shook a little as the echoes bounced off of the hills. Tumaini was, by far, getting the best applause yet.
"You can get your paw print now if you want, Nala."
Nala frowned. "What makes you say that?"
"You know what makes me say that," replied Simba, smirking a little.
"Third place, with a grand total of 298 points, let's hear it for Winda!"
The crowd cheered, but a lot of murmuring was going on too.
Simba was a bit confused. "Wait…" he said.
"Winda would have won if she had caught the zebra," Nala explained. "But, because she didn't, Guvu still beat her."
"So Winda didn't get second."
"No…she still did well, though."
"I think she thought she'd got second," replied a deep voice from behind them.
Nala felt a chill run through her.
"Oh…hi…Guvu…"
"Still…I guess she's just happy that her sister's alive." He smiled and then looked at Sarafina. "Two wins for me, and now a second," he said. "You are a worthy competitor, Sarafina."
Sarafina smiled. "Thanks," she replied.
"Second place, just one point higher, with a grand total of 299 points…Guvu!"
A lot of the females in the area cheered, as the lion made his way up towards the skull to place his paw print on it.
"And finally…" began Kanafa, "…competing in her first ever Siku Choka, this is her first ever win ladies and gentlemen, with an unbelievable total – 309 points – let's hear it for your nyimbas…and the winner of the twenty-fifth ever Siku Choka…Sarafina!"
Nala's mother's face lit up, as she stood up and made her way towards the skull. Simba and Nala stood up. So did everybody else. Sarafina was now receiving a standing ovation. Sarafina felt tears filling her eyes as she placed her paw down into the water-filled coconut. This was the greatest feeling she had ever experienced. She placed her paw down in the mud…and then onto the top of the buffalo skull.
The crowd roared.
Sarafina was now smiling so much, she was actually beginning to laugh.
Nala felt a shove from behind her.
She looked back to see who it was who had hit her.
"Go on," said Simba, "go up to her."
Nala didn't need telling twice.
Though Sarafina's vision had became rather blurry and watery, she could still make out the figure of her daughter as Nala approached her. She held out her arms, and then pulled Nala tight in towards her in a deep hug.
"Well done Mom," whispered Nala. "We were all rooting for you."
"Thank you so much, Nala." She released her. "I'm really sorry I never let you know."
"No…Mom…I'm sorry…I never asked you. I never…even…thought about you. I was so blind."
"We all were," added Simba, backing his mate up. "Sarafina, I must apologize. Not just for myself…not just for Nala…but for the whole pride. We really have never given you the recognition for what you deserve. You're such a great huntress, you raised such a fantastic daughter, and how in the world you were able to keep Mom and Nala from going insane once Dad and I disappeared, I'll never know. We've never given you the credit you deserve. I can only hope that this makes up for it…at least a little bit."
Sarafina smiled. "There's nothing to make up, Simba. Really, it's okay."
"So…Mom…" began Nala, retaking control over the conversation, "…um…dare I ask…how does it feel to be the Siku Choka champion?"
Sarafina laughed. "Magnificent…of course," she replied. "But…you know what? When it's all said and done…all it was, was a weary day."
(A/N: As I write this, it is July 3, 2011. I've just posted Chapter 22, two years and four days after Chapter 1 was posted. Once I'm done with this monologue, I'm going to flick through this page one more time to make sure the formatting is okay, and then I'm done. I'll just be posting on scheduled dates. I really hope you enjoyed this story. I really wish it was more popular. I'm sure if you've read about me on my profile page, you know I'm a motor racing fan. Well one day I was bored and I programmed all of the Siku Choka competitors names into my motor racing game at home. As I raced as different drivers, I tried thinking of how they were as a competitor. When they would be aggressive, when they wouldn't. Who their friends were, and who weren't. I currently have six e-mails saved in my AOL inbox. One of them is a review to this story by 'The Danger,' telling me that he liked the story but thought I should develop the characters more. They are developed...in my head. I tried hard in these final chapters to help define each competitor as I know them, and I really hope that you ended up picking a favorite other than Sarafina. I loved reading reviews where people felt bad for Winda or Tumaini or want Wamariri to be hurt. That told me I was doing my job. But, there was one thing from this story that I regretted from early on. The more I began to develop the characters in my head, the more I wish I had never killed Shairi. Her playful relationship with her sister is the best demonstration I can give of why. However, I don't regret it anymore. If Shairi had been alive for the whole thing, Winda would have ended up just like Lenny...learning the whole time, and never really scoring a lot of points. I like to think that Shairi's death helped Winda's personality come out more. I know that in real life, the odds of Shairi coming back to life would be 0, but I just felt that something was missing if her story had ended without it really ever being told. Perhaps I'm the only one who feels that way...then oh well. Thank you for reading, and if you have friends who you think might like this story - let them know! I think I've put more time into this story than any of my other ones, and honestly I'd like to see it made into a movie or something (but don't we all wish that about all of our stories?) so hits on this story really mean a lot to me. Thanks once again, and I hope you enjoyed. As always, reviews are appreciated - Machungwa63).