FINDING ZION

An Original Short Story

By MisterEnigma & LilEnigma

For us

Chapter 1

“Hello? Hey! Where is everyone?” The young zebra looked around for her family, but the dry and dusty plain was completely deserted. Anxiously flicking her tail, the zebra pranced this way and that, her ears alertly listening for call sounds. She searched in vain for any sign of familiar stripes.

“Hellooo?!” she called out louder, terror beginning to creep into her heart. She’d only been distracted by the vibrant colors of the bush lily for a second, or so she thought. The zebra’s family had abandoned her, but she was sure it was an oversight. Everyone knows to never go near the poisonous blossoms, yet curious little Dazzle just couldn’t help but admire their beauty. Of course her family didn’t see her in the one place they’d never look. They’d never leave her without a word otherwise. Determined to fix her mistake, she set off to find the herd.

For the rest of the day, Dazzle wandered from one watering hole to the next looking for her family. She even wandered warily into the open plain, ever watchful for predators. Lone zebras were an open invitation for the myriad of animals who thought little Dazzle was a tasty treat. She had no one to warn her of approaching danger, no one to protect her from an attack—but she had to be brave if she was going to succeed.

The days started to blend together as Dazzle searched for her family. She lost track of how long she’d gone without seeing another zebra. Desperate and alone, she even asked scary strangers for help.

“Excuse me, Mr. Elephant,” she politely sent her voice up to the bathing giant. “Have you seen any other zebras around here? I’m looking for my family.” The elephant sucked up a trunk full of water and squirted it at Dazzle. For a moment her eyes grew in excitement, but she abruptly realized this big guy wasn’t being playful. The elephant blew his nose-horn, flapped his ears, and then walked away from her without a word.

At the next watering hole, Dazzle saw several other animals, but still none with black and white stripes. Confident she’d find someone to help her, she frolicked toward the water. She wended her way through a herd of water buffaloes.

“Excuse me… pardon me… excuse me,” she called out respectfully to each buffalo. She garnered several angry huffs, but most just ignored her. Finally, Dazzle saw a young buffalo who seemed slightly attentive.

“Hi, friend!” she blurted out cheerfully. “Have you seen any other zebras around here lately? They seem to have left me by accident.” She couldn't help but let sadness creep into her voice. She'd been feeling very lonely and unimportant.

“Hah!” the young buffalo chuckled loudly. “Yeah, I see zebras everyday. Our herd just took the last watering hole from a mess of them. We pushed ’em right out. Bunch of scaredy cats!” He continued his torment as Dazzle felt herself being bumped from side to side by all the mannerless buffaloes.

“You don’t scare me,” Dazzle retorted, puffing her chest out and lifting her head high. She danced lightly on her feet, careful to not get trampled. “I'm just trying to get back to my kind,” she continued. “They need me.” Dazzle felt a tear threatening to escape her eye. She was courageous and wouldn’t give this upstart the satisfaction of showing any weakness. She turned her back and looked for someone else to ask.

Dazzle noticed a young gazelle stuck in the mud at one end of the hole. At first, she just watched to confirm the gazelle was in trouble. Hurrying back out through the herd of bullying buffalo, she made her way around giraffes, zorils, and various other animals looking to quench their thirst under the beating African sun. Knowing gazelles were notoriously skittish, little Dazzle approached cautiously.

“Um, hi there! Do you need some help?” Dazzle asked loudly while trying not to be intrusive. The gazelle bleated out a panicked cry, but didn’t answer. The other gazelles had left the watering hole already, so the curious zebra and the scared gazelle were stranded together.

Recognizing the danger the gazelle was in, Dazzle squished her way into the soft mud. Her hooves carefully found traction as she inched closer to the frightened animal. She called out kindly, “Heyyy… I'm going to help you out of there. Don't be scared…” Dazzle kept her cheerful tone but made her voice low and soothing as she stepped even closer.

The gazelle fought furiously to extract itself from the mud, but to no avail. Seeing how frantic it was becoming, Dazzle apologized quickly under her breath and headbutted the gazelle hard under its chest. The force of the hit disengaged the petrified creature and sent it stumbling into the mud. The gazelle regained its balance in a hurry and took off with a bounding leap. The gazelle never even looked back as it pronked away.

