Jasiri P.O.V.
A week has passed since Rafiki's passing, and we have received notification that his funeral will take place next Saturday.
For the Human-Hybrid Alliance, me, Edwin, Makini, and several others had formed a temporary committee, in which we are organizing a memorial event for Rafiki.
I have just been working on examining a Carboniferous era specimen, for the past two hours I have been taking photos of it, writing corresponding notes, along with further related examinations of the specimen.
After another hour or two of similar work, until I started my lunch break. I went down to the museum cafe area, where I was eventually met with Edwin, Makini, Makuu, Ma Tembo, Beshte, Vuruga, Camille Ashmore, Kiara and Kovu, and all of us make up the temporary committee of the Human-Hybrid Alliance. We are just going over some stuff for the memorial event that we are planning for this week's meeting.
"So, after we discuss Rafiki's recent passing, we open up the room to eulogies to share memories we all have about him. Then we transition into the group discussion activity, and then do the exhibit excursions. I am almost finished with the group assignments for the group discussions. Beshte, how are you doing with assigning the groups for the exhibit excursion?" I said.
"I'm almost finished with that, I will send you the document either tonight or tomorrow." Beshte said.
"Okay, thank you. And Makini, you already sent the emails for the event…" I said, to which Makini nodded her head in response.
"Yep, I sent one to everybody on the list." Makini said.
"Okay, then Ma Tembo booked the room, Edwin and Makuu will help set chairs, then Vuruga and Camilla will organize the auditorium for the memorial service, Kiara and Kovu will set the discussion categories." I said, as we continued to discuss the event.
After having lunch and discussing the specifics of Friday's event, we went back to our appropriate work areas,and I went back to analyzing my specimen for today.
Hours passed until the end of the day approached, and Makini and I decided to hang out and talk in my office with the door closed, of course.
"So, I am wondering, when are you going to propose to Edwin, Jasiri? You pretty much bought that ring two months ago and so far from what you told me, he hasn't made any attempt to propose either. What's keeping you from doing it" She asked me.
"I will propose to him when I am ready, I just haven't figured out when that moment will be…" I said.
"Oh, come on Jasiri!? He is perfect for you. But then again, I don't want to pressure you, it is your decision on when you want to propose to him. Though, just out of curiosity, have you thought about where and how you want to propose to him?" Makini asked.
"Well, I am thinking of proposing to him at the tea place where we had our first and second dates. I want toit to be on a weeknight where it will be less crowded and more intimate, I just don't know when that will be. A lot has been going on with work and losing Rafiki, I guess my proposal plans just keep getting delayed. But it will happen, I still want to propose to and marry Edwin. And I know he would be open to it because we discussed the idea of marriage in prior conversations. I guess you all will just have to wait and see…" I said, forming a smirk at the last sentence.
Third Person P.O.V.:
As Jasiri and Makini were conversing in Jasiri's office, Edwin and Beshte were talking with each other in Edwin's office.
"So, I am just curious man, when are you going to propose to Jasiri? You got that ring two months ago, Jasiri hadn't made any attempts to propose to you, so when are you going to propose to her?" Beshte asked.
"I will propose to her eventually, a lot has just been going on lately, with stuff from work, Rafiki, and other stuff. But I still plan to propose and want to marry Jasiri. We both discussed the idea of marriage. Plus, I actually have a plan of how to propose to her. I plan to do it at the little walkway where we first kissed. You know, the one where we first decided to be in a relationship, in the rain after the mess that happened at my ten-year high school reunion? Man, I can't believe that it's been almost two years since we first started dating. Now we live together, and I am planning to propose to her. I will probably do it at a time when it will be less crowded. The only thing to decide is when, I just haven't reached that decision I am definitely going to do it by at least the end of the year." Edwin replied.
"Okay, let's just hope that she says yes when you finally do it." Beshte said.
Jasiri P.O.V:
After Makini and I were talking for the past 30 or 45 minutes, we decided to leave the office. I locked the door to my office. When we got to the hallway, we bumped into Edwin and Beshte. We talked to each other as we exited the museum.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute…Rafiki wrote a book?" Edwin asked in surprise.
"Yeah, actually, he was writing several books. He was writing a series to tell the history of the Pride Lands, Outlands, and Tree of Life, transitioning to the human world and so on. He wants a way for our stories and histories to still be told.I remembered that I was interviewed a few times by him to tell him stuff about my life, the outlands hyena clans, and my experience in the human world." I replied.
