Edwin P.O.V.
It is the middle of June and it has been a week or two since Simba's controversial rally meeting. Though strangely Simba did send a formal apology across museum staff for discomfort he has caused. But the majority of us either only took it with a grain of salt or flatout thought that the apology was insincere and only an attempt to recover his image.
Rafiki still holds our Human-Hybrid Alliance meetings every other week. But a bunch of us found out that Tiifu revoked her membership and stopped attending our meetings in favor of promoting more of Simba's mayoral campaign.
And shockingly, she was not the only member in recent weeks that left our alliance. A week ago, Twiga actually left the alliance because according to Muhimu, Twiga was starting to believe in Simba's propaganda. In fact, in our current Human-Hybrid Alliance meeting, Muhimu is currently discussing how her friendship with Twiga is becoming more strained with each passing day, when yesterday Simba transferred Twiga from the info desk to an administrative assistant position in Simba's department, since one of their administrative assistants recently quit. So now Muhimu is at the info desk with a new person during the work week.
Muhimu is in a discussion group that I am in, alongside Fuli, Beshte, Ma Tembo, Makuu, Ramaz, Pete, Firuza, and Violetta.
"Ever since that meeting, I have noticed that Twiga and I started talking to each other less and less. Last week, she actually just talked about subjects in putting Simba in a positive light. She was trying to get me to believe and 'give an effort to understand Simba's perspective' because for some reason, she thought he had 'some good points'. That was the start of us arguing, and as you know, that one incident where we argued at work. I remembered that we were yelling at each other, a bunch of tourists and visitors were witnessing the argument. I remember Beshte and Fuli were at the main floor at the time and had to intervene, and we went to Rafiki's human resource office. Nuadha and Felip had to take our place at the information desk. We were there for like an hour. We started arguing with each other for the first few minutes, until Rafiki calmed us down enough to have a calmer conversation. It eventually led to Twiga and I dissolving our friendship, and later I found out that Twiga canceled her membership to the Human-Hybrid Alliance. Then earlier this week, Simba offered Twiga a position as an administrative assistant at his department with the promise of higher pay. She took it, and now Nuadha took her place in the main floor information desk with me, and now the information/visitor relations department is looking for a new person to hire for the information desk on the lower floor, since that was Nuadha's original position. Twiga stopped talking to meI have been texting my son Hamu, who lives in New York, about it, and to warn Twiga's daughter, Juhudi, in Los Angeles about this behavior. So far, Hamu did say that Juhudi has been receiving weird messages from her mother. She is not paying attention to them because we told her all about what's happening with the meeting and Simba's close-minded beliefs." Muhimu said as she lowered her head.
"Sometimes, I just feel so alone because alongside working together at the information desk. Twiga and I also raised each of our kids alongside one another when we lived in the Pride Lands, and also when raising the kids and adjusting ourselves to life in the human world. I just can't believe that all those years of friendship went down the drain. With my son in New York, Juhudi in Los Angeles, and Twiga no longer speaking to me, I just feel pretty alone because most of the people I share my deeply personal stuff with are either out of state, not talking to me or working in different departments or places." Muhimu said in a sad tone.
"You're wrong Muhimu, you're not alone. If you want to talk with us about anything, you are more than welcome to communicate with any of us. On cell, Facebook, other social media or anything like that. I am always open to talk with you, and I'm sure the rest of us will do the same." Ma Tembo said as Muhimu slowly raised her head up.
"Yeah, you can always talk to us if you need to discuss something, you can always talk with any of us if you need it, Muhimu." Beshte said.
We continued to converse with one another in our group until we eventually went on our group's exhibit exploration, where we were assigned to look around the Plants of the World Exhibit, alongside the Hall of China exhibit since those exhibits were right next to each other.
We had a pretty decent time, getting to know each other more and looking at the different portions of the exhibit.
Eventually we ended the meeting for this week, after which Jasiri and I went in her car to head back home for the night.
Third Person P.O.V:
It is now early Tuesday morning, a few days after the most recent Human-Hybrid Alliance.
It is an hour before the museum is open for visitors, but light enough outside that the hybrids will be in their human form.
