Sunshine

Furaha woke up. She was in a dark room, in bed, with only one window lit by one beam of sunlight. She tried looking around for Orko, but he wasn’t there. The bed she was sleeping on was hard and uncomfortable, and the duvet covering her was itchy and rough. Just then, a huge plume of darkness hovered over the light. Furaha screamed!

Furaha woke up. This wasn’t a dream. She was in the clean, boundaryless countryside - a patchwork of grass and flowers, with a huge oak tree standing near the beach, which was carpeted with golden sand and deep blue water. By her side, Orko was fast asleep, but woke when he heard Furaha breathing heavily. “Furaha, are you okay?” “I had the dream again,” worried Furaha, “I was trapped in this one room, with an uncomfortable bed and an itchy duvet on top of it. They never let me leave to see the sunlight. They even covered the room up with complete darkness! Oh, woe is me…” “Don’t be scared, Furaha,” reassured Orko, “Dreams like these are dark, I know, but let’s enjoy our time in the sunshine to get rid of our fears and have a little fun.” Furaha wondered for a minute, then she lit up. “Such a room as this never exists!” she squeaked in a positive way, “Race you into the meadow!”

Furaha and Orko raced into the meadow and ran (or floated if it’s Orko) freely across the long green grass. Furaha instantly forgot about the dream as she felt the wind in her little furry face, blowing the rest of her fur as she ran like she had never run before. Orko felt the wind blowing his ears and flapping his cloak and scarf, as he felt a freedom he didn’t feel back in Eternia, when he was forced to work and slave away under He Man’s orders.

They ran across a part of the meadow where some seagulls were nesting. Furaha roared loudly, scattering them all in different directions, and she and Orko screamed with laughter as they watched the seagulls fly away, squawking maniacally like a thousand mad scientist ladies. At last, Furaha screeched to a halt at the edge of a cliff, where she saw a whole field of yellow and pink flowers. Orko arrived as she said, “Hey…last one in’s scented.”

The two took hold of each other hand in paw and leapt into the flowery meadow, scattering flowers everywhere. Furaha and Orko emerged, laughing away as they rolled in the flowers to indulge in their sweet scent, and watched butterflies flitter about, collecting nectar. Sometimes they lay down amongst the flowers and watched the clouds float overhead and take shape. It was so relaxing.

When they arrived back in the meadow a few minutes later, Orko and Furaha climbed up a tree and sat down on the branches to watch over the whole world. To them, the tree was just like a leafy fortress - something which they can look at the world from in the distance without any armies to tear them to the ground. It was the only castle they’ve ever been raised in. Something which nature can allow them to live in. After a while, Furaha felt really sad. “What’s the matter?” asked Orko. “The dream - it’s coming back into my head.” explained Furaha calmly, “Trapped…abandoned…never being allowed to see the sun ever again.” “It’s what gives us vitamin D, the sunshine,” said Orko softly, “But still, at least we have each other. You’re never going to be trapped again.” “Really?” “Yep, never in a million years.” Furaha, delighted with what she heard, hugged Orko gently, feeling the softness of his velvety cloak as she kissed his shadowed face. Orko was always there for her, even during tough times.

After this consolation, they safely clambered down from the tree to play on the beach. They ran across the sandy dunes. They made hand or paw prints on the sand and watched them get washed away by the waves. They ran into the water and splashed about, even going so far as to swim in it, then lie back and look up at the beautiful blue sky. It was so relaxing (for the second time in this story).

By the time they left the beach, the sun was setting and the sky was painted in tropical orange hues. Furaha and Orko settled under the tree and snuggled next to each other. “Aaaaaaahhh…” sighed Furaha as she nuzzled into Orko’s chest, “I’m glad we all have each other after such a bad dream as this.” “Goodnight, Furaha.” “Goodnight, Orko, nothing bad is ever going to happen to us ever again.”

But somewhere across the world, a young grey furred lion cub woke up in his dirty, poorly conditioned house. War was raging outside, as armies battled over who gained control of their power. The windows were dirty and smashed, and little balls of fire flew through the window, setting the cub’s entire bedroom on fire. His bed was dirty and covered in stains and smelly wet patches. Cries of “Quick, get out of there!” and “There’s no time, leave him!” echoed from the other room as the cub hid under the duvet and prayed he would find a better future…

And now, here he was, in a tranquil place among the clouds. He is now fitted with a soft white robe and an angel’s halo, or a thingamajig, and walking slowly towards the pearly gates. Before entering, he says a prayer so difficult it’s hard to put into the story. The prayer gives him access into Heaven, where he sees a whole entire meadow of lion and lioness cubs who have lived in poor conditions like him playing and having fun. A golden furred lioness cub takes his paw and leads him into his new found freedom, while the voice of Furaha echoes through the clouds:

“Alas, where true sunshine shines is where a better place lies in wait for you.”

THE END.