"It was my choice."
Page 1
Higeoyaji and Leo struggled against the freezing, driving snow. As they walked Higeoyaji had to lean against Leo as every footstep sunk deep into the snow. It was freezing, they were both very tired, hungry and almost at the end of their strength.
Yet the freezing, howling wind continued to drive the snow hard against their bodies.
Leo walked with his eyes closed. Days of walking in ice and snow had almost completely blinded him anyway. While he walked he thought of times past, the wind blew.
While he thought of his abandoned dream of uniting humans and animals, the wind blew. While he thought of his successes and his failures, the terrible howling wind blew.
While he thought of those friends who had died, the wind blew and while he thought of Liya, Lune and Lukio his spirit grew wearier and sadder and weaker; and the wind blew.
Higeoyaji walked with one hand on Leo for support and the other covering his face.
While he thought of all of those who had died for this stone, the wind blew.
He even thought of Hamegg, of all that he had done and his cruelty and felt pity for him.
He wondered how he could have ended up in this awful mess, but the wind just blew.
He looked at Leo and wondered just what this animal was doing here.
Why had he chosen to risk his life to help him and Lamune to find the moon stones?
He knew he was going to die, his strength was gone and his legs were numb from the cold. He looked at Leo again and thought, “why should this magnificent animal die because of me?” But the wind just blew.
Both of them walked for a short time longer against the driving elements and Higeoyaji could struggle no more. He stopped for a moment, he looked around at nothing but snow and ice and said out loud, “which way should we go?”
“This snow storm never ends, no food for so long.” He stopped and turned around to look at Leo and to run his hand affectionately over Leo’s face.
“You must be so hungry too.” He yelled, over the howling wind, as Leo opened his eyes.
Higeoyaji looked at Leo’s face, “what’s wrong with your eyes?”
As he looked more closely he noticed Leo was blind.
“Oh no, oh God, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I never thought about you. I was too selfish!”
He fell to his knees and hugged Leo’s head and cried. “Please forgive me.”
As Leo rested his head on Higeoyaji’s shoulder he remembered how he felt when he lived with humans as a cub and how he felt when he was hugged.
“I’ll forever regret getting you involved in all this! Higeoyaji sobbed.
“After all it’s just a stone. Many people including Lamune died for this.”
His sobbing turned to anger and he stood up holding the moonlight stone high in the air, “The stone for man kind’s future and hope? Nonsense, if these stones can give us all that crap then they can save us here and now!”
“To hell with it!”
Higeoyaji threw the stone hard into the snow and watched the reason for all this tragedy slowly disappear.
2
As he watched it slowly vanish he thought of the futility of it all.
He turned back around to Leo and fell to his knees again.
His legs were so numb he could barely feel them anymore and he knew he had reached his end.
“Thank you,” he said, holding Leo’s head in his hands.
“I’ll remember you even into the afterlife.”
Higeoyaji put his head between his knees at the shame he felt at himself and just gave up.
“Don’t worry I wont last much longer with this horrible cold and nothing to eat.”
As Higeoyaji spoke Leo walked around beside him and searched on his belt, then pulled his knife out of its holster and dropped it on the snow in front of Higeoyaji’s head.
Higeoyaji looked at the knife and picked it up, “what’s this?”
Leo timed the opportunity perfectly and pounced on Higeoyaji hoping to impale himself on the knife.
But his hands were cold and numb and Leo’s body knocked the knife from his hand and the knife too disappeared into the snow.
Leo lay on top of Higeoyaji for a moment, disappointed at his failed attempt, then lifted himself off and just stood there beside him.
“What are you doing?” Higeoyaji yelled back at Leo, shocked, afraid and confused.
The blizzard blew Leo’s white mane around furiously and for the first time in a long time; Leo spoke to a human.
“I wasn’t trying to hurt you.” Leo said loudly, as the snow and wind blew past his face.
Higeoyaji straightened himself up and looked at Leo open mouthed in disbelief.