"I actually want to continue on with the book. In fact, a week before he died, he actually gave me some pages he hand-written of early Pride Lands history and some other stuff about Mufasa and Simba's reigns. Because as you know, Rafiki was not the most technically inclined individual we knew, and he gave me the pages since I was a faster typer than him. Though I now feel bad that I have been procrastinating on it lately, I still have the papers and I have only typed up stuff about the transition between Ahadi and Mufasa's reign. Plus, I was thinking of asking some of our fellow hybrids if they want to help me with the books. Because I have a bunch of files of other pages for him which I typed and there is some information I want to confirm with some of the others." Makini said.
"That sounds pretty cool, I would be interested to read it once it's finished." Edwin said.
We soon went our separate ways to go home.
It is Friday evening, me and other fellow hybrids are in our anthropomorphic animal forms.
Me and the rest of the temporary committee were organizing the Human-Hybrid Alliance's memorial service for Rafiki.
Camille was testing the microphone to the podium to prepare for the eulogy portion of today's meeting. While Ma Tembo was setting up an easel with an enlarged photo of Rafiki. The others are helping set up other last-minute details.
Soon, our guests arrive in the lecture hall to take their seats. Other members of the temporary committee, including myself, walked to some seats in the front row.
Makini then approached the podium and briefly tested the microphone before she started speaking.
"Good evening, everyone, I am glad you are all able to come today. Today, we are here to remember our dear departed friend, Rafiki Mwongozo. Not only was he a fellow museum employee and head of the Human-Hybrid Alliance….He was a dear friend…..to all of us. We are all shocked by the sudden and unexpected loss of our friend. And today, we are going to keep his memory alive and celebrate his life. First, for those who want to volunteer, we are using the first part of the day to share our own personal memories of Rafiki. I will go first. It all started when I was a really young mandrill…" Makini said.
Soon, one after another, others in the audience, including myself, went up to the podium to discuss their memories of Rafiki.
For example, Vuruga shared about some of the times she and Rafiki had conversations both at Savannah Summits and around the museum. There were also eulogies from Timon about Rafiki's emotional support when Pumbaa died during the drought. There was someone from maintenance who said that he and Rafiki had insightful conversations when he was cleaning near Rafiki's office. Then there was Yezekael who described the experience he and Fuli went through and found Rafiki's body. And one of the guests from outside the museum described his experiences working with Rafiki at an architecture firm where Rafiki worked as an office assistant some time before he started working at the museum.
Eventually we moved on to the discussion activity and exhibit excursions, where I was in a group that explored the geology and gem exhibits not too far from the genetics lab. After which we held a final group discussion and then and additional time of remembrance of Rafiki before ending the event for that night
A little over a week had passed since the Human-Hybrid Alliance's memorial event for Rafiki, his actual funeral took place at a small venue. Due to ongoing restrictions to indoor events, only about twenty-something people were allowed in the venue. It was essentially all the hybrids and one or two human staff of the place, and all the hybrids, including me, were in our human forms. Edwin sadly didn't make it to the invite list due to capacity issues, so he will pick up me and a few of us afterwards. It was a depressing ceremony, I remembered that I was in the back near Rani, while Simba and Kion were in front in order for Kion to comply with the terms of the restraining orders Rani and I both placed on him. I don't know why, but the way that Simba, Kion, and the rest of their circle do their eulogies just seems so….rehearsed…and…..generic, compared to all the other eulogies presented. I still have my suspicions of him potentially being involved in Rafiki's death, but I could just be reading too much into this.
Soon after the funeral ends, I leave the place alongside Makini and Beshte, the former of which is carrying the urn containing Rafiki's ashes. Ma Tembo was also walking beside us because she was going to join us to get something to eat afterwards.
We soon saw Edwin's car approach us before he stopped. We got in with me in the passenger seat, and the others in the backseat. Ended up eating outside at this brunch place.
"So, was the funeral really that bleak?" Edwin asked.
"Oh yes. It consisted mostly of bleak expressions, awkward silences, and uneasy energy. Particularly, Simba and his circle's eulogies seemed particularly strange to me." Ma Tembo said.
"Yeah, me too, something just seemed really off with his eulogy. It just seemed…staged. It just felt so rehearsed and insincere, considering that Rafiki was essentially the one who convinced him to learn from his past to fulfill his destiny as king of the Pride Lands, eventually leading him to challenge his uncle Scar. And that generic speech was all that he came up with the eulogy. It's just…..weird." Beshte said.
"I know, it just seemed kinda static. It was similar to Kion and Bunga's eulogies. It was strange." Makini said.
"I saw that you were given Rafiki's ashes." I talked to Makini.