Fuli is walking around the main floor of the museum with another security official who is an inch or two taller than Fuli, who was wearing the same uniform, black shoes, short brown hair, and green eyes.
"Well Yezekael, I hope that your first week here went well, and I wish you further luck for the rest of your second week. How have your early morning rounds been so far?" Fuli asked the other security personnel.
"So far, my rounds have been fine, I just finished checking the lower floor and had just started checking the main floor. So far nothing out of the ordinary.
They soon walked into one of the exhibits on that floor, in which they found nothing out of the ordinary.
As they exit the exhibit towards one of the museum's south stairwells, where from afar, they seem to see what looks like a white-gray figure lying on the floor.
"Hey Yezekael, what is that by the stairwell over there?" Fuli asked as she pointed towards the figure by the stairwell.
"I'm not sure…let's check it out." Yezekael said as the two walked closer.
The figure started to get clearer as they got closer. After a few seconds, they know exactly what it is.
"What- It's a person." Fuli said as her tone turned urgent.
Fuli and Yezekael started to approach the person quickly, and Yezekael saw a small pool of red liquid near the person's head.
"Oh my- Their bleeding. They need first aid!" Yezekael said.
As the two approached the other side to tend to the person, both of them received a massive shock.
The unconscious person…was Rafiki…..he is unresponsive ... .and to the surprise of both of them, he was still in his anthropomorphic mandrill form despite being light out.
"Oh shit! Rafiki!? Rafiki, are you okay?! You alright?! PLEASE ANSWER ME RAFIKI!" Fuli yelled in a frantic tone.
"Shit, he's not waking up or answering!" Fuli said to Yezekael, who was feeling both checking his wrist or neck for any pulse.
"I can't find a pulse either!" Yezekael replied just as urgently.
"Quick, conduct first aid and CPR, see if you can find a pulse or a breath again. I'll call for emergency services!" Fuli said as she was grabbing her walkie-talkie.
Yezekael started to remove the jacket part of his uniform to put on the back of Rafiki's head to stop the bleeding before starting chest compressions for CPR.
"All security personnel, this is security officer Duma, me and new officer Manfred found an unconscious individual by the south stairwell, we need emergency supplies now! Over!" Fuli yelled into their device.
"Fuli, he's not breathing. Chest compressions are not working and he's cold. We need to call an ambulance!" Yezekael yelled.
"On it!" Fuli said as she dialed 911 on her cellphone.
"Yeah, my friend is unconscious and might have fallen down the stairs. Bleeding from the head, unconscious, no breath or pulse can be found. My colleague is doing chest compressions and checking for a pulse." Fuli said as she talked on the phone.
"Yes, we are at the south stairwell of the main floor of the Field Museum.." Fuli said as she continued to talk to the 911 operator, sometimes bringing the phone on speaker mode to Yezekael as he performed first aid.
A minute later Beshte came rushing to the scene.
"Fuli! You said you have an unconscious indivi- OH NO, IT'S RAFIKI! What happened?!" Beshte said in shock, approaching Rafiki's body.
"Based on how we found him, we assume he fell down the stairs. An ambulance is on the way." Fuli said.
"I'm sorry, I'm not getting a pulse or breath. It's not looking good." Yezekael said.
"Wait?! Why does Rafiki have his mandrill features? It's daylight, we are all in our human forms this time?" Beshte said as he looked at Rafiki's body.
Fuli then looked at the body and realized what Beshte is most likely going with this observation.
"You're right, this means that he's probably been like this for at least two or three hours, when it was still dark out…..which means….." Fuli said as her blood ran cold.
"I'm so sorry, I really tried my best. I couldn't get a breath, pulse, or any signs of life anywhere. He is also cold to the touch, and some parts feel stiff, unfortunately that may mean the rigor mortis is starting to set in. He's gone. I am really sorry, I've done everything I could." Yezekael said in a solemn tone, approaching his two colleagues.
A couple minutes later, an ambulance arrived, and paramedics approached Rafiki's body.
Within less than a minute or two, they officially declared Rafiki dead at the scene, though a coroner or mortician visit may be required to determine the exact time of death.
