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Through the stinging hot embers and choking black smoke, Kanya presses forward while keeping a watchful eye on the raging wildfire nearby. She can feel tears forming on her eyelids but she is unsure if it is from the acrid air or from watching her homeland go up in flames.

‘What a miserable year it has been’. She thinks to herself. First her parents, then her sister Uhuru’s mate. The drought had taken everything dear to them, leaving the Barakoa females alone to care for two small cubs.

Her paws are burning from walking on hot ash now. She blinks back her tears and tries to focus on her sister’s rapidly disappearing silhouette. The tall dead grass has all but consumed her little sister Sade’s tiny frame, her parents’ last cub. Her mother had warned Kanya before her passing. “One cub. One precious cub between myself and your sister. Our bodies cannot sustain life. This famine will take us all.”

“Auntie.”

Kanya is snapped out of her morose reverie. “Yes, Solo.” She looks down at her sister’s cub, the only male Barakoa now, and tries to hide the worry that must be ravaging her face. She was never really good at hiding it.

His little voice chirps up to her, “Auntie Nakuru is falling behind again!” He trots off, proud of himself for keeping an eye on his wayward aunt.

Kanya lifts her head and focuses her gaze on her littermate. She has her back turned to them, staring off into the distance.

Her sister was always a daydreamer. Perhaps even a little ditzy at times. Kanya sighs and tells her nephew to stay put. Wandering off with a nearby wildfire could be a fatal decision. And she certainly wasn’t losing Solo while he is in her care. Her sister would never forgive her.

“Nakuru. Naku? What do you see?”

No answer.

Kanya climbs the hill to stand beside her sister. Looking down into the valley they just travelled is a strange lioness. She’s large and dark in form and is heading directly towards them.

Bloom where you are planted 🌸🪻🌺

“Scary love”

Probably how my dogs feel sometimes 😅 just some super old art.