“You're welcome…” Dazzle said quietly to herself. All of her secret hopes to make a new friend fizzled out as she stood alone in the mud. The heartbroken zebra dropped her head in sorrow. “I wish I had a friend,” she moaned as she pulled herself out of the sticky trench, “Maybe just someone to appreciate my help, for once…”

Staring at her muddy hooves, Dazzle walked slowly away from the watering hole. The zebras hadn’t cared enough to even wait for her, now the other animals teased her or flat out ignored her. Little Dazzle felt invisible.

Chapter 2

As Dazzle wandered aimlessly through the African plains, an unseen creature lurked close by. A magnificently maned lion padded its way silently through the tall grass. Consumed by her grief, Dazzle was unaware of the danger hidden nearby.

With his body low to the ground, the lion crept quietly through the brush as he stalked the lone zebra. Mostly, the lion was curious why a zebra would be wandering alone, especially one so small. Zebras grow even bigger than lions, surely something must be wrong with this one. He watched it carefully to see if it was ill or injured, but it only seemed… sad. More interested, the lion gradually whisked his tail back and forth, continuing his prowling path.

The lion was so focused on the little zebra that he never noticed the human hunter on the other side of the trees. Decked out in safari gear, the hunter slowly positioned his bow and sighted the lion purposefully. He pulled the bowstring back with as much force as he could muster and released the arrow.

The lion bellowed out in pain as the arrow sunk deep into the side of his exposed rump. The hunter had missed his intended target: the lion’s heart. Now, he just had an injured and angry beast to contend with. He jumped quickly into his camouflaged jeep, the tires kicking up a cloud of dust as he sped off. The cowardly hunter wasn't about to stick around to find out if the lion would live or die.

Not knowing what had just transpired, Dazzle heard the alarming roar and fled for her life with a series of terrified snorts. She forcefully kicked up her rear hooves several times as she ran a zigzag pattern, convinced a roaring lion was right on her heels.

The strange zebra disappeared as the lion limped his way into the brush. In his agonizing pain, he became angry with himself for missing the danger from behind as he had followed the odd zebra. He had so wanted to find out what was wrong with the little creature, but he was afraid of scaring it away. Now the zebra was long gone, and he was left with a serious problem to deal with.

The lion settled down next to a big tree and delicately licked his wound. Blood trickled out of the hole in his rump, the arrow still sticking out like a single barb. The lion could feel his muscle spasm in pain as his back paw shuddered involuntarily. A growl escaped his throat as he chewed at the arrow in frustration. Unable to reach the right angle and extract the irritating barb, the lion finally laid his head down, panting heavily. The rhythm of his breath carried the exhausted lion to sleep.

Disoriented and unaware of how much time had passed, the lion startled awake as he heard the crunch of dry grass. Someone was approaching his hiding spot. Now alert, but unsure if he could defend himself, the lion stayed still as he waited. Suddenly, the same strange zebra came prancing about, in her own little world, completely unaware of what lay nearby. She wandered into the clearing and froze, her eyes fixed in terror at the crouched lion staring straight at her.

For a few moments, lion and zebra stared at each other, both holding completely still. Dazzle soon noticed the lion’s labored panting and the bizarre stick protruding from its rear. Flicking her ears back and forth and swishing her tail, Dazzle slowly moved in a semi-circle around the injured lion. She felt torn—her desire to be friendly and helpful, warring with her instinct to run and protect herself from this fierce predator.

The lion dropped his head submissively to the ground to show the zebra he was not a threat. The lion merely wanted to understand this peculiar little creature. Why was she alone? And why was she so sad?

“Please don’t go,” the lion called out quietly as he sensed her urge to run. “I won’t hurt you. As you can plainly see, I'm injured, and I could use a friend right now—or just someone to help me.”

Dazzle was astonished that the lion spoke to her. She’d only ever seen lions as they chased her own kind down. She’d never heard one speak before, and though she assumed they could talk, she was surprised this one wanted to talk to her. But what surprised her most was that the lion not only asked her for help, but he was asking her for a friend. What were the chances that the most helpful and the most friendly zebra there ever was just so happened to find this lion? It had to be a trick.

