I was Raised By Lions
alternate reality childhood story. Second version for the in the moment comp
It’s not that my mother was a bad mother just that the Lions showed an interest and she figured that being an only child I could do with the company. Also, as a single mother, she probably felt I would benefit from a strong male role model.
The house in which I was born was next to an abandoned theme park on the western outskirts of Sydney. The theme park had an African Lion Safari and when it closed there was nowhere else for the Lions to go, so they stayed. The former owner had to pay for their upkeep and deal with security.
Every morning my mum listened to the Lions intently as they bellowed their dawn chorus. I think she fell in love with the mystery they represented and the freedom they seemed to enjoy.
Soon after my birth she decided to introduce me to the neighbours. As an adult I now realise this decision may have had something to do with post natal depression but as a child it sounded like such a happy story. Anyway they did not eat me they actually adopted me as one of their own.
I loved to be with my Lion family. On long summer afternoons I would lure neighbourhood pets into their enclosure for a game of chasies. Afterwards we would lie around soaking in the sun for hours and hours.
I learnt so many wonderful things but most importantly my Lion family taught me about living in the moment. When you run with the Pride you can feel it in your gut, all the joy and pain that can be had in life can come and go in a moment, life is just a series of those moments.
Over the happy years of my youth there were some minor setbacks. I lost some toes, some fingers and my right eye but on the whole I think I have benefited from living amongst the Lions. For example:
• I was only ever bullied once
• I can roar so loud that I can bring an entire shopping centre to a halt
• I can lick myself clean using no more than a standard glass of water
• I can permanently retract my claws
My dear old mum has now passed and the Lions were all put to sleep when I was a teenager. They never could find a home for them and Africa is such a long way away.
Isn’t it odd how things that don’t seem to hurt you at the time of your youth can become a source of deep pain when you are fully grown? It may sound strange but if my Lion family were here with me now I could deal with them not being here so much better.
As a young man I was a fairly wild and woolly character but nowadays I live a quiet life of contemplation and retreat. I think my bad behaviour was because I missed my family and did not know how to properly express myself. Of course no one understood.
I often think of my Lion family and every now and then I try to play chasies but really it just makes me sad. Without the pride to run with it just doesn’t feel right, the moment has passed.
Life has not been without its trials, in fact there have been many charges but to date no major convictions. After all the court cases and accusations a lot of people seem to think that I am a homicidal sociopath. But the truth of it is I’m really just a big pussycat.
LadyLazurus
I was just wondering, I really liked your story, and I know this is supposed to be more humorous than serious, but can I ask you if there are underlying tones in your words? YOu know, dominate mother tyoe of thing? I was just curious. because it seems like you are trying to say more than you are trying to be funny. Once again, I like your methods.
jkp07
Thank You for your interest in Raised by Lions. It is entirely different from my own story, I am from a large family (7 kids) and my parents (both in their 80s now) are still together. This story is about loneliness and the way in which we see it as normal in a retrospective sense. There were outrageous things in my childhood, events and behaviours that are entirely weird and unaceptable today, yet to me it seemed normal and I still feel that way in my heart.
That is what underlies the story, the not funny bit. We are all alone, some people terribly so. And even though this is outrageous we chose to see it as normal. The lions were lonely and abondonned, so was the mother, so was the child and so was the adult version of the child. That is the really strange part of the story, all those characters are so lonely, but it is seen as normal so no one ever mentions it.
I think humour is a natural consequence of such contemplation, well at least for me it seems to be.
RuthFroehlinger
I like this story alot – especially the bit about living in the moment. If we could all do that, there would be no loneliness.
Digby
Great tag at the end. I get what you’re saying there about things that seem normal as a kid, but others or even ourselves might find outrageous or simply off putting later in life. I have it about killing, gutting and skinning sheep on the farm as a kid.
Damian
Wonderfully done, an enjoyable read. The loneliness felt like a goldeny glow of the sun setting over this piece, as the adult condemplated the losses of childhood.