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Two souls were held in the cradle of the crescent moon, intertwined as polar opposites often are. The moon sent them down to the Earth, placing one on the land and one in the sea, and the two souls took their shape.
The stars shone upon the slick back skin of the orca whale as it was bestowed upon the surface of the ocean, sinking softly into the waves and finding home in the vast expanse of existence.
The sun rose to glint off the bright eyes of the lion as it was born of the sand, casting a glowing halo to frame the unruly mane that billowed in the light morning breeze over the rolling desert hills.
The two souls felt a hollow space where the other used to reside so closely molded into the negative space of their very beings, and while the world was wondrous and full of life, they could not resist the pull deep within them threatening to draw them together once again.
The oceanic currents were mapped carefully as the orca searched, traversing the great distance between them that seemed to grow wider with each cycle of the moon. It spoke with the other creatures that called the oceans their home, helping them cross the never ending sea and find a place they could call home. But the orca wasn’t sure there was a single place in all of the oceans it could call home without its other half.
Sand dunes would give way to lush greenery, wet leaves and thick underbrush crunching beneath the lion’s heavy steps. The small creatures hanging in the trees and rushing beside the lion’s feet asked it many questions, most of which it was too ignorant or prideful to answer. Still, they asked anyway, badgering the lion at all waking hours of the day.
Eventually, the lion gave in and humored the other creatures, telling tales of its travels and painting landscapes behind their eyelids as it spoke. The animals could do little but listen at full attention, enraptured by its words.
Days passed as the lion wound its way through the thick plant vegetation attempting to follow the pull it felt deep within. Strangely, there were days where the pull came anew and changed the lion’s course entirely. It confused the lion’s senses, doubling back over its tracks until the lion grew furious with frustration and let out an earth breaking roar.
The creatures of the forest watched as the lion panted heavily, shackles rising with each shaky breath and weighing down as if the lion might crumble at any moment. Their storyteller, their leader, was suffering, and all they had done was pull words from the lion’s mouth.
They needed a fair exchange.
“Do you wish to ask something of us?” the creatures asked.
The lion considered the offer, first wanting to hastily snap at them for suggesting such a foolish idea. Then, a scent passed in the air, something salty and bright, that struck a cord deep within the lion’s soul. The lion’s head rose.
“Do you know a place where the water never ends?”
The birds overhead flitted with excitement.
“Yes, yes!” one chirped, ever eager to prove their worth to the mighty and prideful lion, “We have traveled there many times!”
“Will you take me?” the lion requested.
“Of course!” they replied. There was a pause, and hesitation coating the next trill. “It is a long journey there and even more harrowing on the return.”
“I will not need to return.”
“Then I shall guide you.”
The bird took off with great haste, leaving the lion to weave through the forest and cast glances to the sky wishing not to lose sight of the vibrant wings. Every time the lion was sure it had lost them, the bird would perch on a branch a few strides ahead, waiting for the lion to catch up. Their pace was too quick for the small creatures to follow, so they bid their goodbyes and turned tail back to their homes.
As the bird and the lion traversed the land, the lion asked many questions.
“Do you not fear that I will eat you?”
“Your eyes do not threaten me.”
“Is the wind cold above the trees?”
“The water we will find is even colder.”
“Were you always a bird?”
The bird laughed.
“What else could I have been before?”
“A piece of the sky.”
“Were you?”
The lion was quiet. The bird waited on the branch, breath steady.
“I was, once…” the lion trailed off, its pace faltering for just a half step. “I think I would like to be, again.”
“Will the never ending water bring you back to the sky?”
“Even if it did, I would wait to return.”
“Wait for who?”
The bird was clever. It made the lion smirk.
“My other half.”
“Are they meeting you at the water?”
“We shall see.”
They rested each night under the canopy of branches with shimmering stars peaking through. Noises echoed off the tree trunks, casting worry into the heart of the bird. The lion could sense the unease.
“Nest in my fur tonight,” the lion offered. “My scent and mane will hide you from predators.”
The bird considered the words.
“How do I know you will not eat me in my sleep?” the bird asked in a teasing tone that caused a deep rumbling laugh to come from the lion.
“Only now you are worried?”
“I’ve never met a lion like you.”
“I’m not a lion,” the lion insists.
“Then show me.”
“I can’t. Not until–”
“We get to the water,” the bird finished with a smile.
“Come down so we may rest,” the lion said tiredly, and with the strong words reverberating warmly in the night air the bird fluttered down and settled comfortably in the lion’s mane. The lion laid its head down and let its eyes fall closed.
Shadows cast into the depths of the ocean, cascading down much further than the orca could ever imagine. It paid the deep no mind, continuing its journey. Small schools swam past, but rarely did a creature venture close enough to speak.
Finally, when the sun began beaming through the waves and warming the surface and the orca rose to greet the day, a smaller dolphin rose to the surface as well with light laughter bubbling forth.
“I’ve never seen someone like you before,” the dolphin called out. “Where are you from?”
“The moon sent me,” the orca replied simply.