“How do I know you won't eat me?” Dazzle asked prudently as she kept her hooves at the ready. Her heart went out to the injured lion, but she was determined to survive, too.

The lion looked down and shook his head slowly. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” he said hopelessly.

“Try me!” Dazzle blurted out without hesitation. Realizing her overexcitement, she switched to a poised demeanor. “Everyone has good in them—” her mind visibly interrupted itself, “Well, if they were here, my family would tell you I'm gullible—” she switched back to her reserved tone, “But maybe you have good in you, too.” By the end of her sentence, Dazzle convinced herself the lion could be trusted. Probably.

The lion stared gingerly at the little zebra, wondering if he should trust this clearly lost soul. She was crazy to be listening to him, crazy to believe him, and probably just crazy—but he must be crazy, too, to befriend a zebra. Still, he needed her. He didn’t have many options otherwise. With a leap of faith, the lion chose to trust the zebra.

“I don't hunt zebras,” the lion admitted quietly. “Actually, I don't hunt anything at all. I don't like to kill.” The lion’s shame was evident in his voice. He was denying his very nature, and he knew it.

“You don't hunt zebras?! Or anything at all?!” Dazzle echoed quizzically as she started to pace back and forth to process this enigma. “How do you survive? What do you eat? How is that possible? Are you tricking me right n—” Dazzle’s hooves stopped in their tracks. “Hey, wait! Weren’t you the one stalking me earlier?!” She retorted, pointing her single-toe-hoof and the stink eye right at him. She was onto him.

The lion huffed out a quiet laugh, amused by her animation. “Yeah, that was me, but I wasn’t stalking you to kill you.” He paused for a moment, a little embarrassed by his unhindered confession. “You looked like you needed a friend, but I didn't want to scare you. I should have paid more attention to my own surroundings while I was worried about yours.”

“You were worried about… me?” Dazzle replied, shocked at the revelation. “Why? I've never heard of a lion wanting anything to do with a zebra…” her voice dwindled. “Well, except to eat it.”

Slowly the lion told Dazzle his story, how he’d been kicked out of his pride when he refused to hunt. He’d joined in eating the prey others had hunted, but he never brought his own kill to the den. He was horrified by the thought of killing another creature, but he knew he needed to eat other animals to survive because lions are strictly carnivorous. His own father, the King of the Pride, had threatened to kill him if he showed his face anywhere near the family again. So, the lion had wandered for several weeks, putting distance between him and his own kind.

“How did you survive this long on your own? And what do you eat now?” Dazzle asked again, needing every detail of his fascinating story—and to make sure she wasn’t on the menu.

“I found other kills and chased away the scavengers to finish off their meals,” the lion admitted shamefully. “I can’t survive without meat, but I don't want to kill. You are completely safe with me because apparently I'm a coward.”

Dazzle carefully approached the lion. “You don't sound like a coward,” she replied compassionately while remembering his scary roar. “You’re the biggest lion I’ve ever seen! So, you must have a big heart,” she marveled at his massive head and huge paws. “I'm Dazzle, by the way.” Without a second thought, she touched her nose to the lion’s in a gesture of friendship and trust.

“I’m Ariel,” his voice softened in gratitude. “Do you know anything about how to remove this thing from my ass-end?” he chuckled nervously. “It really hurts.”

Dazzle’s demeanor instantly became very mature and concerned as she attentively examined the arrow protruding from the lion's backside. “Hmm—” Dazzle nodded her head and sucked her teeth while in deep concentration, acting like a Certified Stick-Remover (Dr. Dazzle, CSR, at your service). “This might hurt a little,” she stated obviously. “You should definitely look away, Mr. Lion.”

Grasping the arrow in her mouth, Dazzle yanked it hard and fast, quickly backing away from Ariel. The lion leapt up in shock, letting out a roar that shook the ground beneath Dazzle’s feet and melted her professional composure. Her mouth fell open, dropping the stick, leaving her agape like a wide-eyed child. He skittered away from Dazzle and licked at the wound as she sympathetically watched (from a safe distance, of course).