Two paramedics placed Rafiki's on a gurney and into a black body bag, as a second took photos of the scene in the case if evidence or reason is found to point towards a suspicious death.
One of the paramedics then covered Rafiki's body by zipping the body bag. After which they began to wheel the body out of the museum.
The scene generated a crowd of security personnel and employees. Many of which were Rafiki's fellow former Pride Lands.
Edwin, Jasiri, Ma Tembo, Makini, Makuu, and Vuruga were on one side of the group. Makini had a look of distraught and despair on her face. The rest bore shocked expressions on their faces.
Kiara, Kovu, Muhimu, and many other museum faculty and staff, both hybrid and human, were in the surrounding crowd with similar expressions.
"I…I..can't believe he is gone…." Vuruga said slowly.
"Me neither, what happened to him?" Ma Tembo said.
Beshte approached the group of six.
"Well, from what I know, Fuli and one of our newest security officers, Yezekael, were doing security rounds on the main floor…..They found him unconscious by the south stairwell, bleeding from the head…..They attempted to give him first aid, but there was no pulse, no breath or signs of life. He passed at the scene. They say that he might have accidentally fallen down the stairs and died of his injuries." Beshte solemnly said.
"What?! How?! He was incredibly agile and flexible! He should have landed or recovered from the fall! I've seen him land on his feet after falling from large heights. He did yoga regularly, and should have recovered himself, or even prevented himself from a fall down some stairs. Something just seems off with this…I mean a simple fall down the stairs? I don't know if something just seems off…" Makini said in a shocked tone, with tears becoming more visible on her face.
"Yeah, it seems off to me too, but I don't know, I guess life can just deal with individuals band hand sometimes. That's just the Circle of Life, and everyone's journey through it will end eventually, even when there are some cases where we thought it was way too soon. Trust me, I know how unfair it can feel. But don't worry Makini, we are here for you and respect you for" Makuu said in a sympathetic tone.
"Yeah, Makuu's right, if you need to talk to any of us, we are more than open to do so." Vuruga said.
"Indeed, we all knew how much Rafiki meant to you…In fact, he meant a lot to all of us ... .In fact, I think that it's okay to go light on our workload today in wake of these recent events. If you even think you need a day off today or this week, just let me know" Ma Tembo solemnly said.
The group then proceeded to walk towards another stairwell to head up to their laboratories.
Jasiri and Makuu decide to do only light work in their fossil preparation lab, while the others in the genetics lab decide to only do light bench work most of the day, balancing it with deskwork. Makini, who was particularly in grief over the loss of her former mentor, decided to do deskwork for most of the day, and had asked Ma Tembo to take the rest of the week off after finishing her shift for that day, which was granted.
Edwin P.O.V.:
Today is just completely an off day…with the shocking news of Rafiki's death, it just had all of us in a rut. Today is definitely a weird day. I still can't believe that Rafiki is gone. I still remember when I first met him when I was going through orientation after getting hired here. Can't believe that was two years ago already. I still remember when he had trouble working the camera that was used to take my first ID photo.
Wait….the Human-Hybrid Alliance meetings…what is going to happen to those since he is gone now?...But this may be a question for later, because this is just still incredibly fresh, since we only found out about Rafiki's death hours ago.
I've been working on my lab work for three hours, but there are still moments where so many thoughts are just pulsing through my mind.
I was just placing some DNA in the thermocycler, which usually takes an hour to run. I decided that this was a good opportunity to take a break.
But I am craving some fresh air, so I decided to text the group that I am going to eat at one of the benches outside, though In know that Bupu went out for lunch, same with Pete, and I think Makini said she is eating lunch in her office today. To be honest, I don't blame her. I cannot imagine the grief she is going through, and she told me that she needed some private time, alone.
Though I am also grieving for Rafiki, most people I know at the museum, Jasiri included, knew Rafiki much longer than I did. I cannot imagine how they feel.
I grabbed my lunch from my office, went outside the lab, walked down the stairs and went outside through the main floor to walk down the steps outside.
I then walked along the sidewalk of the park area near the museum and found a picnic table that faces towards the lake. All my life, I have always found being near water soothing, and I think that I particularly need it now because it has just been a rough day emotionally, and everyone has just been quiet since the news broke.
