Chapter Thirty-Two: The Mountain Laughs

The sun filtered down through the tall grass in a lazy shimmer, casting a golden haze over the clearing. Wildflowers stirred in the breeze, their scent sweet and light. Under the familiar shade of a wide acacia tree, Jitu sat as he always did—calm, silent, unmoving. His massive, frost-touched frame lay curled in quiet repose, his icy blue eyes half-lidded, watching nothing, and yet everything.From behind the grass, hidden like cubs playing at hunters, Simba, Nala, Kovu, Kiara, Vitani, and her Lion Guard crouched low, peeking through the foliage.

"I want to see if he actually talks again," Vitani whispered, eyes narrowed on the mountain of a lion beneath the tree. "Or sits there like a furry ice sculpture," Kovu murmured, grinning. But then a voice—bright, theatrical, and unmistakable—broke through the air like a drumroll before disaster. "Alright, Pumbaa, hit it!" Timon burst into the clearing with all the grace of a tumbleweed in a storm, dancing and leaping in his exaggerated two-step. Pumbaa thudded along behind him, hooves pounding, tail wagging. 🎶 "Hakuna Matata! What a wonderful phrase! Hakuna Matata! Ain't no passing craze!" 🎶 

Jitu’s icy gaze tracked the commotion. Still expressionless. Still unmoved. But he didn’t look away. "Come on, big guy!" Timon spun dramatically, leaping onto Pumbaa’s back. "Don’t just sit there! You gotta feel the rhythm!" Pumbaa snorted happily, twirling. "Yeah, big guy! Shake that stoic tail!" A flicker of something—curiosity, perhaps—glimmered in Jitu’s eyes. Timon dismounted with a flourish, shuffling and stomping in a wild, chaotic dance. "And then you spin! And you stomp! And you—" His spin turned to a stumble. His tiny feet slipped. With a yelp, he tumbled forward—smack into Pumbaa’s snout. "Oof!" came the muffled cry as Timon became a meerkat pancake. Pumbaa blinked. "Timon? Where’d you go?"

"I’m stuck on your face, you warthog!" The bushes trembled as Kovu tried to suppress a laugh. But what happened next silenced them all. A deep, rolling sound burst from the clearing—a thunderous, unfiltered laugh. It rumbled like distant thunder, shaking the very air. Jitu was laughing.His massive shoulders quaked, his icy blue eyes squeezed shut, and from deep in his chest came the sound of joy—raw, full, and entirely unexpected.Simba blinked. "Is… is he laughing?"

"Oh wow," Kovu whispered, awe and amusement battling in his voice. Vitani’s jaw hung open. "No way…" Jitu’s paw lightly slapped the ground, trying to steady himself as his whole frame shook. The sound of it was infectious, warm and rolling and completely at odds with the stoic figure they thought they knew. Timon peeled himself off Pumbaa, staggering. "What’s so funny?!" Pumbaa grinned. "He’s having fun!" Timon gawked. "Wait… we made the big guy laugh?!" Jitu’s laughter faded slowly, his chest still rising with the aftershocks. His expression returned to calm, but something lingered—an almost-smile, a softness behind the usual ice.Timon puffed out his chest. "We cracked the mountain!" Pumbaa beamed. "We’re hilarious!" Jitu didn’t deny it. He simply watched, silent again, but not cold. A warmth flickered in his eyes like morning sunlight on frost. From the bushes, Vitani whispered, stunned. "He… has some laugh."

"It’s beautiful," Kiara whispered. "I want to hear it again," Vitani said softly, her smile bright with wonder. Simba chuckled. "Even he needs joy, it seems." Jitu turned his gaze back to the horizon, still and silent once more—but never quite the same.