After the pain waned, Ariel stylishly sauntered back over to Dazzle, where she waited anxiously. His confidence was very apparent. Dazzle watched him tower over her as he walked his paws right up to her hooves. He rubbed his cheek against her face in gratitude. Ariel’s soft mane tickled her nose as he purred softly. Dazzle felt something of a tickle in her heart, too.

“Thank you, Dazzle,” he said sweetly. “I couldn’t have removed that myself. It really helps to have a friend.”

Dazzle pulled away abruptly. “Did we just become best friends?! Yup! I know we did!” She reveled in her self-proclaimed success and did an adorable attempt at a karate chop to celebrate. She finally found a friend—her best friend, at that.

They laughed and exchanged kind gestures for hours until they settled in under the big tree. As the world turned, something very special was taking place in the African savanna that night.

Chapter 3

Over the next few weeks, Ariel and Dazzle spent their days and nights together. They shared their stories with each other and comforted one another. Ariel shared more about the shame he carries for denying his nature to hunt, and Dazzle expressed how she felt like she never really belonged anywhere. But Ariel made her feel wanted for the very first time, and Dazzle assured him that being different made him wonderful.

Little Dazzle told of how her family was often irritated with her friendliness. How they would laugh openly at her for prancing around and trying to help others, completely oblivious to the ways of the world. They even teased her about her size, saying that she was weak and would never survive. She didn’t understand why everyone expected her to be anything other than herself.

Ever curious about his new zebra friend, Ariel asked Dazzle how she got her name. She explained how the other zebras started calling her “Razzle Dazzle” because she was always drawn to beautiful things. She would race right up to anything pretty or friendly-looking without caution. But whenever she tried to share her passion with the others, they’d laugh and say, “There goes Razzle Dazzle again!” completely dismissing her. Eventually, they shortened her name to just Dazzle. She didn’t even remember her real name anymore.

Suddenly, Dazzle started crying as she admitted to Ariel that she was now sure her family had purposely deserted her. She tried to convince herself that they left her behind by mistake, but deep down she knew the truth. They were tired of her Razzle Dazzle ways.

Ariel, too, admitted that he was devastated when he’d been kicked out of his pride. He loved his mother and sisters, but his father would not accept him. He said that Ariel wasn’t even a lion if he couldn’t kill to protect and feed the family. He was probably right, too. Maybe that’s why his father refused to name him when he was born. Ariel was smaller than his sisters at birth, so perhaps his father knew Ariel could never become a King like he was. Thankfully, at least his mother loved and believed in him. Convinced her son was sent straight from Heaven, it was she who named him Ariel.

Dazzle refused to agree with Ariel’s heartless father. She insisted that being able to kill did not make a lion a lion, though she wasn’t quite sure yet what did. She just knew in her heart that Ariel was the best lion there ever was, and often told him so. Little Dazzle assured Ariel that he had grown into, again, the biggest lion she’d ever seen—but he wasn’t just the biggest and the best lion. She was adamant that he was the most beautiful creature there ever was, inside and out. Why else would a Razzle Dazzle zebra be so drawn to a lion at first sight?

Each day Ariel and Dazzle spent together, they grew closer, reveling in their shared companionship. They even had special qualities to offer each other. Ariel protected Dazzle from other predators, both passively by his very presence and with his chilling roar. He especially kept a watchful eye whenever she needed to drink from the busy watering holes. He saw just how unique zebras are, and Dazzle was the most unique of them all. Ariel felt an instinctive need to keep her safe.

Little Dazzle loved how special her brave lion friend made her feel, and in return, she provided Ariel with tender care and loving support. There are certain places in the African plains where zebras and other prey go to die alone. Dazzle led him to these secluded spots and gave him a respectful distance so he could feed without shame. It took a while to convince him that she did not fault Ariel for needing to eat, and the dead surely wouldn’t mind.

“Aaarrriel!” Dazzle said his name in her adorable, sing-song way that he loved (but never admitted). “You’re a lion—and that’s okay!” Dazzle constantly reminded him that he was perfect just the way he was. Her positive, matter-of-fact attitude didn’t leave room for argument (just the way she liked it).