"Yeah, we discussed it before he died. He requested that if possible, travel to Tanzania to find the estimated area where the Pride Lands used to be, then scatter them either there or a nearby area. His ideal wish is to be 'brought back home' after he dies. I will start communicating with people we knew back in Tanzania to see if that could potentially be arranged. But he did say that if I am unable to complete this in ten years, then I can just scatter them in Lake Michigan near the museum campus." Makini said .
"That's pretty interesting. Let's see if they could find the approximate area of the Pride Lands, because I don't think any of us know the approximate location of them. All we know is that they were somewhere in western Tanzania." Ma Tembo said.
"Yeah, but it is also pretty sweet of a sentiment, Rafiki potentially having a chance to return home, even when it is after he has already passed." Beshte said.
"Yeah, perhaps if they do find the approximate area, it could potentially be better closure than what the coroner told me. Though his death was caused by a fractured skull from a fall down the stairs, they didn't find any conclusive evidence that anything suspicious happened. But to be honest…I still have my doubts that it was just an accident. Something about his death still just seems off for me." Makini said.
"Yeah same, knowing Rafiki's senses of flexibility and balance, it still seemed odd that just a flight of stairs would cause his death." I replied.
"I admit, I share the same concerns as you. Perhaps there might have been evidence they missed, perhaps if there was a perpetrator, they cleaned possible evidence before the body was found. There is also the chance that it really was just an unfortunate accident. There are many things we don't know. To be honest, there isn't much that we could really do since Rafiki has already been cremated from an autopsy-forensic standpoint." Edwin said.
"True, but it was also suspicious that Simba and the administration cleaned out Rafiki's office within less than a week after his death." I replied.
"Yeah, I admit, that was kinda odd…." Edwin replied.
Third Person P.O.V:
It is now early July, and approximately a full month has passed since Rafiki unexpectedly died. Even when most activities and work in the museum went back to normal routines and business for a while, there are still the occasional suspicions around Rafiki's death despite no conclusive evidence being pointed towards foul play. The temporary committee has managed to continue running the museum's Human-Hybrid Alliance efficiently, with Makini leading the committee.
Two weeks prior, the museum also hired a new person to be the new Human Resources director. Though many people think that the new person is fine, and does their job efficiently, most feel it's not the same chemistry among other museum staff that Rafiki had.
In the genetics lab, Edwin and Makini were loading wells in qPCR plates for subsequent analyses. They soon started a conversation, mostly discussing topics ranging from Beshte's obstacles in obtaining job interviews, work, activities in their lives, to current events of the world.
"So, Makini, I heard that you and Beshte are planning to move in together. That must be exciting." Edwin said.
"Yeah, we plan to begin a trial period in a month or two before we plan officially moving. If it does work out and we officially start moving in with each other, I would move into his place because it would be more convenient for the both of us." Makini replied.
"Cool, as someone who has went through a trial period before moving in with their significant other, I want to emphasize the emphasis of communication. It really helped Jasiri and I sort out some of the initial obstacles we faced during that period. Sometimes small stuff can get to anyone, but the important thing is to make sure to talk stuff out." Edwin said.
"I'll take note of that. Thanks for the input." Makini said cheerfully before the both of them returned to their bench work.
Soon the rest of the day passes by in a pretty routine fashion. As soon as closing time approached, the majority of museum staff went home for the day, while night cleaning and security staff started to arrive.
But….a few people decided to stay a little later than usual.
Soon it was eight at night, it was dark outside. Zazu, in his anthro hornbill form, was just returning to his desk after meeting up with Simba. He felt very irritated and angry. He decided to stay later that day to finish some paperwork, but then Simba called Zazu up to his office for an impromptu meeting which lasted two hours.
"I cannot frigging believe that Simba dragged me to what was basically a propaganda session. He wanted to try to indoctrinate me in his insane beliefs, but I didn't give him a bite. I told him off, and most importantly, I told him exactly what I thought of him. Particularly, I have told him off of all of his arrogant, irrational, and delusional behavior, especially during the most recent two to three years." Zazu angrily said to himself as he packed his bag to prepare to leave for the day.
"I just can't wait to get back home, eat the leftovers I have in the fridge, and just forget all about today." Zazu said as he turned the lights off of the Human Resources office and started heading out of the museum.
As he walked down the hallway from his office, he started to hear footsteps….As if someone was walking behind him….but he turned around to find no one behind him.
He continued to walk as he headed for the main floor exit. He started hearing the footsteps again. He turned around again but found no one except the two, night custodians setting up to mop the nearby floor.
He went down the stairs to the sidewalk to walk towards a nearby bus stop to head as part of his usual route home.
He starts to hear footsteps again, but it's probably just other people in the park area by the museum, or other people heading to either the same bus stop or Red Line stop.
Or perhaps he is just hearing things….perhaps.