SIMBA’S ABSENCE

Intro:

Scar has just ascended the throne at Pride Rock, but Simba has run off into the desert. Exiled from his homeland he collapsed as he was wandering through the desert, he was rescued by a meerkat named Timon and a warthog named Pumbaa. After they chased away the vultures that were picking at Simba they took him to a small oasis in the desert, hoping that by raising a lion they’d have some protection from predators. So how do they break the ice…? They sing to him of course and now Simba lives in the Jungle with Timon and Pumbaa living a Hakuna Matata lifestyle. Simba’s home is no longer his responsibility as far as he’s concerned, now his kingdom belongs to his uncle. He’d rather not go back and face everyone because he believes that he killed his father. Simba, Timon, and Pumbaa are the only characters in this story and they all belong to Disney along with the story written in this intro. Send feedback, questions, etc. to the6silent6one6@yahoo.com. This story is actually more like my opinion on how Hakuna Matata can’t really exist more than anything else.

Characters:

From Disney:

Simba (7 Months)

Nala (7 Months)

Timon (2 Years)

Pumbaa (4 Years)

Royal Family Tree:

Mohatu

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Igunoi + Frehda (Ahadi) + Uru

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Sarabi + Mufasa Scar + Zira Veni

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Simba Nuka

Ethigi + Varimi

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Zira

Locations:

Jungle: This is the jungle that the three pals live in. The population only consists of them and a whole lotta bugs to eat, there’s no danger or anything.

Part 1: Simba’s Adventure – Is Hakuna Matata worth it?

Chapter 1: Let’s Practice Hakuna Matata

Chapter 2: Meerkat + Warthog = Lion?

Chapter 3: Thoughtful Simba

Chapter 4: Subconscious Feelings Emerge

Chapter 5: True Happiness

Chapter 1: Let’s Practice Hakuna Matata

The brain… easily the most complex organ of any creature’s body. One organ; controlling everything, multi-tasking at insane levels. It’s arguable whether or not the brain truly rests for a third of an organism’s lifetime; if it were to truly rest and shut itself off then the organism wouldn’t breathe or toss around in their sleep to avoid bedsores or cramps. Sure there are some parts of the brain that are understood, but those are only the technical parts; the true complexity of the brain lies within our memories and subconsciousness. What significance does the past have on us as animals if we always remember it? Our memory subconsciously links certain events, places, ideas or other animals with certain emotions and thoughts. Why does it do this? How does it do this? There is a major significance in our memories; maybe our memories exist to serve as our guides into the future? Without history there’s no future, without history everything just exists without any meaning or purpose. For some unknown reason we need to remember; we must remember every event in our lives, we must relive every moment right before death relieves us of everything, we must never forget. If we forget then we lose everything that we’ve ever cared about, nothing will matter, our lives will become meaningless, our futures will become useless, and our deaths will be in vain. Therefore we can never truly forget even those things that we want to forget the most.

Hakuna Matata is a major contradiction to what our minds naturally do. If we were meant to live in the moment and put the past behind us then we wouldn’t have memories, we wouldn’t have a past, we wouldn’t worry about our future, we’d just focus on the present and live life to its fullest. Living a life with no worries sounds like a utopian society, but just like a utopian society it can never be achieved. Nobody has an empty conscience, and though we would prefer to not remember those bad times they can never truly be forgotten. Even those memories that we think we forgot are buried in the back of our minds somewhere, they just can’t be accessed as animals don’t even use 15% of their brains. In order to truly live in the moment you would have to abandon everything; you’d have to lose your family, your friends, your identity, your home. After accomplishing this you become nothing more than a child, a child whose future is undecided. You wouldn’t care about the future and you’d never plan it out, everything would be done on impulse and emotion “I did it because I felt like it.” Or “I did it because I wanted to.” And we’d lose our future.

So what is Hakuna Matata? Hakuna Matata is nothing more than a fairy tale. Hakuna Matata is a child’s outlook on life, and a very young child at that. Hakuna Matata is an optimist’s dream. Hakuna Matata is not meant for animals, Hakuna Matata is meant only to help somebody feel better for an instant. Even Simba is troubled by his past as he tries to live with Timon and Pumbaa in the true Hakuna Matata spirit. He tricks himself into happiness, he just hides his misery away with a mask; it’s not until he goes back to Pride Rock to face his past that he truly becomes happy again.

Chapter 2: Meerkat + Warthog = Lion?

“Timon!! Come on wake up Timon!!” cried Simba.

Timon slowly raised his eyelids, he saw Simba’s eyes staring him right in the face. “Hey, what are you doing? The sun’s not even up yet.” Timon then yawned and stretched, groaning as he did so. “Sorry kid but I need my beauty sleep.”

“Come on Timon, sleep time is over. The sun’s almost up anyway, come on just get up.” Simba pleaded.

“Okay fine, I’m up.”

“Alright!!”

Timon hopped off of Pumbaa’s belly and stepped in front of Simba, “So whatd’ya want?”