Thus, they continued for several months, growing more comfortable together each day. Time flew by as they seamlessly floated through life together. Many animals gawked in astonishment as they observed the odd couple. It made no sense, but it was no mirage. A zebra and a lion had formed their own pride—or was it a family? Their hearts were so full with the joy of each other’s companionship that such details mattered little to them. A once shamed lion and an unwanted zebra had somehow found their rightful place with each other.

As nights on the savanna began to cool, Ariel was becoming more comfortable in his feeding routines. One night, he was lethargic after feeding on the remnants of a fallen gazelle. Little Dazzle had settled in next to him, awake and watchful. Taking care of one another was second nature to them now.

Dazzle watched Ariel’s eyes grow heavy as he stared up at her. She leaned down and gave Ariel a soft lick on his nose, and in that precious moment, they both felt an electric flutter in their hearts. Dazzle froze for a moment to comprehend what had just happened. Knowing he felt it, too, Ariel just smiled. They finally felt at peace in this world, right there, in their own slice of heaven—together. Completely entranced by Dazzle’s gorgeous stripes in the moonlight, Ariel began to drift to sleep.

“I love you, Razzle Dazzzzz…” Ariel’s whisper faded to the slow, heavy breaths of slumber.

Dazzle’s heart jumped from her chest and tears filled her excited eyes. “Wait… what?!” Dazzle sharply whispered, trying to contain herself. “Did you just say you love… me?! But I love you! And did you feel that tingle-thingy, too?!” Dazzle’s voice started shaking as tears began to flow freely. “You’re my best friend… in the whole world.”

Ariel let out a loud growl-snore, completely unaware that Dazzle just poured her heart out to him. Dazzle softly neighed, giggling at Ariel’s noises. As she gazed upon her gentle giant, she felt as though she would explode from overflowing love. Little Dazzle calmed herself to let Ariel rest peacefully, but there was no way she would get any sleep that night. She nuzzled her nose into his fluffy mane to speak to him in his dreams.

“You’re a beautiful lion.” Dazzle whispered sweetly to him as he slept. “And one day, you’ll be a beautiful King.”

Chapter 4

“I love you… King…” Dazzle’s soft voice echoed somewhere in Ariel’s dreams. “Aaariel… Ariel… Ah… Ahh! Ariel! Help meee!”

Ariel was startled awake by Dazzle’s cries off in the distance. He knew her voice anywhere, but where had she gone?! She was just here!

Ariel jumped to his paws and raced faster than a cheetah towards the sound of Dazzle’s panicked cries. Quickly, he targeted a sight that boiled his blood.

“GET AWAY FROM HER!” Ariel roared with all his might as he charged straight for Dazzle.

Dazzle had gone to the watering hole for a drink. Thinking of only him, she went alone so her hard working lion could rest. Before Dazzle could sense any danger, she’d been surrounded by a sneaky pack of hyenas. They pounced on her, tearing flesh from her hind quarters as she screamed. Ariel had never heard such a sound before—a sound that turned his boiling blood to solid ice, then right back to scalding. Little Dazzle desperately tried kicking the hyenas off while two others latched onto her throat, knocking her off balance. She was completely overpowered.

It only took moments for Ariel to reach the violent gang, but Dazzle had already been brought to the ground. The hyenas laughed while viciously biting her. They were ripping the life from little Dazzle as her eyes darted about in terror. Ariel roared with fury as he aimed himself like a missile at the cackling pack.

Ariel sliced into their outer circle like a hot knife through butter, feeling nothing as they relentlessly attacked him. This is what he was born to do, and every cry from Dazzle conjured his innate desire to kill. The loving lion was now on a massacre mission.

Ariel clawed one of the hyenas that had a hold on Dazzle’s throat and threw it against a boulder, crushing its spine. He instantly snapped his bite around the skull of the other hyena, bursting it open like a cantaloupe on the wrong end of a sledgehammer. The others scattered a little distance, laughing at the lion’s reaction, and even at the fate of their fallen comrades.