I was eating some leftover pasta when I felt someone tap my shoulder. I turned around to find Jasiri behind me.
"Hey hun, would you like some company?" She asked casually.
"Of course, Jas, help yourself" I replied.
She then proceeded to sit right next to me and pull out the lunch she brought from home.
"So, how's your day been so far?" Jasiri asked.
"Well ... .Today has just been weird. Even when I've been able to get some work done, I've just had so many thoughts going through my head. I guess Rafiki's death also came as a surprise to me because I have gotten to know more about him through both meetings and even just casual encounters in the museum hallways. I just don't know what to do… I apologize if I haven't been any help through this difficult time. I just needed some fresh air, that's why I am eating outside today. How about you? How have you been doing?" I replied.
"Honestly…..I've been struggling too. I went outside for a similar reason. I have been doing light work today, but I also can't help but think of Rafiki and the news. I mean he was one of the first individuals who really helped me cope with the loss of Janja, Madoa, and the rest of my clan to the chaos in the Outlands resulting from the droughts. I remembered when I first going to the Pride Lands after leaving the abandoned outlands…..I was just under a very depressed state at the time…I just stayed in a cave nearby Pride Rock, not coming out, except for food , for days…That was until Rafiki came to the cave one day and offered to talk to me about my loss….He really helped me during that time….and though yes, there were many deaths and obstacles during the drought in the Pride Lands as well, Rafiki helped remind me that no matter what challenges may come about, there will be a light at the end of the tunnel one way or another…..And I admit, I also found it odd that he died simply from falling down the stairs, but I guess life can just be unfair sometimes. And it's okay, you don't need to apologize for anything, all of us are struggling in one way or another with this.." Jasiri said.
"You can say that again…" a voice said, we turned around to find Makuu approaching the table before sitting in the seat across from us.
"Yeah, I decided to join Jasiri on her offer of getting some fresh air, but I had to use the restroom before I came here. I guess you are out here for similar reasons Edwin?" Makuu asked me.
"Yeah, pretty much…" I replied.
"I don't blame you, I've been struggling too….I just can't believe that he's gone….He had a place in the heart for many of us Pride Landers and former Outlanders…..In fact for me, he was the first one who had first convinced me to take my role as leader of my old crocodile float more seriously. Because as you know from meetings and such, when I was a younger crocodile, I was….arrogant, stubborn, impulsive, and just mean spirited. Ironically, my impulsive behavior also led me to how I became leader of the float because I challenged the old leader to a fight, simply because I was impatient on how he ran things. So I ended up winning the mashindano, and when looking back, I initially was not even close to the leader my float needed. I was attempting to attack other animals for a quick meal, I was burning bridges left, right and sideways with other animal populations in the Pride Lands, and I had no direction at all, mostly acting on my own self interests. Looking back, sometimes I ask myself how the fuck did I became the leader that instant in the first place, cause I had a lot to learn, and was doing stuff that made would have made my old leader extremely disappointed. But then one day, Rafiki convinced me to come see him at his old tree. He told me that he was disappointed in the way I was running things, which then initiated a whole long conversation about the true meaning of the Circle of Life and the delicate balance between all living things, along with the importance of rebuilding connections with those who I have damaged. But the point that stuck in my mind was that continuing on the path I was on at the time would actually put my float in more danger than it would benefit, because if I continued with my arrogant attitude at the time, I would contribute to isolating my float from any redeeming qualities for anyone to help us in a time of distress. And that perhaps one day, after pushing everyone else away, I would eventually push my float away to the point where they either die or abandon me because of decisions I could have made. I remembered he ended his lecture with 'do you want to die alone?' I told him I would think about it and went back to my float to find that two of my float members were leaving the float, stating that they would rather 'shrivel up and die in a desert than be bossed around by an impulsive figurehead with the mind and patience of an adolescent' before they left. That was when I realized that I seriously needed to make a change. So subsequently I talked with Rafiki more frequently, and he really helped me set foot into a newer version of myself, one that actually helps build bridges across the Pride Lands instead of destroying them, and respected the intricate balance of every living thing….Also, outside of my therapist, he helped me with some of my emotional stuff, either through phone calls, emails or texts…He was one of the first people that I really talked with about how the loss of my float during the drought affected me….He has really helped me become a version of myself I actually like, that wasn't just the tough guy image I portray on the exterior….He helped me undo some unhealthy habits, because when I was younger, my parents were far from emotionally available, so I had the habit of pushing emotions inward, in order to not seem 'weak'….which was unhealthy because it made me take out my anger on individuals and things at inappropriate times rather than facing the emotions….Man, he really had more of an impact on me than I thought…' Makuu said before reaching inside his pocket for a tissue to wipe a tear from his eye.