“You know the moon?” the young one asks with wide eyes.
“The moon was my home.”
“Was?”
“The ocean is where I find my peace, for now.”
The dolphin laughed and circled the orca playfully.
“How much of the ocean have you seen?” the dolphin asked.
“More than I can remember.”
“Have you ever been to the shore?”
“The shore?”
“Where the land meets the water, the edge of the sea!” the dolphin explained cheerily.
The pull within the orca grew stronger at these words.
“Can you take me there?” the orca asked earnestly.
“My family is traveling tomorrow, come join us!”
So the orca joined the young dolphin and was led to the pod. The other dolphins were hesitant to trust such a creature.
“We have seen your kind eat many of us, how will we trust you?”
“I do not know the way to the shore without you. Please, guide me.”
The young dolphin circled its new friend.
“The orca came from the stars!”
“The moon,” the orca corrected.
“How could anything from the moon betray us? She sends the waves and pulls the current, we trust her with our lives every day.”
“Why would the moon wish for this orca to reach the shore?” the older dolphin questioned.
“I wasn’t the only one the moon sent,” the orca explained. “There is another, waiting for me on the dry land.”
“What if they aren’t waiting for you?”
“They will be,” the orca said, words full of faith and hope.
The dolphins began their journey the next morning, passing through the waters and swiftly making their way to the lush green coast.
As the lion approached the water, just as dusk began to settle and cast long shadows that reached out from the forest, it hesitated on the small pebbles.
“What if… what if they forgot me?” the lion worried.
“Did you forget?” the bird chirps.
“No… but it has been many sunsets since we have been together.”
“If you didn’t forget, then why would they?”
The lion smiled up at the bird where it circled the sky above him.
“How wise of you to always say what I want to hear.”
“All the wiser so you don’t eat me while we wait for your friend.”
“A snack does sound appealing…”
“Look now! Over the horizon! There is movement on the water,” the bird called, pointing a wing out at the steady waves.
The lion raced to the edge of the water, where it lapped against its ankles and the salty tang filled its nostrils.
Sure enough, out as far as the eye could see was a shape leaping in the air. It seemed far too small to be the orca, and too light of a color. The hope building in the lion’s chest began to fizzle out.
“Look! Look! There, by the young one!” the bird insisted, flapping their wings in excitement.
The lion pressed further and watched as the orca surfaced, rising above the waves with determination. The young dolphin leapt over the orca, splashing water and giggling loud enough to carry across the water and reach the lion’s ears. Accompanying the giggle was a deeper laugh, one rich and bright that rang straight through the lion’s core.
Without a second thought, the lion went racing down the shore.
“Kuugo!” the lion shouted, voice hopefully and full of warmth. Rocks jutted out from the waves, creating a natural pier to lead the lion towards the depths of the water. The pads of his feet pushed against the wet stone, surging him forward until he was at the very edge, teetering over the swirling blue.
“Shishido!” the orca called as it swam towards the rocks, coming to stop at the base in the shallowest water it could float in. The lion leapt down closer, resting on the smaller rocks with water lapping at his claws.
“I’m here, Kuugo,” the lion, Shishido, said through its labored breaths, crouching down low and pressing its head forward. The fur of the lion’s forehead dampened as it was pressed into the cool skin of the orca, breathing in his deep water scent.
“I’m sorry it took so long, little lion,” the orca, Kuugo, said. “I was searching, but unable to find my way, until this kind family lent me their trust and led me to the shore.”
“I traveled through the desert and forest, and I lost myself amongst the chaos. Was it not for a kind bird…” the lion trailed off for a moment. “It seems we both needed a helping hand.”
They both chuckled, the sound vibrating through them and grounding them in the moment.
As they basked in the glow of the presences of the other, the moonlight shone down upon them and cast the lion and the orca in a heavenly glow. With the light dancing off their skin and the warmth of their touch, the two began to change shape.
Slick black skin turned softer, and a long body of muscle and fins took on a human form, pulling himself onto the rocks. The great mane and wide jaw of the lion turned a new color as his body shifted into a form to match Kuugo’s.
Their hands stayed joined, pulling each other close as their new states of being settled into their bones.
Shishido grinned up at Kuugo before barreling into him in a violent hug.
“I’ve missed you too,” Kuugo laughed, holding strong as he picked up Shishido and spun him around, lifting him in the moonlight.
“I’ve missed you more,” Shishido challenged with a wide grin.
Kuugo laughed and pulled the lion into his arms, savoring the warmth of his touch and the feeling of a body once again fitted into the negative space of his own being.
The bird watched from a tree along the shoreline as the orca and the lion walked hand in hand along a moonbeam and became one with the sky once more. It was breathtaking, their ethereal forms blending into the ink stained sky until they disappeared from sight entirely.
The bird waited, watching the water shift in the moonlight, and found the small shape of the young dolphin jumping once more.
With one final glance, the bird took to the sky to begin their long journey home, knowing deep within their heart they had lived a wondrous story that none of the creatures from their home would ever believe.