“I want to play!”

“PLAY?!! At this time of day, why?”

“Because it’s not hot yet.”

“Oy!” Timon said as he covered his face with his hand, “It’s not hot yet he says…”

“What?”

“Oh, nothing, well what did you have in mind?”

“How about… predator vs. prey?”
“Oh no… not predator vs. prey.” Timon groaned.

“Get ready Timon, here comes the hungry predator.” Simba said tauntingly.

“Please Simba, I really don’t want to play this right now, I’m too tired to run.”

“Better start moving Timon.”

“Simba, please!”

Simba wasn’t paying any attention to Timon, Timon started running off and Simba chased after him. It’s like the animal version of Cops and Robbers, Simba is the cop and Timon is the robber. Timon ran into a narrow log and stopped in the center of it to catch his breath.

“Ah, that’s not fair!” Simba whined. “I can’t reach you in there.”

“This is what prey does Simba. We hide from our predators.”
“Come on Timon, I’m not really gonna eat you.”

“I don’t care, I’m tired of running.”

“Ah Timon… you always do this.”

“Well EXCUSE ME if I don’t want to be chased around all day by a rambunctious lion cub.”

“But it’s fun.”

“Yeah, fun for you, but I always have to be the prey.”

“That’s because you’re not threatening, whenever I used to play with my friends we’d always trade places.”

“Not threatening, play it with Pumbaa then. He has tusks and whatnot; I can’t run like this all day long.”

“Man, you’re no fun Timon… fine I’ll go and play with Pumbaa.”

“Alright, I’ll just stay in here for awhile.” Timon sat down still breathing heavily, he decided to rest his eyes and eventually he fell asleep.

“Pumbaa!” Simba was excitedly yelling as he ran through the Jungle back to where Pumbaa sleeps. “Pumbaa!!”

Pumbaa just laid on top of the bed snoring away. By now the sun had risen and everything was light once more, it was light but it wasn’t yet hot. Simba ran up to Pumbaa and tapped him on the belly.

“Hmm… Oh, Simba. Where’s Timon?”

“He’s hiding, we were playing Predator vs. Prey and he ran into a log.”

“So I wanted to play Predator vs. Prey with you, you can be the predator.”

“I can be the predator? Why won’t you be?”

“Because ever since I’ve lived here I’ve always been the predator, being the prey is easier because you don’t have to watch anybody or predict their next move.”

“Well, I guess you have a point there.”
“Yeah and besides you’re bigger than me, it makes more sense for me to run from you.”

“Well, I guess you’re right. Let’s do it then!”
“Cool!”

Simba and Pumbaa played games all morning long; it started with Predator vs. Prey, then they played tag for awhile, when Timon returned they were playing Bug Harvester which he joined in on, and after Bug Harvester the three of them played Simon Says. After Simon Says the day was already half over, and though Timon and Pumbaa were tired and wanted to do their own things Simba was still energetic.

“Come on Simba, enough is enough.” Timon pleaded.

“Yeah, we’re really tired.” Pumbaa added.

“But I’m not.” Simba whined.

Timon and Pumbaa both turned around to discuss with each other.

“This cub is going to run us ragged Pumbaa!”

“Well we can’t just leave him here Timon, he needs us.”

“Why? He can take care of himself.”

“Timon!” Pumbaa said sharply.

“Oh alright. I wasn’t really going to abandon him, I kinda like the little guy.”

Timon and Pumbaa turned back around only to find that Simba was nowhere in sight.

“Oh no... not again!” Timon cried.

“What?” Pumbaa asked.

“You’ll find out.” Timon said nervously, “Simba… oh Simba… where are you…?”

“ROAR!!!!” Simba yelled at Timon as he jumped out of the bushes. Timon jumped into the air and Simba just stood there cracking up, even Pumbaa got a decent chuckle out of it.

“Young lion! That is not funny!!” then Timon turned to face Pumbaa, “And if you’re not going to do anything about it then I guess that I have to be the bad guy here.”

“Aw Timon, he’s just having fun.”

“Yeah will the fun stops here! I won’t have any more of this; if you’re going to live with us then you must behave!! I’m sick and tired of all of your antics, I’m in physical pain here!! Chasing you down waterfalls, being your pet, taking you somewhere EVERY night, playing your terrifying games, it’s ridiculous!! And another thing-”

“Uh, Timon.” Pumbaa started.

“Don’t interrupt me Pumbaa!”

“Look.” Pumbaa gestured towards Simba who was sobbing a little bit.

“Oh geez.” Timon whispered inaudibly to himself.

“I’m sorry Simba, hey come on cheer up. Hakuna Matata, right.” Timon said with a smile.

Simba couldn’t help but smile as well, “Hakuna Matata.” he said a little happier.

“That’s it!”

