kiarafamilyhome

	I wanted to understand Kiara's obsession with The Lion King so I visited her family home in Minnesota. When I saw it I was surprised that there was still a place like that in modern America. It was a small wooden cabin located on Eagle Mountain. It had been built by her grandfather and did not have modern conveniences like running water or electricity.

	"Our family has lived here for decades," Kiara's mother told me when I inquired about Kiara's youth, "but Kiara had her own dreams. We wanted her to stay home and continue the family practice of gathering firewood for warmth.She wanted to play social games on the internet."

	According to Kiara's mother, Nala, Kiara left home at age 10 to pursue her dreams. Bringing only a knapsack of preserved meat and a dvd box set of the Timon & Pumbaa animated series, Kiara ventured down Eagle Mountain to search for a city with internet access.

	"We haven't spoken to her since. We don't get mail or telephone out here. I wonder how she's doing?" Her mother revealed.

	I silently cursed Kiara for leaving her poor mother to worry about her. However, I found that I did not have it in me to tell Nala what had become of her daughter: That Kiara had become an internet shyster, earning points by betraying and defrauding her friends while hiding behind the mask of a cartoon lion. Instead, I decided to move onto the question that I had come all this way to answer.

	"Why... why the Lion King?"

	Her mother did not answer at first but I could tell from the distressed look on her face that the question had brought back painful memories. The silence dragged on for so long that I thought I had better take my leave but, just as I began to rise, Nala spoke.

	"When Kiara was young she went moose hunting with her father." She began the story with a quivering voice. "Oh her father was great hunter. Kiara, too. They killed 45 moose that day. But when you have that many corpses lying about you attract hungry predators."

	My throat went dry as I began to surmise how the story would end.

	"The mountain lion came out of nowhere. It went for Kiara first-- she was smaller of course --but her father pulled her to safety. But this left him open to the lion's fangs."

	It was not a fatal attack. Kiara's father managed to fend off the lion with the same small hunting knife that he had used to butcher 45 moose in close combat. However, he suffered critical wounds in the process and found himself unable to stand. Seeing her father in such a terrible state and slightly hysterical from the fear, Kiara took her father's hand and tearily asked him if he was alright, even though she already knew the answer.

	"He told her 'Hakuna Matata'," Kiara's mother explained through tears of her own, " it means 'no worries'."

	Kiara's father survived his wounds but as he was unable to walk, Kiara was forced to carry him through the deep snow and harsh mountain landscape by herself. It was a long and arduous journey that took Kiara 36 hours to complete but she eventually made it home. She was only 3 years old at the time.

	"Alls well that ends well, or so they say." Nala went on. "But Kiara wasn't the same after that. When a child so young go through something like that... well, I think her obsession with The Lion King was a coping mechanism. She probably thought that if she became a lion like the ones she saw in the movies, other lions wouldn't attack her."

	As Nala brought the tragic story to an end, I found myself unable to speak due to a tightness in my throat. The two of us sat in silence for several moments before Nala finally spoke.

	"Do you know my daughter?" She asked, "Is she well?""

	I did not know how to answer.

	"O-of course! Your daughter is a world famous animal hunter! She stabs animals to death with a switchblade just like her father!" A lie. A terrible lie. But I genuinely felt it would be even more cruel to tell Nala the truth about her daughter.

	"That's good. She always did like killing things." Nala said, and for the first time since I'd met her, she allowed herself a weak smile.

	Now with the answers I had been looking for, it was time to take my leave. I bid goodbye to Kiara's mother and exited the cabin. As I began my trek back to civilization, I found myself glancing back at that old lonely cabin. Kiara's mother was standing in the doorway watching me go. She gave me a wave when she noticed my gaze. I waved back and wondered how long it would be before she had another visitor. I pulled my scarf tighter to shield myself not only from the chilly mountain air but also the coldness of Kiara's heart and continued on my way back to the warm city.

	*Kiara's father eventually recovered from his wounds and returned to normal life. At the time of my visit he was incarcerated for illegal moose hunting out of season and could not be interviewed.