National Park

Chapter 14

O-el bared his teeth in a smile at Arya, then scanned the group of gathered animals. "Good to see you, Arya. I thank you, dear brother, for the introduction and for taking my poor health into account. Friends, I am thrilled to be back home after so long! I cannot explain to you how often I have played this day in my mind. The thought of reconnecting with the animals of Umzantsi and the park has given me the strength to continue. If it wasn't for the memory of the park, I am sure I would not be here today."

O-el smiled warmly and then looked at Niol. Those watching closely thought they saw a tear developing in the corner of his eye, but it was quickly diverted as O-el shook his head and scanned the environment. He looked up into the now dark and clear skies, opened his mouth wide and inhaled deeply. Then he closed his eyes, held his breath for a few seconds and sighed heavily. O-el's eyes snapped open again, then he looked at the council members and continued smoothly with his story.

"Of all the scenarios that played through my mind, I had never imagined that I would come back to the park when it was in a state of fear and uncertainty. Niol has given me a brief explanation of the happenings recently, of the disappearance of Dhinoo and now Lenoh. He has also mentioned the first outsider being in our midst! A young human dog that goes by the name of Laja." O-el scoured the group of animals, hoping to spot the little puggle.

Raja stood up, stretching himself as tall as possible, annoyed with the mispronunciation of his name. "Hi there. It's Raja, with an R!"

O-el turned to look at Raja and bowed his head in acknowledgement as a wave of giggles spread through the group.

"My humblest apologies, Raja; I am exhausted and obviously heard Niol incorrectly. It is an honour and privilege to have you with us. I am sure that your stay has been good and I hope that we will get to spend some time together."

Surprised by the apology, Raja reciprocated by bowing to O-el, then slowly sank back next to Niya, feeling himself blush as he realised all the other animals were looking at him. Looking around to the pretence of unconcern, he noticed that Busi had returned and was seated towards the back of the animals gathered. Raja continued to scan the animals, but, strangely, he could not find Josie. She must be here in the group somewhere, he thought. I just can't see her. He decided he would search again later, but, for now, he allowed his attention to turn back to O-el.

O-el raised his head and once again smiled, a look of contentment on his face. He made eye contact with each animal. Raja could not help but notice how comfortable O-el was in front of all these animals. He does seem like a good leader; maybe he has changed from how all the animals remember him, he thought.

O-el focussed on the council members and especially on Arya, who was shifting positions with obvious annoyance.

"My time away was filled with lots of pain, regret, sorrow and joy, all of which led to a great deal of self-discovery. I clearly remember that day of the floods, yet it feels like a memory from another lifetime. That day, I had a massive fight with an elder lion about the running of the park. In my ignorance, I had assumed I knew better than him. The debate was quite heated and, at the end, I walked off after passing comments that I regret till today. Upset, I needed to clear my mind, so I decided to go out hunting. I had managed to catch some buck for lunch, and, after eating, I decided to quench my thirst at the stream. I encountered various animals along the way who commented that they knew my father and how amazing he was and how they hoped that I would follow in his footsteps. This was the last thing I wanted to hear at that time, so I was purposely rude to them and purposely tried to intimidate them by roaring at them and pretending I was going to attack. My arrogance at the time caused me to scoff at them, as I believed that I knew better than my father and all the elder lions of our village."