"Wow, I did not know that Rafiki had that much of an impact on you…." I replied.
"Yeah, me neither….." Another voice sounded.
We turned around to see Ma Tembo approaching us.
"Oh hey Ma Tembo, how's it going?" I asked.
"Well…..it's been okay and…..who am I kidding, I am having my own struggles with Rafiki's passing as well." Ma Tembo said as she took a seat next to Makuu.
"I've been trying to do desk work and random inventory around the lab to distract myself, but I just can't stop thinking about Rafiki. He has been a trusted confidant since I was a young elephant in the Mufasa-era Pride Lands. We've always casually chatted about a variety of matters, whether it's important news, current events, or random stuff from our lives. He was a constant presence in a large chunk of my life. I just can't believe that he's gone." Ma Tembo said.
"I know, today has just been weird. I've been thinking about the ways he impacted all of us." Jasiri said.
"Yeah, we've been thinking about it too…" a voice sounded.
The voice was revealed to come from Beshte, who was in a group with Vuruga, Kiara, and Kovu. All who have solemn expressions on their faces.
"Hey, what are all you guys doing here?" Makuu said.
"Well, I read Edwin's text about getting some fresh air, and I thought that it didn't sound like a bad idea, so I was heading out to get some fresh air of my own since Makini texted me that she wanted some time alone after I texted an offer to her, but she did say we can talk about it later in a more private setting." Beshte said.
"And then, I bumped into Beshte heading down for my lunch break, he asked if I wanted to join me, so I took up on his offer." Vuruga said.
"And then Kiara and I were about to go out for lunch, when we bumped into Beshte and Vuruga on their way out. We asked if we could join them, and they said yes and then we found you guys here. May we join you?" Kovu said.
"Sure, be our guests." I said.
They then approached the table to sit down. Beshte sat next to me, Vuruga sat next to Beshte, Kovu sat next to Ma Tembo, and Kiara sat next to Kovu.
"Okay, so we know why Edwin is here, but what are the rest of you doing here?" Kiara asked.
"Well, I coincidentally wanted some fresh air myself and bumped into these three at this table." Ma Tembo said.
"Same with us, we just happened to bump into each other along the way." Makuu said.
"Yeah, I just needed some time to process Rafiki's passing. I was also heading outside to take a short walk for my lunch break. I then saw Edwin's text and thought he could use some company. All of us have been struggling with this. We've been discussing the impact Rafiki had on our lives." Jasiri said.
"Yeah, we've been struggling too. In fact, Rafiki was a key figure in how we got together as a couple. During a time where the Pride Lands and Zira's pride were at war, he was literally the only one to believe and support our love before we talked some sense to my father. I also always remember him leading many of the festivals and special occasions we had in the Pride Lands, and the Human-Hybrid Alliance meetings." Kiara said.
"We literally wouldn't be together if it wasn't for Rafiki. He continued to be a supportive presence in both me and Kiara's lives. Both in the Pride Lands, and in the human world. He was always a good person to talk to whenever I needed advice. Still just can't believe he is gone, because even when I knew he was on the older side, I still thought that he had many more years left." Kovu said.
"Yeah, he was a very cheerful and respectful presence in our lives. Always tried to be present in everyone's life as much as he could…" Beshte said before he started to breath heavily and a tear was starting to become visible near one of his eyes.
He grabbed a tissue from his pocket to wipe his eye.