Although Simba was happy again he always thought about what Timon had told him. He knew that he was acting out a little bit because of his guilt, his loss, his confusion, and his fear. So that night would be his last act of defiance, he’d pretend to have a nightmare so that he could sleep in the same bed as Timon and Pumbaa. This would, in a way, force him to sleep through the night; and once he awoke in the morning he’d act a little more adult so that he wouldn’t overwhelm Timon. After all the only two that Simba has left are Timon and Pumbaa, if they abandon him then what is he to do?

Chapter 3: Thoughtful Simba

“Time flies when you’re having fun.” Timon thought, “It seems like just yesterday we rescued him… why he was even smaller than Pumbaa. But now-now I’m an adolescent.” Simba thought to himself as the scene shifted to him sitting in front of the waterfall. “Where did all of the time go? Now I have all of my whiskers, I’m starting to grow my mane, I’m growing bigger in size, I have the weirdest urges… why is this happening? Why can’t I return to the time back when my father was alive? Why am I thinking about this? Hakuna Matata… right? Why can’t I forget, it’s too painful… so why? Why do these thoughts linger in my mind? Why can’t I be happy like I was all that time ago when Timon and Pumbaa first found me? Why must I remember all of these painful memories, dad… I’m sorry that I killed you; can you ever forgive me?”

Simba sat in silence, he thought about the day of the stampede and kept thinking of ways that he could’ve changed it. If he ran up the cliff instead of trying to outrun the wildebeests he would’ve returned home fine. If he hadn’t roared then they wouldn’t have stampeded, and of course if he hadn’t even been there in the first place then everything would be fine. He would do anything that he could if it meant that he could return to that day at that location, he’d be willing to sacrifice his soul just to return to that one day. He couldn’t live a Hakuna Matata lifestyle, not with his past always haunting him; causing him to have nightmares, but this was far better than returning and actually having to deal with everything. He didn’t think that he could face anybody at home, he didn’t have it within himself.

Simba continued to sit and ponder for several more moments, “Wait… that’s it!!! Thinking is the problem, if I can stop thinking about it then it won’t bother me anymore. I just have to keep my mind occupied so that I don’t feel sad anymore. Just like when I was a cub, I didn’t ever think about it… not with Hakuna Matata on my side. I can’t believe I never realized it earlier, it’s thinking that’s doing this to me. That’s it, as far as I’m concerned I have no past before Timon and Pumbaa.”

Chapter 4: Subconscious Feelings Emerge

For about a year Simba continued to live a complete Hakuna Matata lifestyle, and he stayed happy during that stretch of time. It wasn’t until Simba was about two and a half that he started feeling down again. He hadn’t thought about it, not at all, but suddenly he couldn’t get it out of his head. It started with the nightmares, his biggest recurring dream was him wrestling with his father and accidentally knocking him into the gorge right into the stampede. Then during Simba’s regular everyday activities he’d all of a sudden be hit with the sadness that his father’s death brought to him. His brain was forcing him to remember everything, these things weren’t meant to be forgotten. All that Simba could do to suppress these thoughts was to hang out with Timon and Pumbaa. As long as he was with them he wasn’t thinking about his father or his past. Hakuna Matata seemed to only exist with the three of them together, if they separate then Hakuna Matata fades away into nothing. It’s at that moment, the moment that Hakuna Matata subsides, that Simba’s subconscious thoughts start beating him up inside. Hakuna Matata had done this to him, after suppressing everything for so long it finally came back to get him. After all you can’t live your whole life in happiness, if you remove all conflict and negative emotions then you’re left with nothing more than a shell of a being. It takes horrendous events to make someone truly appreciate the better times in their lives, if you try to make your whole life one happy existence then the unpleasant events seem much worse than they actually are.

Chapter 5: True Happiness

Simba continued to live in secret sadness for another six months, he thought that Hakuna Matata with Timon and Pumbaa was where his true happiness lied… but he was very wrong. It wasn’t until Nala came back into his life that he actually felt happy once more. Reconnecting with his childhood friend brought more happiness than he thought he could feel. This happiness very quickly blossomed into love; love pushes you to the point of insanity, you become so ecstatic that you lose control of yourself. Simba became confused, it wasn’t until his father appeared in the clouds that he was able to make up his mind. He realized that true happiness didn’t lie in Hakuna Matata, that would only provide temporary happiness; to truly be happy once more Simba needed to return to his home, he had to face his past or else it’s going to haunt him forever.

Outro:

Well, what I tried to do here was explain my theory on Hakuna Matata by using TLK as an example (well, what else would I use as an example?) So basically the whole idea behind Hakuna Matata is to live for the moment and to forget about the past. That sounds all well and good but you can’t be happy with skeletons hanging in your closet. No matter how far you delude yourself into blissful ignorance in the name of happiness your past will catch up with you, after all nobody has a clean conscience and thusly nobody is really happy. There’s a difference between being content and being happy; to be happy you need no guilt, no conflict, a strong sense of your identity and knowing who you really are, and most importantly you need to kick all of your other emotions out of the door. There is no such thing as permanent happiness, as much as everyone wishes so it just doesn’t exist; just be glad with what you have and don’t let a cynical person like me ruin your day.