The anger raged in Ariel as he saw how little these filthy creatures knew of loyalty and love. He hooked one of the cacklers by its open mouth and slammed it to the dirt, stomping on its face with his razor sharp claws. Another heckling hyena tried to jump out of the way of the killer freight train, but Ariel caught him by its foot, instantly amputating it. He spit it out and launched himself forward like a great white shark to claim its entire leg. Ariel slashed, gashed, and mauled everything in sight, until all the hyenas fled for the lives and limbs they had left.

When the threat was gone, Ariel turned frantically back to Dazzle, and his heart crashed to his paws. Huge chunks of her legs and belly were ripped open, exposing her bones and bleeding organs. Her throat had puncture holes all over it. Scarlet red blood squirted out with each beat of her terrified heart, and every spray fell weaker than the last. Dazzle was going to die.

“A-Ariel.” Dazzle whispered weakly. “I love you. Please kill me. Don’t let them e-eat me-e-e-e.” Dazzle began to cry in fear of her impending demise, choking on blood and sobs. She was so scared. She didn’t want to go. She didn’t want to leave her beautiful lion. All she wanted was to stay—to stay in their perfect place together, to stay with her best friend… her best friend in the whole world.

“NO!” Ariel roared in fear and disbelief. “I won’t hurt you! Not my Dazzle! Not my little Dazzle!” he cried and he begged. But Ariel knew her fate if he didn’t stop this. Dazzle didn’t deserve to die a slow, agonizing death. She didn’t deserve any of this—and neither did he.

“Shh-shhh. I take care… y-you a-always.” Dazzle struggled, shaking uncontrollably.

“It’s okay to…”

She sucked in her final breath.

“B-BE… A LION!”

Dazzle forced out these final words in a harrowing cry as Ariel snapped her neck with his powerful bite. He held her between his teeth, wailing muffled agony into her flesh.

Ariel gently released Dazzle’s neck, and her head settled onto the ground. Her warm amber eyes, still looking up at him, glazed over with the cold absolute of death. He felt the very moment when her beautiful spirit slipped away into the heavens, and took a piece of his own with her. Ariel wouldn’t kill out of hunger, but he would out of love—and Dazzle went to her grave watching his undying devotion to her.

She was gone. His little Razzle Dazzle… was gone.

Chapter 5

Ariel roared his lament into the air, scattering again the distant hyenas and approaching scavengers. They had killed his only friend, the only one who had truly loved him. He would not let them have her body. She would be nobody’s meaningless meal. Her life meant more than that.

Still overwhelmed by rage, Ariel fantasized about killing even more hyenas. If he could catch every one of those dirty dogs, he’d rip their throats out without a second thought. Dazzle had loved him for his gentle spirit, but her death had awakened in him a prepossession for slaughter. He had never felt such rage, such hunger for revenge—and it scared him.

As the night dragged on under a bright full moon, Ariel’s mind was going numb from his swirling emotions. As he stood guard over her body, he thought back to just hours earlier when he stared up at her zebra stripes, dazzling in the moonlight. Remembering the way she gazed down upon him with so much love, adoration, and acceptance for exactly who he is—a lion, a predator—her own enemy. She never once blamed him for his needs or made him feel like a monster. Dazzle only made him feel like royalty.

“Why didn’t she just wake me?!” Ariel growled under his breath, feeling guilty for being angry with her. Grief, rage, and regret continued to clash throughout his mind.

After scaring away anything that dared look at her, Ariel dragged little Dazzle’s lifeless body to a fallen tree. It’d been struck down by lightning, so he didn’t even realize it was the very same tree where they had met on that fateful first night. He sat by her body, panting and growling in anger and frustration. He couldn’t keep the hyenas, buzzards, and other scavengers away forever. He didn’t know what to do.

“Don’t let them eat me,” her voice rang in his head. “I’ll take care of you. It’s okay to be a lion!” Dazzle’s last words tortured Ariel.

“Is this what you want me to do?!” Ariel pleaded to the moon, desperate for someone to guide him. His mind warred with his heart—his desire to respect her wishes clashing with his desire to hold onto her forever. He began shaking all over as he realized there was only one solution. To save her from rotting away like trash, and from being eaten by those who never even knew her… Ariel would have to devour every inch of his beloved friend.

