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The parched plains simmered cruelly, demanding more and more from the animals that struggled to survive in its harsh embrace.
A mother giraffe scavenged for remnants among a dying marula tree's high branches, until she found one single leaf hanging like a precious jewel. The leaf made a crunching sound as she clamped on it. She passed it to her calf, who eagerly devoured the leaf, his first meal of the already long day.
Dark clouds rushed in from the west, and the once bright and sunny day transformed into a rainy one. The animals scurried restlessly, seeking shelter from the impending storm.
The young giraffe's ears perked up in anticipation. As he gazed at the turbulent sky, he sensed that something was about to change. The first drops of rain fell, splattering against the dry ground with a hollow thud.
Half a mile away, a lion named Afia limped out from under the shade of a dead baobab tree. Her legs barely held the weight of her body.
She tilted her head back to observe thick, dark clouds that stretched out like fingers across the sky. A subtle but palpable sense of relief washed over her. The approaching storm held the promise of a fresh start: a cleansing of the past and a chance for new beginnings. The rain would bring new life to the savannah, the grass would once again turn green, and the animals would thrive. She had seen it happen before and knew it would happen again. The drought would soon be over.
“Look!” Afia said to her partner. “Do you see... ”
Masego moved up beside her, his body as weak as hers from the drought. The two lions glanced at each other with hope in their eyes.
“I see it,” Masego said, his voice choking.
Tiny little droplets of water started dancing down from the sky and quickly vanished as the earth gobbled the bits of moisture .
“Mufasa! Mufasa! Come see! ”
A small cub appeared from the rocky den located behind Afia and Masego. He looked around, smiled, and bounced down to them. A fat drop of rain hit Mufasa square on the head, and he burst into happy giggles.
“Rain, rain! Finally, we have rain!” Afia proclaimed.
Masego and Afia scurried toward the hilltop, Mufasa right at their heels. They stood at the edge of the hill, looking out as the rain puddled around their feet.
“Mom—what is that light way out there?” asked Mufasa. He turned his head pointedly toward the south, where the lightning struck the ground every couple of seconds.
Afia followed his gaze. “Oh, that's very special. Beyond the horizon, beyond the last cloud in the sky. That's a place we call Milele.”
“Milele?” Mufasa asked with a tilt of his head.
“It means ‘forever’,” Afia said.
“Imagine a kingdom full of life, water, and food,” Masego added. “Grass and sky as far as the eye can see.”
“Will we ever go there?” Mufasa asked.
Afia ran her nose along her cub's ears. “Oh, we can right now, Mufasa. We can close our eyes—let our dreams take us.”
Mufasa closed his eyes and allowed the sensation to wash over him as the coolness of the rainwater refreshed his skin and weighed down his fur.
While the family stood on the ridge, a watering hole quickly grew below, and visitors began to arrive: elephants, giraffes, zebras, birds, monkeys. Electric happiness moved through them all, young and old. The watering hole grew larger and larger, like a bowl being filled by a pitcher , creating an oasis .
As the water level rose, the animals’ spirits also lifted. Soon the entire group could take turns drinking and cooling off. Afia felt a surge of joy within her and began to sing a happy tune, imagining Milele. Perhaps what she was witnessing could become its own version of Milele, a place where the water always flowed and the savannah teemed with vibrant life.
Amid the rainy landscape, a slender ray of light beamed onto the savannah floor.
Mufasa looked at Masego and squinted happily. “Dad, race you to the light!”
Masego smiled at his son's sparkling eyes. Maintaining his perch at the edge of the hilltop, he said, “You’re too fast. I’ve never beaten you! Nobody has ever beaten you!”
“I know!” Mufasa said righteously . Before Masego could react, Mufasa bolted, running down the craggy slope.
Masego appreciated his son's leaping form. “Ahhh... the fastest cub in the world!”
Afia and Masego watched their son approach the watering hole, fearless in the thunder.