"Today particularly affected me because…I saw his body, I was there when he was pronounced dead. Though I think he had actually been dead for a while because he was in his hybrid form, his anthro mandrill form…..Man, I hate death. Why have I been cursed to see so much of it over my lifetime?" Beshte said.
"Wait, his body was in his mandrill form? At daylight?" Ma Tembo asked, Beshte nodded in response.
"Hmm…I wonder why that is?" Makuu asked.
"Well, I guess the form one dies in will be the form one's body will stay in. I guess we all just learned something new about being a hybrid. The 'shaman' told us nothing about that, and our guides didn't know anything about it either." Beshte said.
"I also feel bad for Fuli and Yezekael, who were the ones who found the body. They attempted first aid, but he was already gone. This was only Yezekael's second week on the job, and he already encountered a dead body. He tried applying his first aid training, but nothing could be done…..Oh Makini…I cannot imagine the grief she is going through. Because Rafiki was her mentor, the one who taught her everything about being a royal Mjuzi…to the point where Makini chose Mjuzi as her human world last name. They worked together in attempting to help the Pride Lands defeat the Army of Scar, helping us attempt to help others affected by the drought, still were close confidants with each other in the human world ... .She essentially lost the equivalent of a family member…." Beshte said in a solemn tone.
"Yes, from what I saw, she is not in a good place right now. I granted her request to take the rest of this week off. I even offered her the option to take some of next week off as well, and she said that she will think about it." Ma Tembo said.
"Yeah…..Though even when I know she is grieving at the moment. I agree with her that it's kinda odd that he would die just because of a fall down the stairs…" Vuruga said.
"You know what…I have been thinking the same thing to some extent…..With seeing the guy appear out of nowhere or flying and jumping from trees and cliff sides ... .but a flight of stairs does him in? I admit, it seems kinda odd…" Makuu said.
"Yeah, because I have seen him jump both onto and from trees, cliffsides, large rocks, large animals, sometimes a combination of one or all…and he always sticks the landing, or at the very least avoids harming himself to the point of severe injury…." Kiara said.
"Yeah, I've seen that too….and all that for a flight of stairs to end his life…..it just seems kinda odd, considering his sense of agility and balance…He did yoga a few times a week." Kovu said.
"True….it does seem odd…but perhaps it could also be that life is just not fair sometimes, and he ran out of luck….but it is still sad that his journey through the circle of life ended this abruptly." Jasiri said.
After this, we just started talking about our favorite stories and memories that involve Rafiki in one way or another. This actually helped us, because we started to reminisce, laugh, and learn stuff about Rafiki that at least one of us didn't know previously. This really helped us get through the loss of our dear friend Rafiki.
"Oh wait, I just realized something…..with Rafiki gone…..what's going to happen to the Human-Hybrid Alliance and the meetings?" I asked.
A bunch of them had expressions of realization on their faces.
"That's true, what's going to happen to the meetings?" Jasiri replied.
"How about this? Perhaps we, or at least some of us, can form a temporary committee, where we can plan meetings until a more stable head committee for the group is finalized. Our next meeting will act as a tribute event for Rafiki, and open up the space to converse freely of memories and stories of Rafiki, to help all of us, both human and hybrid museum staff, talk through our loss." Ma Tembo suggested.
"That sounds like a good idea, all of us can discuss it later." Makuu said.
"Yeah, but either way we need to keep the alliance going. Not only will it help continue Rafiki's legacy, but it has done a lot of help for constructive communication and relationships between human and hybrid staff of the museum." Vuruga said.
Soon, our break ended, and we planned to get together to talk during our break tomorrow, even inviting others via text, email or social media to talk it out tomorrow. Though Makini is taking the rest of this week off, Beshte did tell me that she texted him an invite to her place to talk about the loss in a more private manner.
I went back to the lab, and then began to load a gel for genotyping PCR of my DNA samples. I then ran the gel, and started doing some desk work as the gel ran.
As I did some desk work, I saw Makini approach me.
"Hi Edwin…." Makini calmly said.
"Hi Makini, how are you? Are you doing okay?" I asked.
"Ehhh…..I'm still kinda struggling with ... .you know ... .But from what I heard, I heard some of our friends joined you in your outdoor lunch, and helped discuss our loss. It seems to have helped you guys..I wanted to ask, even when I am not working tomorrow, if it is possible to drop by and talk with you guys?" Makini asked.
