Author's Note: Hello here is the next chapter, sorry for the delay. I hope you enjoy it and the more to come up in the future.
Third Person P.O.V:
As Jasiri saw her "visitors" she couldn't help but look into shock and disbelief as the memories came rushing back through her head, while in front of her…..two hyenas were sitting in her living room….two pure hyenas, standing on four legs instead of two. One was a male with light gray fur with dark gray spots, black paws, bushy black tail,large pointy ears with one having a notch and dark almost black eyes, with black fur running along from his head to upper back. The other hyena next to him was a female hyena with brown eyes, faded gray fur similar to Jasiri's with dark gray spots, a black tail with a couple of beige furs, black paws and fur tufts on both her head and neck.
Surrounding the two hyenas is this pale white light, which also reveals the wounds and scratches of the male, while the female is revealed to be severely emaciated.
Despite the disfigurations of the two hyenas, Jasiri, with tears streaming down her face, recognized them instantly. They were the hyenas who she kept remembering over the past twenty one years, the ones who were constantly in her mind and heart, as well as her sketches. It took her a minute to find the composure to say something until she looked towards the hyenas directly into their eyes.
"Ja-Ja-Janja!?...Madoa?!" Jasiri said while beginning to choke up. She began to run over to her living room to approach the figures.
"Oh my goodness, do you know how much I have missed you, it has been quite lonely withou-" Jasiri said as she bent down to try to hug the figures, only to go right through them and fall face flat on the floor, only two inches away from her broken vase, getting up to turn around to still see the two figures still present.
"Wait?! How are you guys here?! I saw both of you die during the drought?! How is this possible?!" Jasiri said in an inquisitive and shocked tone. Janja and Madoa began to give out more saddened expressions.
"Unfortunately even when we can look over you and occasionally communicate with you, we cannot come back from the dead. But anyway we have missed you too!" Madoa's spirit said.
"Yeah Jas, how's it been? It's been a while since we spoke with each other." Janja said.
"Yeah about twenty one years, so yeah everything has been fine so far though I had a rough week….Oh wait, right...I have a lot to explain to you to tell you how I ended up where do I start, oh yeah, so after you guys died, I realized-" Jasiri said before Madoa interrupted her.
"Don't worry Jasiri, there's no need to explain...we've been watching over you for the past twenty one years, before and after your transformation. I've been impressed by the bravery that you have shown in transitioning to your life in the human world and you can't imagine how proud we are of you." Madoa said as tears were starting to form on her eyes.
"I appreciate the gesture, but how can I reward myself when I basically let you down back in the Outlands and how I practically led you to your deaths. It was all of my fault and I am so sorry that I let all of you down back there. I was a terrible leader." Jasiri said with a depressed and guilty look on her face.
"What are you talking about, you were the only one in the Outlands that tried to maintain peace in the Outland. Ever since the vultures left and the jackals and crocodiles formed their own factions, our fate was inevitable, but none of your fault, some animals just got desperate and greedy." Janja said.
"But I left you guys for that meeting with Simba and because of that, you and most of the clan died in that ambush by the jackals and crocodiles. I should have stayed to protect the clan." Jasiri interjected.
"That was not your fault, it was an ambush, nobody knew it was coming, and you left trying to help us get more rations, why would I ever blame you when you were trying to help us." Janja replied. Jasiri then moved her head towards Madoa.
"Yeah, but unfortunately, I did not manage to get the resources required to save everybody, and if I tried harder to get more, then you wouldn't have died, Madoa." Jasiri said.
"That wasn't your fault either, both the Outlands and Pride Lands were suffering from the drought. Both lands had limited resources, there was nothing that could be done to stop it. After I died, you made the wise choice to leave the Outlands because based on the conditions at the time, you had no choice but either die there or try to find more fertile land. I'm just letting you know that neither of us blame you at all for our deaths." Madoa said, which caused Jasiri's expression to perk up a bit.
"Yeah, we both are just proud of you of what you have personally accomplished in the human world, even when I still don't really know what exactly is going on. Oh and sorry that I broke that...thing when I first came, what exactly was it a rock that can break easily or a thick and colorful egg?" Janja said, gesturing his head towards the shards of broken glass behind him.
"Oh you mean the vase? It's fine, it wasn't something that really mattered to me. Besides I kind of hated that thing anyway, I only kept it because an old neighbor got it for me as a house-warming gift when I moved here." Jasiri said
"Man, I am still impressed you are able to live in the human world, it just seems so complicated when I see it. Even being young seems complicated." Janja said.
"Anyway, I've missed you so much, so as you could see, things are going fine for me so far but I've also had a rough week lately and it's just…" Jasiri was saying before Madoa interrupted her.
