Mutumbiye woke up early that day. It finally rained heavily, after the unbearable long dry summer season. The delightful musky petrichor of that night’s rain made him most alive. He got out of the thickets and looked at the sky. It was beautifully blue, cloudless as if nothing happened. He contemplated the wet woodland-grassland God’s masterpiece. The poor plants were already recovering their lushness.
He went out and woke his friend, Kumbe, who was sleeping. Kumbe woke up with a smile. “Wonderful, let’s go play in the dirt”, he said while yawning. They got lucky enough to find the ground full of muddy holes. They jumped and rolled in, threw mud at each other, giggled, and danced; they were the happiest best friends ever. The only issue was how they were going to sneak back home without being noticed by Mutumbiye’s parents. Kumbe was an orphan, he lived alone but could count on Mutumbiye’s family at any time.
Mutumbiye’s father, Gikoko, was the king of the savanna. He was a fearful and robust lion. He was accountable for the disappearance of a huge number of the Kingdom’s inhabitants, especially the most vulnerable. During summers, most of the herbivores migrated to places where the grass was greener. Everyone hated the dry season, especially Gikoko. He could not stand to see his long lion’s trenchant and pointed canines being useless. They relished gripping by the neck and tearing away his prey. Mutumbiye was the breadwinner of his family, in the evening he made sure to bring food for the lioness and their only child,
Mutumbiye. The lioness had a broken ankle, unlike the other lionesses, she could not go on a hunt. There was no other vegan animal left in the kingdom except Kumbe, their half-adopted antelope. Kumbe was loved by Mutumbiye’s parents, he was their son’s best friend. Whenever he missed his mother’s affection, he could lean on the lioness and cry out his pain. She could then sing lullabies for him, and with her sweet and calming voice. Kumbe was
fond of her.
The way Kumbe and Mutumbiye had enjoyed the first rain in the summer was as if they cursed it forever. A severe drought started to hit the kingdom. Trees began to lose their leaves, plants got attacked by severe insects and diseases, and the soil started drying out. Everyone began to move somewhere else. Kumbe was not allowed to leave Mutumbiye’s home, for fear of being caught by other predators.
One night, Mutumbiye overheard his parents whispering “Let’s get rid of little
Kumbe. We can’t starve”. Mutumbiye felt the world crumbling apart around him. He could not shout, He was speechless. He went back to sleep, looked at his innocent friend who was sleeping heavily, came close to him, and cradled him like a baby. He promised himself to always look after him. Kumbe was his confidant, his bosom buddy.
There was a festive ambiance in the morning. Gikoko and the lioness made a lot of noise while regaling themselves on a one-of-a-kind breakfast. Mutumbiye woke up and did not find Kumbe sleeping by his side. Kumbe was known for sleeping too much; he could never wake up before him.
Mutumbiye went out; goosebumps sprang all over his body, he stopped walking and talking for a moment. The soil was spotted with blood; but the blood was different, it had a particular smell, a reddish color; it was sacred blood. He looked on the other side and noticed Kumbe’s wooden neck collar, dotted with red spots. His dearest friend was gone forever. He let out the biggest cry of the savanna. “It’s life, son, we also ate his parents, but you were too
young to understand ”, said Gikoko.
Mutumbiye went out, and sat on the dry soil which used to be muddy; big tears
coursed down his cheeks and sobs wracked his body.
He could not interpret what was hurting him more; his parents’ cruelness and betrayal, or the loss of his loved friend.
