Chapter 11: Beyond sadness

As Bambi watched Gurri and Shany go after Dan and Geno, he turned to Simba.

"Hey Simba, I still have to thank your grandson for getting me out of that cage in which I was imprisoned," he said, "And thank you also for protecting the inhabitants of the forest."

"Don't worry, we would all do the impossible for our home," the lion responded, "It means a lot from the moment one is born, it's the same thing we feel for our Pride Lands"

"By the way, the lion cub that left with my daughter, is she also your granddaughter?" he asked.

"No, but she is my grandson's best friend," Simba replied, "It was the first one he made when he learned about life on our Pride Lands "

"Hmm," Bambi muttered, "Let me guess: so friendly that she's even with him in danger, right?"

"So, you've been through it too... Yeah, I guess we all find someone like that sooner or later..."

There was a minute of silence, in which Simba felt a little curious.

"Unlike your son, neither you nor Faline seemed scared that Dan was a human, did you?" asked.

"Well, you see..." Bambi tried to explain. "I know it could have been a dream, but... when I was a little deer, one night I was crying for having lost my mother and then... everything was filled with shadows. I was so scared that I called my parents and friends, but no one came. Then, I fell asleep and when I woke up, I was helping a human. This one was very different: he always fought for his friends or others, and he was very kind to me too. Sometimes I think it was a dream, but other times I think it was real, even though I have forgotten his name or how he looks like. Only I remember a strange key that he has… I told Faline and she believes me"

"A human, right?" Simba asked him, "I think I had the same memory too: when I was sleeping with my friends in an Oasis, days before Nala and I met again. Everything was suddenly filled with shadows but I refused to give up. Then I met a strange child, but very brave; I accompanied him on his adventure, and then he helped me in... well, it's also hard for me to remember, but he was a good boy. I remember a key too…"

"Maybe it's the same child, but it's strange how hard it is for us to remember..." Bambi commented.

While they continued talking, a little bird approached Mr. Owl very agitated. He listened carefully to what the messenger had come to tell him and, when he finished, he also seemed startled when he approached Bambi.

"Prince Bambi!" he exclaimed, "Terrible news!"

"What's wrong, Mr. Owl?" Bambi asked him, trying to calm him down.

"The men are back, even more so now!" He announced, "They have removed the dogs, but they have brought in huge things that make noise and destroy trees."

"That doesn't sound good at all..." Faline commented, "Bambi, what do we do?"

The great prince of the forest thought about it for a few seconds.

"I should go see..." he finally said, "I should know how serious this is..."

"But what if they catch you again?" Faline asked.

"She's right, Bambi," Simba told him, "That's why I'll go with you. Nala, you protect Faline and the inhabitants of the forest, please."

"I will do so" replied the lioness.

"Faline, Nala and you must take our friends to the edge of the forest," Bambi said to her partner, "In case we don't come back..."

"Don't say that," Faline interrupted, "You will come back, no matter what."

"I agree with you," Nala supported, "Just, be careful."

Knowing that it was impossible to argue with their partners, Simba and Bambi ran, guided by that little bird that had arrived with the news.

(Meanwhile...)

Dan looked for Geno with discouragement because, even if he caught up with him, the fawn had made it very clear that he hated him for being human, whom the inhabitants of the forest feared so much and now those who had killed his previous prince. However, even though he was, this one was different, wasn't he?

"I just want to help you..." he mumbled, trying to concentrate his mind.

But, as he walked, he noticed that a small companion was still flying by his side: the golden-yellow butterfly from the night before.

"Um...hello?" he asked, hoping that maybe, just maybe, he would answer.

The butterfly did not answer him, but it went ahead of him and, as he suspected, he knew that it wanted to guide him along the path again.

"I'm sorry, but I have to find Geno..." he said, looking away.

However, this little being landed on his nose, making him sneeze. When he managed to take it off, it landed on that spot again, as if it were insisting that he follow it. Seeing that he couldn't get away from her unless he crushed her (which he didn't really want to do), he agreed to go.

"I just hope you really take me to Geno" he muttered.

Dan then followed his guide back to that area of the forest, thinking that, since it was daytime, those illusions would not appear again. The place was as wooded as the previous time, only this time, instead of moonlight filtering through the leaves of the trees, it was the rays of a rising sun. Furthermore, there was already someone there, a little far away: Geno was sitting, crying in front of one of the illusions. As he approached him, Dan could tell that it was his grandfather, when he had just passed away.

For a moment, the cub hesitated to approach him, not wanting him to get angry for not letting him grieve the loss of a loved one. But, when he tried to walk a few steps, the same illusion from the night before appeared again: he, in his form as a human child, crying desperately because of the mistreatment.

"Why does this happen to me?" the illusion asked, punching the lion cub's heart.

"No... this is not..." he said, almost crying.