Ariel cut into Dazzle’s gorgeous chest and began to slowly savor her from the inside out. He masterfully carved out each organ until only her heart remained. He held her heart gently between his teeth and placed it next to the tree. He spent the rest of the night laboriously chomping down every part of her, even most of her bones. She was tiny compared to him, but this was by far the most he’d ever eaten in his life.

Ariel sat quietly in his grief as he painfully digested the life-quenching sustenance which Dazzle provided. He kept having to convince himself that this is what Dazzle wanted—and of course it was. She would have it no other way but to take care of her beautiful lion. Even in death, Dazzle thought only of him. That was the purity of her heart—the heart which he saved for very last.

Ariel gently positioned his jaws over Dazzle’s heart and lapped it all into his mouth. He held it on his tongue with his eyes closed, acknowledging the grace she bestowed upon him. Then, with one last gulp, he swallowed little Dazzle’s big heart whole. Ariel fulfilled her final wish: a donation of life to the one she loved. It was the ultimate sacrifice for everything she believed in… for in him, she believed.

When he could eat no more, Ariel covered Dazzle’s remaining bones, hide, and hooves with the fallen tree branches. As the morning twilight approached, he could see sprouts of life growing sideways up toward the sun from this very special tree. How strange, he thought, that a tree would continue to grow even after it had fallen. Ariel couldn’t think of a more perfect tombstone for the strange little zebra he spotted all those months ago. Right here, under a broken tree she would surely call the most beautiful thing there ever was, lay Dazzle’s final resting place.

As the sun began to rise over the African savanna, Ariel could see the gore scattered over his entire body. He grievously cleaned the murder from his fur. Dazzle’s bright red blood had squirted into the hangs of his mane. He sobbed as he cleaned that away, too.

When Ariel licked up the last drops of her, he began to hear a faint drumming noise. He looked around in confusion as it grew louder. Finally, he realized—the sound was coming from inside his own chest!

“Bum-bump… bum-bump… bum-bump…”

It was the sound of a heartbeat, and not from just any heart! It was like the unmistakable sound of the African drums, beating wildly with a passion that could only belong to Dazzle! The drumming of her heart grew louder and faster inside his body.

“Bum-bump—bum-bump—bum-bump—bum-bump—bum-bump!”

Ariel felt a bolt of electricity within his chest and it shocked him to his feet. His paws barely touched the ground as he ran across the plains. He ran so fast that his two hearts burst into fire—a fire fueled by all the love that Dazzle gave to him!

“Bum-bump-bum-bump-bum-bump-bum-bump-bum-bump-bum-bump-bum-bump!”

Ariel ran and ran until his legs finally locked and he slid to the ground in a grinding halt. Breathing heavily, he looked down at his giant lion claws. He felt his lion tail swishing against the dirt. Saliva trickled down from his sharp lion teeth. There was no more denying his true nature. Ariel is a lion, and a lion must kill to survive… “and that’s okay.”

Ariel picked himself up off the dirt and raised his head high to meet the sun. His golden mane flowed like a sunrise at sea, gently rippling on the waves. There really was never a more beautiful lion in Dazzle’s eyes. She truly believed Ariel was destined for greatness, just like his mother believed when she named him. He let the welcoming warmth wash over him and invited the inevitable transformation to take place. Ariel, the Lion of God, was reborn with a heart of a King, forged by the love of a little zebra named Dazzle.

He ran to escape

The pain, the rage, the shame

His future taking shape

For she never cast the blame

He ran to start a fire

Two hearts burst into flame

Forged in the embers of desire

One lionheart, never to be tamed

Epilogue

Ariel, the apex predator, and Dazzle, his prey, were natural enemies. Yet, somehow, they found unconditional love together in this unforgiving world—a world in which they struggled to belong. They found the one place where they both fit perfectly—with each other. Ariel and Dazzle were destined to be together, even if for just a moment in this life. But one day, Ariel, too, will pass on. His lionheart will return to the heavens from which we are all born… And there, he will once again find his little Razzle Dazzle… prancing among the beautiful stars.

If a Zebra and a Lion can come together to find Zion…

Then, so can you.

FINDING ZION

“Bum-bump… bum-bump… bum-bump…”