"Sure, no problem. We would be pleased to have you." I replied.
"Great, thank you." Makini said.
Eventually the rest of the day passed by, and it was time to go back home.
Jasiri and I took the Red Line and walked a couple blocks from our stop back to our building, and then our apartment.
Jasiri and I just had a quiet evening together. We weren't in the mood to cook, so we just ordered a pizza tonight for dinner.
It eventually became dark out, and Jasiri transformed into her anthro hyena form.
We were just watching TV and just hugging each other and talking to each other.
We then both received an email from museum administration, which informed us about Rafiki's death and available opportunities for counseling to deal with the grief of this loss, which is kinda ironic because Rafiki was a large part of the form of counseling available to museum faculty and staff.
But then, we saw that a video was attached to the email. We pressed play on the video link, and the video begins with a black frame fading into a video of Simba in his office, sitting at his desk, with a serious expression on his face.
"Hello, staff and faculty of the Field Museum. As many of you know, we had experienced the loss of one of our most beloved staff and one of my personal friends…" Simba said as two photos of Rafiki appeared on the screen.
One which was his museum ID photo, in his human form, wearing a gray sweater, standing in front of a blue background. The second one is one of him in his hybrid mandrill form, wearing a suit and tie, which must have been taken at a previous gala. Below the two pictures were the description "Rafiki Mwongozo 1957-2021".
"Wait, was he really born that year or was that just the year he chose for documents when he first became hybrid?" I asked Jasiri.
"He chose that for his documents. Nobody knows his real age. Speculations range from thirty to seventy-two. It appears that even Rafiki has forgotten his own true age as years went on. All we really know is that he was born during a wet season." Jasiri responded.
"He has been a dear friend of mine for over twenty-something years, as well as a dedicated member of the museum's Human Resources department and has had many friends at the museum and otherwise. We are all saddened by the sudden and unexpected passing of our dear friend Rafiki. Whether you have known him for over twenty years like I have, or just two weeks, he has been a warming presence for all of us. Particularly, he has been present in many stages of my life, and I have greatly appreciated his assistance to me during times in need. There are options for grief counseling listed in the email if you feel that you are in strong need for someone to help talk to you about the grief from this loss. To conclude this message, I hope that Rafiki is up in the afterlife with my father and other Great Kings in the Sky and other former Mjuzis. Rafiki, we all miss you and appreciate your presence in the circle of life. May you rest peacefully after the completion of your journey through the circle of life." Simba said with the same serious expression, as the video fades to black, and the two photos of Rafiki appear again at the lower half of the screen, while the upper half of the screen showed the words "In memory of Rafiki Mwongozo, 1957-2021" before the screen fades to black again and the video ends.
"Okay, I guess that was the official notice of Rafiki's death." I said.
"I guess so." Jasiri said.
"Is it just me, or is there something a little odd about that video?" I asked.
"You know….I was thinking the same thing. Something just didn't settle right with me. I mean, Simba didn't seem to show any particular amounts of visual sadness, and he just continued to have the same serious expression on his face. Perhaps he may not be the emotional type when it comes to grieving, but still, the video just has an odd vibe to it." Jasiri said.
"Yeah, it just felt odd. Plus, how did Simba manage to get that email out so fast, alongside making the video in less than 24 hours." I said.
"Yeah…or perhaps we are just reading too much into this. I think we just need a break from our phones for the rest of the night." Jasiri said.
"Okay, that sounds like a good idea. Perhaps, we are just on our way to jumping to conclusions because of the sudden nature of Rafiki's death." I replied.
"Yeah, let's just get some rest because we have work tomorrow." Jasiri said.
Soon, we cleaned up our living room, and headed into our bedroom to get some rest for the evening. This will be a long week or two not only because of the workload Jasiri and I are expecting from our individual labs, but also for our processing and helping our friends process the loss of our dear friend.
But despite knowing that it was probably just a tragic accident, there is just a part of my mind that just thinks that something still seems pretty off about Rafiki's death and 's something that just still lingers for some reason…..