Then, the image changed, because he was facing the occasion when his evil uncle had died for having struggled over the gun with Dan.

"No, it's not..." he repeated himself again.

"This is very real," said a voice next to him. The lion cub then turned to see that it was Mufasa, in spirit form.

The lion cub then turned to see that it was Mufasa, in spirit form.

"Mufasa..." Dan muttered.

"What you see is the part that holds the most remorse in your heart," the spirit explained, "You fear that it was your fault for what happened. Because, even though you hated him, your heart never really wanted to hurt or kill. Besides, you were afraid that by doing that, you would become someone just like him..."

Dan closed his eyes, knowing those regrets were true.

"But what about Geno?" Dan asked Mufasa.

"Your friend is afraid of losing the rest of his family as well as me, because of the humans..." another voice said.

And, to surprise even more, the spirit of the former prince of the forest had appeared next to Mufasa: tall, slender and imposing as he had been in life, but with that spiritual form that Mufasa had.

"You…" Dan started to say.

"But I can't get close to him, because his heart is very hurt," the spirit continued, "I need you to help him, please."

"First, you have to get over that remorse of yours," Mufasa told him.

"But how?" Dan asked, "I... don't..."

Mufasa placed a paw on his head while whispering: "Remember..."

"...not all humans are like that: there are those who respect the cycle of life and the opinion of other species... you were not to blame for what happened, no one was"

As he remembered, Mufasa was disappearing and entering him again.

"...all humans also have a heart... some get rid of it due to their malice, vanity, desire, anger or greed and, little by little, they lose their wisdom and cannot be called human beings..."

Those two memories calmed, motivated and inspired the young cub. Looking back at that illusion of himself crying, he dared to say:

"Run"

And, to his surprise, the boy stopped crying, as if he had heard the voice of someone invisible.

"Run," continued Dan, very motivated, "He sentenced his own end, but you still have something waiting for you ahead. Don't stay, don't go back, keep going and you will find a great change"

Then, hearing that invisible voice, the boy stood up at the same time that the corpse disappeared. Then, the same boy took a step forward, about to run, and when he was about to take another, he disappeared.

Something inside Dan stirred, as if he knew he had done the right thing. Then, having passed his test, he walked towards his friend, who was still crying.

"Geno..." he whispered to him.

"Let me... alone…" he answered, turning his head slightly, "Why did you follow me? Didn't I tell you that I hated you?"

"Because I am your friend and... yes, I admit that I am human, but I assure you that I am not what you think"

"How can I believe you now?"

"Because, like you... I have suffered..."

"You can't understand what I or other animals suffer through! That's the problem with humans!"

"Maybe we can't understand each other exactly, but I do know what it's like to lose someone who, a little or a lot, means something. To feel... that things didn't turn out as you expected, you want to go back and change everything. And just one feeling of happiness or suffering, it is something that makes us equal and allows us to share joys and sorrows..."

Saying that, he held out his paw and Geno, still hesitant, took it with his eyes closed. Dan similarly closed his eyes. Maybe they didn't notice it, but a swirl of leaves began to revolve around them, at the same time that the illusion disappeared. While their eyes were closed, they could both see thousands of bubbles in a void of light and darkness. In each one, a moment of Dan's life was reflected (between laughter and crying), which only Geno saw, while Dan only saw Geno's memories, as if each one shared with the other.

Finally, Geno was able to see Dan's last great memory of sadness: when he himself yelled at him that he didn't want to be his friend. This deeply hurt the fawn. However, when he looked again, he saw a happy memory: he saw him and his sister, with the rest of his friends from the Pride Lands in that lair where they spent the night... that managed to reach Geno's heart and finally they let go, while the first sobbed quietly.

"I'm sorry..." Geno told him, "I shouldn't have yelled at you or blamed you."

"No, I'm sorry..." Dan apologized, "I shouldn't hide who I really am from my friends."

"Well, like my father says... let's leave the bad memories in the past, friends?"

"Friends"

They both collided paw with hoof. Just then, Shany and Gurri arrived.

"Dan!" exclaimed Shany, "Here they are..."

"Brother..." Gurri told him.

"Don't worry, Gurri, I'm fine now..." his brother answered. Then, he looked up out of curiosity, "Hey, look at that."

The two butterflies (the yellow one and the blue one) were flying above them, heading towards the thickest tree of all and, as if by magic, they both landed, uniting into a single ball of light; a light so intense that it forced everyone to close their eyes. When it was over, they all found themselves in an open space, on the grass with the deep blue sky above, and the air that blew softly on their faces was like that of an early summer day. Not far from there, a semi-circular lake shone in the sunlight, which had three waterfalls at the ends that fed it. Finally, the clearest detail that was noticeable was a stone bridge, which led to a large tree, the same size as the tree of life, in the middle of the lake, as if it were the center of that place.

"Welcome," a voice told them, "To the heart of the forest."