“What, you.y.y.you can talk! Oh God, you can talk!”Higeoyaji exclaimed loudly, shouting over the howling wind too.
“I must by hallucinating,”he thought. “Yes that’s what it is. Death must be close.”
Leo continued, “It is right, you must kill me, you must satisfy your hunger with my meat and warm yourself with my skin.”
Higeoyaji put both hands on his head, still not believing his eyes or his ears, “ whoa, you really can speak can’t you?”
“Hurry, do what I ask, you don’t have much time. I want you to live.” Leo answered with urgency but kindly.
Higeoyaji wasn’t listening to what Leo was saying; he was just awe struck at this lion speaking to him. Then suddenly he came back down to earth.
“What? What are you saying?” On his knees Higeoyaji shuffled over to Leo and hugged him again. Talking was difficult because of the loudness of the wind and both just had to keep shouting at each other.
“Never. I should be food for you.” Higeoyaji began to sob again as he spoke to Leo.
“I got you into this, I was foolish, I was selfish. How could you even think that I could eat you? How could you even think that I could cut the hide from you body. I can’t even bear to think of such a terrible thing. Why should you die for me?” he asked.
Leo answered him, “It was my choice. I knew the danger. Please don’t blame yourself. Now one of us should get down from here. I am blind so even if I ate you I wouldn’t find my way down anyway. My life began in the hands of humans who loved me and took care of me, it seems fitting that my life should end in the hands of a human.”
“No one is going to eat anyone,” said Higeoyaji, still hugging Leo and still sobbing.
3
“You, and I, we are brothers. All living things are part of each other. We are all made of the same stuff. When we were back in the jungle I told you that I loved the trees, the flowers, the grass and all of you. I meant what I said and I love you too.”
Leo pushed his head hard into Higeoyaji’s embrace and felt better than he had felt for a long, long time.
“I’m not going to let you die so easy.” Continued Higeoyaji. “As long as there is life in my body I will keep guiding you. If you don’t get off this mountain, I don’t get off this mountain. And that’s my choice.”
Leo realized that the human was going to be stubborn about this so he decided not to persist. “Well, let’s rest here a little while and we’ll go on.” Answered Leo.
The human and the animal remained close to each other with the wind still howling loudly around them sitting without speaking and closed their eyes, hoping for a little rest. Yet around them the storm was clearing and, in their exhaustion, neither of them noticed that soon the snowstorm had stopped, the clouds had gone and the moon was full.
As quickly as the snowstorm began it had ended.
Higeoyaji eventually noticed the change.
He opened his eyes and saw that the night was calm.
“Hey!” he shouted at Leo, not realizing that there was no need to shout over the howling wind anymore.
“Hey, the snow storm is gone and the night is calm again. This is a good sign.” Said Higeoyaji.
Leo woke up and felt the change; “Yes it could be, so let’s get moving while we can.”
Both of them stood up with a great deal of effort. Higeoyaji’s legs were still cold but feeling better after the short rest and he felt renewed vigor with his newly found purpose to save his friend. Leo could see very little but he too felt better.
Leo began to walk beside Higeoyaji and introduced himself. “I am Leo,” he said.
Higeoyaji stopped for a moment and looked at Leo’s face. “I am Higeoyaji, but you can call me Higeo, it’s much easier.” He answered.
For about an hour they walked. Even though the night was clear it was still very cold and Higeoyaji’s legs were so numb he couldn’t feel them anymore and he fell to snow exhausted. Puffing and in pain Higeoyaji tried to get up and Leo tried to help him by pushing with his head.
“It’s, no, use, Leo, I just, can’t go, any further. I would do anything to save, your life Leo, but it looks as though, my time, has come. Please forgive me.” Higeoyaji collapsed into unconsciousness and Leo knew he would not be far behind.
Leo crouched down and wrapped himself around Higeoyaji. “There is nothing to forgive my friend,” he said, and thinking that this was the end he fell asleep as well.
Part 2