"Actually, that's kind of why we are here...it's just that we don't want you to lose the opportunity to find true happiness." Madoa said.
"What are you talking about, Madoa?" Jasiri said with a confused yet evasive look on her face.
"You know what we are talking about, Jas. I'm talking about your encounters and the meet ups with that guy from the genetics lab who Makuu tends to call 'man-bun'?" Janja said.
"The guy Makuu calls man-bu- wait do you mean Edwin?" Jasiri asked.
"Yeah that's him, we saw that you two at that tea restaurant and things seem to be going so well, but for some reason, you just walked out of the place out of the blue. What happened? He seemed completely open-minded about your nightly transformations and just an open-minded person who you seem to be genuinely happy with. Was it when you accidentally grabbed each other's hands?" Madoa asked.
"Well sort-of, but it's just that...that…" Jasiri hesitated.
"It's just what?" Madoa said.
"It's just that I was...or am nervous that if I the date ended well and pursued a relationship with Edwin, then there's a chance that it will end up like the last serious relationship I had and that did not end well…." Jasiri continued as she managed to turn her head towards Janja.
"Well when I was with Edwin, I was feeling guilty because I was actually having a great time, in fact it was the best I've felt in a date in years, but I can't help but feel guilty because I felt that I was unintentionally replacing you and I just didn't want to forget about you even when I move on to other relationships." Jasiri said, provoking the two spirits in front of her to first look at each other and then back at Jasiri, with Janja beginning speaking first.
"Jasiri….I always knew that you never had any intentions to replace the memories that we had together in the Outlands, but I also understand your need to move on from the past. I first understood that when you dated that guy uhh...Milo when you were in that middle school place. Anyway, there is no need to worry or feel guilty of dating others, we just want you to be happy and live your life and don't let memories from the past stop you from doing that. The more you dwell on those memories, the more they will prevent you from living in the present." Janja said with a stern yet assuring look on his face, with Jasiri responding with a light chuckle.
"Wow, I never expected those words to come out of your mouth, when did you grow up all of the sudden?" Jasiri responded in a light-hearted tone.
"Well I guess you can say that the afterlife has really gotten me to really look at exactly how precious life is. Look at you! You seem to be having fun working looking at old bones and rocks, living in this place with crazy weather and all of your new fur coatings you've worn since you became a hybrid." Janja said, causing Jasiri to look down her abdomen.
"New fur coatings? -Oh...you mean my clothes. I don't really have any personal attachment to them, I just wear them to keep my human skin warm and even when I transform, cover myself because in the human world it's considered taboo to walk in public without them." Jasiri said.
"Also, to get to your other concern, I totally understand your concern of avoiding the repetition of the relationship you mentioned. I was shocked by his behavior towards you during the time you were dating, to think I trusted that guy when I met him when I was still alive. Based on what I've seen so far, Edwin is nothing like him. He's open-minded, he's caring, you guys seem to trust each other, he seems to have feelings for you and you definitely have feelings for him." Madoa said, in which the last part caused Jasiri to blush a little.
"Is...Is it that obvious?" Jasiri asked with a hint of embarrassment.
"Come on! I'm surprised that Makuu's the only one that caught on, not even Edwin himself saw the hints when you two first met. I could see that there's something special between you and Edwin and you should go for it." Madoa said.
"What if I screw things up? I don't want to lose him as a friend let alone a potential relationship." Jasiri nervously said.
"Did you forget who you are? You are my Jasiri, my sister Jasiri, the same one who helped hyenas got in good terms with the Pride Landers, the same one who led the Hyena Resistance to beat the Army of Scar, the same one who united two feuding clans, the same one who navigated both the drought and your human world all by yourself earning those paper degree things, finding your passion and ultimately finding a purpose in life after the Outlands had collapsed. If you can do all that through the duration of your life, then there is no doubt that you will be able to be in a relationship with someone who respects, trusts or cares about you whether its Edwin, your neighbor or even the guy who just sits in the lowest area of this place. You are strong, determined and courageous and you have the capability of achieving your goals, whether personal or work-oriented and don't you ever forget about that." Madoa responded in an assuring tone.
After hearing this, Jasiri began to become more reassured and a smile started to form on her face.
"Yeah you're right, I'm Jasiri Fisi, I was a leader of a resistance, prime minister of the Outlands, students and researcher at UW Milwaukee and UCLA, eventually ending as a fossil preparator. If I can do all that in the course of my life, I can make things right with Edwin." Jasiri said, turning her head towards the space in between two groups.
"Thank you guys, I really needed this. After I go back to sleep and wake up tomorrow, I'm going to finally respond to Edwin's messages to make things right."
