A short story: The Cheetah and the Lion
Jamila the lioness was out walking with her cubs under the clear Sahara sky. Suddenly, a good distance away, there was an unusual loud bang. Jamila immediately went into protective mother mode; she gathered her cubs and brought them back to the safety of their den. In the distance, a cry could be heard. This wasn’t a simple cry like after you stub your toe, but a full bodied release because of desperate fear. Jamila wasn’t sure whether it was her motherly instinct or her curiousity – she hoped it was the former rather than the latter because you know what curiousity did to the cat… if you don’t you’re a moron… I mean that in the nicest way possible. Jamila left her cubs with a friend and went off to find the source of the noise. She eventually came across a small cheetah cub; he was frantically trying to nuzzle what looked like his mother, but she wasn’t moving. His cries of fear were real and warranted. He was now alone. Jamila watched with a breaking heart when suddenly, she heard strange noises. It was two voices and they were getting closer. Once again Jamila found herself reacting without thinking and she grabbed the young cub by the scuff of the neck and brought him back to her den. Whether she meant to or not, Jamila was now the surrogate mother to this young cub.
She named the new addition Duma, which means… I have no idea. Duma never forgot that night. He grew up knowing what had happened and fully accepted the fact that his new mother was not his birth mother. Regardless, to him she was his mother now; after all, she was the one who fed and bathed him: this is either a parent or a really creepy person. Duma eventually felt completely at home with his new family; he felt really lucky. He loved his new brothers and sisters. The only problem Duma faced was that as he grew up it became more and more apparent that he was very different. His roar wasn’t as loud; his muscles weren’t as big. He was the runt of the litter. Fortunately, his whole family loved him and were very protective of him. No one picked on Duma, especially the other animals like the zebras and gazelles; they didn’t say much. The only thing they might say when they saw him was ahhhhh… they didn’t want to be eaten. That was the nice thing about being with the lions. No one messed with you or the lions would tear you a new one… literally. And then they would eat you.
Like every young man, Duma soon reached the age (to keep it classy) of wanting to bow chicka bow wow. He was ready to spread his… love. Unfortunately, as much as he was accepted, no young lioness would go for him. He couldn’t even get a cougar… get it? A cougar? This sense of rejection left him feeling like an outcast. Jamila was a great mother and she did her best to encourage him, but there’s only so much a mother can do… and should do.
One particularly tough day, Duma asked his mom, “Why am I like this?”
“Like what?” Jamila questioned.
Duma looked at the ground and replied, “I’m so different.”
“Yes you are.”
“But I want to be the same,” pleaded Duma.
Jamila caringly said, “We’re all different and we’re all the same.”
Duma was confused, “That doesn’t make any sense.”
His mother continued, “We’re all the same because we want the same things: to be loved and accepted, but we are different because we have different ways of living this out. We have different abilities, but the important thing is, is that we love.” And just as she finished speaking, one of Duma’s brothers pounced on his back and cheered, “Ha ha, got ya,” which led to a typical young person’s play fighting/tickling match.
Sometime in the near future, on a clear Sahara night, the family was out for an after dinner stroll when suddenly, bang. Jamila, like always, called her family to come close to her, but this time something was wrong… she started to feel light headed and began to sway back and forth. Her eyes were getting heavy. She looked down to see this weird dart in her chest. As she collapsed on the ground, she heard strange voices approaching her. Duma was freaking out. All of these old feelings from his childhood were rushing back to him. He was in a panic; he didn’t know what to do. As the voices got closer one of his brothers grabbed him and pulled him to a hiding spot. The voices were two men who were waving down a loud shiny beast that had large cages on its back several of which had animals in them. In a flash, the men had Jamila in the cage and hoisted onto the truck with the others. None of Duma’s family knew what to do. They were too stunned to move. Suddenly, the metal beast roared and spewed black smoke, which they assumed was a weird kind of flatulence. This awakened the family from their stupor. They darted after the beast at full speed. They ran and ran; unfortunately, the beast kept gaining speed and none of the lions could keep up. To their horror, their mother was on the back of this beast getting further and further away. They had lost their mother… as the lions started to give up the pursuit, from behind the pack Duma darted past at breakneck speed. His smaller frame was perfect for running and his smaller muscles left him lighter to charge after the beast. Within moments he had chased down the bouncing beast and he pounced on its back. Biting and clawing, Duma was surprised to find he couldn’t sink his teeth into him. He soon saw three men riding the neck of the beast. 2 of them had long sticks pointing at him with the third laughing, “Look at this one. He wants to come with us.” The one stick suddenly made a loud bang. There was a clang and some sparks flew by Duma’s head. Duma leapt at the men. He knocked the sticks out of their hands and he took a swipe at the third who somehow caused the metal beast to do a sharp turn and roll over several times. The three men and Duma were thrown from the beast. After regaining his awareness, Duma went after the men again. He growled and clawed at them. With a right paw Duma clawed the one man on the face, but at the same time he felt a weird feeling coming from his left shoulder. It was warm. Duma looked, and saw that his shoulder was bleeding pretty badly. From behind, one of the other men had cut him with the knife. This cut caused Duma to lose control of his left front leg, but this didn’t stop him. He continued to attack the men with his good paw until again, he felt a warm sensation, but this time from his right front leg. Once again, one of the men was able to cut him while he was distracted with the other two. Blood was quickly covering Duma’s fur. Duma knew the battle was lost. His front shoulders helplessly collapsed on the ground. He gave up his attack and with his remaining strength; he used his back legs to drag himself to his conquered foe, the shiny beast now on its side. Duma may have lost to the men, but he had earned the right to die at his mother’s side.
The three men were curious to see what Duma would do. They watched him struggle to get to the truck. Cheetahs and lions don’t normally get along, so they wondered what was going on. Duma managed to get to his mother’s cage and he pressed himself against it. He began to cry as he had years ago as a cub. The three men began to laugh. “I think he’s confused. Look at the silly cheetah.” After a few more minutes of mocking him, the three men surrounded Duma. Duma continued to cry as the men nodded in agreement with each other. Duma continued to cry as they simultaneously lifted their knives high in the air above him. As the moonlight reflected off the raised knives, Duma let out one final cry, which caused the men to pause; this wasn’t a cry of self pity or of fear, but it was a cry to say, “I wish I could’ve done more because I love you.” With this powerful sound, Duma’s mother’s eyes slightly open. Duma had a moment of excitement. She was alive. Nothing else mattered to him. He was able to say good bye to his mother… he braced for the final blow with confidence, but… it never came. Duma looked up and he saw his brothers and sisters on top of the men who were now lying lifeless on the ground.
Duma quickly turned back to see his mother. Jamila’s eyes were now half open and Duma could faintly hear her say: “We’re all different, and we’re all the same. I’m glad you’re different. You are my child and I love you.”
By Rev Chad David, Emotional Sex
Chad…I think you’ve been watching my family….