“Maybe we shouldn’t fill his head with such stories,” Masego said. “We live here.”
While Afia understood his concern, she believed that Milele was worth telling Mufasa about. “Masego, that's what hope is. Light through the darkness.”
When Mufasa reached the plains, he joined the other animals around the new craterlike watering hole. He moved toward the center of the hole until most of his body had been covered with water. But He lost track of how quickly the water level was rising until he bobbed in a small wave, nearly losing his balance. He felt something nudge his back, and he saw a giraffe pushing him onto a large rock with its head. With the giraffe's help, Mufasa managed to climb atop the rock, and he said, “Thank you!”
The rain continued to intensify , drenching Mufasa's golden coat. Quickly the water rose to Mufasa's ankles, covering nearly all the rock and making it a danger rather than a refuge.
Afia, growing concerned, called out from the hilltop, “Mufasa, that's enough.”
Mufasa's heart pounded as he gazed up at his parents, perched on the edge of the hill above.
Then a loud crack resounded from around the corner of the canyon , and it wasn’t just thunder. The rumbling sound bolted toward the watering hole, and all the animals scrambled. Zebras leapt out of the water. Monkeys scurried onto higher ground. Birds took flight into the dark sky. Mufasa could only stay put, clinging to the disappearing rock, helplessly stuck.
“Mufasa, come back now!” Masego called out this time.
But it was too late. Mufasa looked directly up the ravine to find a massive wave, growing taller and taller as it barreled toward him. The wave crashed down on him and swept him under its powerful current.
Everything seemed to disappear. There was no sound. No sight.
And then Mufasa broke the surface of the water. “Mufasa!” shouted Masego.
“Father!” Mufasa screamed at the top of his lungs.
Masego called out again, his voice cracking. “Mufasa!”
Mufasa tumbled and turned over in the rising water, struggling to find his bearings. The current dragged him farther and farther from the shore, and his energy dwindled .
Masego dashed down from the hilltop, quickly followed by Afia. Together they pushed through the stampede, dodging the hooves and horns of the animals as they ran. Mufasa's cries for help grew fainter in the distance. Afia's heart was in her throat as she saw him disappear beneath the surface of the water again.
Mufasa was swept back under the unforgiving and unpredictable water. Frantically flailing , he forced himself to the surface and called out again for his father. He caught a glimpse of his parents bobbing in the waves, trying their hardest to get to him. His heart thudded like the heavy footsteps of an elephant bull.
He managed to stay above the water by kicking his paws whichever way he could. Somehow he ended up washing onto a ledge on the far side of the watering hole, opposite from where he had run in.
Mufasa spotted his mother across the way, standing on a ledge on the opposite side of the water from him.
“Whoa!” said Mufasa. “That was close.”
Then he saw his father in the water, still struggling. Masego swirled, his head whipping about as he willed himself against the current, holding on to hope. He was going to make it, but he had to keep his strength. Afia called out to him and went to help. She reached out a paw, while Mufasa could only stand on the opposite ledge and call out, “Dad!”
Mercifully, the current washed Masego onto the ledge beside Afia. But his concern was still his son. “Mufasa!”
Just as relief washed over Mufasa, happy to see his parents safe, the earth beneath him started eroding . He noticed two elephants trapped in the ravine barreling toward him. They, too, swirled in the water. Their massive bodies created big waves, waves big enough to cover the ledge where he stood. Mufasa had no choice but to move in the opposite direction of where his parents stood. But before he could get far, an elephant smashed into the side of an earthen dam nearby.
Boom! The resulting rumble that pulsed through the ground sent even more water down the ravine, and this new flood swept up everything in its path. The ripple and rush of currents intersected, creating a burst of light and bubbles and froth and debris . It might be safer under the water than above it, where he’d be chancing another creature or the unruly floodwaters smashing him into the dam walls.
Whoosh! Mufasa flung himself into the water.