Nala woke with a gasp, and quickly found herself in the cave again, trapped with Simba and Haiba. She looked her body over. She was back to being a cub again. There was something seriously wrong… Why was she dreaming about being an adult in the future?
Or… was she dreaming about being a cub in the past? It hurt her brain just thinking about it…
Simba leant against the cave wall, panting heavily. "I… I don't like this," he said, a worried look on his face. He hit the wall in anger, and winced in pain, his paw aching. "Ow… Remind me never to use force again. It's just embarrassing. Unless you're mad, in which case – always use force."
Haiba sat on the ground in the corner, resting his head on his forepaws. He was trying to figure this out… but it was hard. Maybe it was too hard for a cub – or adult, depending on what was actually real – like him to figure out. His brain was fresh out of ideas and theories. What he'd give for a bigger brain…
"Okay," said Simba, holding up a paw in the air. "Is there something wrong with this cave?" he asked. "Is that what's causing us to dream about the future?" He felt too tired to think… Things like that become hard when you've only just woken up.
"If we were dreaming about the future," replied Haiba, his eyes narrowed, resulting in a puzzled reaction from Nala.
"Of course we were," Nala assured him. "We were in the jungle, doing…" She rolled her eyes. "Well, you know what we were doing – but that's not the point."
"Yeah, and we still could be in the jungle, dreaming of this," Haiba countered, wandering around the darkened, cramped confines of the cave. He didn't like being in small, tight spaces. It was as if the walls were closing in on him… Haiba quickly shook his head, bringing himself back to his senses. This place was messing with his head. Everything was messing with his head… "Don't you get it?"
Nala shook her head, looking around. "No, no, this is real. This is definitely real. I am definitely awake now," she stated, nodding. She was awake. She knew she was awake. This wasn't a dream.
"And you thought you were awake when you were rubbing your body up and down Simba's," said Haiba, pointing at her, his eyebrows raised. "I told you, trust nothing we see or hear or feel." He gestured around the cave. "Look around you. Examine everything. Look for all the details that don't seem true to you.
"Okay." Simba nodded. "We're trapped for ever in a cave deep underneath the ground—"
"With a very weird cub for company," Nala finished for him, staring at Haiba.
Simba frowned. "Somehow 'all the details that seem true to you' isn't really that simple," he remarked.
Haiba sighed. "Good point," he agreed. Honestly, he didn't know what to do. This wasn't like talking or fighting against a person. This was just plain random. There were no signs to what – or who was causing this. He at least wanted an explanation! Was that really too much to ask for?
The loudness of birdsong invaded the cave. The same birdsong that always managed to make them fall asleep…
He looked at his two friends. "Remember – this is real," he said, pointing to the ground upon hearing the sound. "But when we wake up in the other place, remember how real this feels," he advised.
Nala nodded in understanding. "It's real," she told herself. "I know it's real."
Nala woke up in the jungle again, and patted the ground, nodding. "Okay, this is real," she stated, a smile forming on her face. "This is the real one. Definitely the real one. I'm sure of it."
This had to be real. She couldn't be a cub again – she had grown up now! This was what was real. That whole 'stuck in the cave' scenario was just some crazy dream. The nostalgic side of her was coming out again. Maybe it was time for her to let go of her time as a cub—
"It felt real in the cave, too," Simba responded, looking around the jungle surroundings. "You can't spot a dream while you're having it." He waved a paw in front of his face.
"What are you doing?" Haiba asked, staring at him, confused.
"I'm checking for blurs and stuff," he replied, continuing to wave his paw around the place. "We could have sniffed some flowers. Flowers that are starting to make us see… What's the word I'm looking for?"
"Hallucinations?" Haiba suggested with a shrug.
Simba grinned, nodding. "That's the one. Maybe we're seeing hallucinations." He returned his paw to the ground, shaking his head, feeling quite devastated. "I don't think so, though."
"This might be the dream," Haiba insisted, walking between Simba and Nala, pulling them close. He turned to Simba.
"This could be your dream mate, your dream home, maybe even your dream son—"
"Or daughter," Nala cut in, glaring at Haiba. "You can't exactly pick and choose what gender your child is going to be, you know."
"Don't start arguing with me, Nala," Haiba said. "You're getting sucked into the world. I told you not to think about it too much. Before you know it you'll be completely convinced that this is your life, and this is how you want to carry on living. I'm warning you now – this could get much worse."
"There's something here that doesn't make sense," said Simba, listening out for any signs of life. "I can't hear anything. It's quiet – too quiet." He narrowed his eyes. "There's something here that doesn't make sense."
"Then I suggest we go back to the Pride Lands," Haiba concluded, quickly running off in the direction of Simba's kingdom.
Simba chased after Haiba. Nala frowned, following at them. "Oh, can we not do the running thing? I want to have a cub, Simba! We haven't accomplished that yet! Don't pretend like you—"
The three of them stopped when they heard the birds again. They all looked up at the sky, but couldn't see any birds around. What was going on?
And that's when they started to feel tired again.
So, so tired…
Simba, Nala and Haiba slowly slumped to the ground, their eyes closed.
They felt like they could sleep for ever…