"No problem Jas, We are happy to help." Janja said, while tears started to form in Jasiri's eyes.
"I really miss you guys, I hope everything is going well in the afterlife." Jasiri said, eventually kneeling down to hug the two spirits, only for her clawed hands to only touch air even with the appearance of the Janja and Madoa's spirits hugging her back.
"Yeah, we miss you too, even when the afterlife is nice, it is still lonely there without you." Janja said.
"I wish we can stay longer, but we have to go, our time slot for visitation is short. Goodbye Jasiri, and I wish you good fortune from what life will bring you." Madoa said.
"Goodbye Madoa….Goodbye Janja…" Jasiri said with tears in her eyes.
She continued to stare at them until second by second, the figures becoming less visible, eventually disappearing entirely. Jasiri used the collar of the T-shirt she was wearing to wipe off the tears in her eyes.
"Okay, so when I wake up tomorrow, I'm going to respond to Edwin's texts to try to make things right…" Jasiri said to herself, eventually pausing after seeing the pieces of the broken vase on the floor.
"But first I need to clean up this vase….oh and put the knives back in the kitchen." She said.
As she grabbed the dustpan and broom to clean up the shards of broken glass, she was thinking about what exactly she was going to text Edwin. After disposing of the broken vase in a small black waste bin. She went to the outside of her bedroom to put the knives back in the kitchen, placing them in the sink to wash them the next day. After placing the knives in the sink, she saw the dumbbell she left on the coffee table, hesitating a little, but decided to put it back in her closet tomorrow morning, eventually going back to her bedroom to sleep.
The next morning, Jasiri woke up in her human form, as she usually does every morning. She goes through her normal morning hygiene routine, changing into an outfit consisting of blue running shorts and a black tank top. She grabbed her phone and looked again at the texts Edwin sent her. She took one deep breath and started typing.
Hi Edwin,
I am incredibly sorry that I did not respond to your texts, not to mention that I am sorry that I might have been avoiding you last week at work. I just want to apologize for all of that. What I am most sorry about was on how I just ran off on our date last Saturday. I was going through some insecurities at the time because I have not previously had the best track record when it comes to a dating relationship and I was afraid that this date will end up like one of my previous relationships, and I still have occasional flashbacks of the death of my first mate. I am so sorry that my insecurities got in the way of our date. I want to help make it up to you, perhaps with another date to make up for me screwing up the first one? Anyway, I think we should talk a little more about this at work on Monday. Anyway, I hope you are doing well.
After she pressed "send", she went out to her living room to relax for a little she was walking, she noticed the dumbbell that she left on the floor the previous night and decided to go pick it up. As she approached the dumbbell, something caught her attention that caused her to pause. As she turned her head to the right she saw something that caused her eyes to grow wide…..the vase, in perfect condition, but was broken the previous night.
"Wa..Wa..Wait, wasn't that broken last night? Because I swore that I remember seeing the broken vase and the dustpan...the dust pan!" She said to herself, practically running to the kitchen cabinet below her sink. She grabbed the dust pan, only to see that it was only slightly dust, like it has not been used in a while with not even a single particle of glass present.
"What?! I swore I used it to clean up the shards and placed them in the….garbage!" She said as she ran to her waste bin...not a shard in sight. "Wha...Wha..How?! I clearly remember seeing the vase broken last night. I thought there was an intruder. I grabbed the dumbbell, found the broken vase and remembered grabbing the knives which are…" She said looking in the kitchen sink to see that the knives she put there last night were not there, but in the knife holder as they have never been touched. But next to her fridge she found the glass of water she prepared herself before she first heard Janja and Madoa's voices the previous night...still three quarters full.
"Wait? Why is the dumbbell and the glass of water still here while the vase and the knives look as if they have never been touched? Did I momentarily hear noises and got a glass of water before I went back to sleep? But I don't remember going back to sleep at that point and I remembered feeling the shards of the vase and talking to Janja and Madoa? So the conversation with Janja and Madoa, and the vase, was that all a friggin dream? Did that all just happen in my head or...but why did it feel so real and why do I remember touching the knives and the vase shards. Was it...Was I...Were they….That's it I need to go for a jog to keep my head straight!" Jasiri said practically yelling to herself.
She went into her bedroom to put on a pair of black socks and to her night stand to get her keys and wallet into a different pocket than her phone was already in, and headed straight out her front door.
"Yeah I just need a quick jog to get things back to perspective, yeah I'm probably overworked this week and need some time to clear my head." Jasiri said to herself as she descended the staircase near her front door.
She then took her phone out of her pocket to send another text
Hi Joyce,
It's Jasiri again, I'm sorry to intrude you at this time but when is the earliest you are available for an appointment because I think I need to talk to you about something.