The cream-peach lioness looks at him in awe.

“Simba?!”

“Hello, Carmilla.”

“W-what are you doing here?”

“I know you've been waiting for me for a very long time.”

“Y-yes...” I choke back tears.

“I'm here because you need me. I hear your name is Melanie, may I call you that?”

“S-sure.”

“Melanie, I know you've been going through a real hard time lately. I want you to know that it's going to get better. You might think no one cares about you, you might think people just invite you to things out of pity or obligation, you might think people only use you or make fun of you. But I want you to remember something very important. You are special. Your spirit is one that is perfectly formed, a spirit that is only matched by your imagination and heart. I have brought you here to tell you more.”

“Simba, I've made so many mistakes. I can't live with myself without friends or even family.”

“I know, Melanie, that's why I want you to relax for a moment and breathe.”

I smile tentatively.

“I'm not here to put you down, I love you, and so does all your other friends.”

I sniff. “What friends?” I still hold back tears.

Simba smiles warmly, tenderly, “The friends that are in your heart. The friends that have been there for you from the very start. We're not here to remind you of everything you've done, we're here to remind you that we are here for you. You might not know it, but some of us would be dead and forgotten without you.” He looks at a particular robot and boy. “You've given so much to them, and to me, please let us do something for you. You love and appreciate us in a way that's innocent and childlike. I remember that I was one of the very first things you imagined when you were four. Remember faucet-food? You were stuck for a chum during naptime in Kindergarten, right after "Pals" ,” Simba rolls his gold-orange eyes, “Preschool.” I nod emotionally, tears spilling from my eyes. “You imagined food popping out of it and you would feed me because you didn't want me to go hungry and it was after you saw The Lion King on the big screen TV. The teachers didn't even *know * what they did for you that day or how you got more out of animation and stories than you ever did their lessons.” He shrugs his eyes ironically for me.

I giggle.

“This isn't about you being wrong or right, Melanie, this is about you remembering who you are.”

“What about who I choose to be?”

Simba smiles again and stifles a good-natured laugh, “How can you choose who you'll be if you can't or won't remember who you were to begin with?” I smile, touched. “I'm here because I love you. If it makes sense to you, then it makes sense to me. I'm here, living inside your heart, and now I'm here physically and in the flesh to remind you that you are loved and needed. Just because you can't touch me, that does not mean that I don't exist. You believing in me makes me real. I love you, I need you, and now I need you to love you as you did when you were four. This is who you are, Melanie, your true self. You're a good-hearted person and a gentle soul and I say this for no one but you. I am only as real as you make me to be. I am loved by the hearts of millions but my greatest love is you Melanie. I love *you*, Melanie. You, Melanie, who believe in me. I need you to keep on believing in me well after your childhood Melanie, I need you to keep on believing in me even when you know no one else will. I want you to believe in me even after everyone else has stopped. Even when you know the road ahead will lie thwart with peril and uncertainty. Even when you have no home, no money and nothing to spare, I want you to remember me as I am and as I will eternally be. Today, every day, my heart belongs to you Melanie, just as it always has. My incarnations are just that; incarnations. Deep down, you know the true me, the real me. I know the real you, Melanie. Because I am you and you are me. You are Melanie. Beautiful, strong, majestic, intelligent, you are worthy of love and you are worth giving love to others. You need to share this gentle, wonderful heart and mind with others, let THEM know who you are! You have nothing to hide and everything to give. So keep giving, and keep going.”

I look at him, absorbing his words.

“Do you love me? Really and truly, Simba?”

“Yes.” He says certainly. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

He smiles warmly, “I know,” he says in a quiet, loving voice.

I breathe quietly, “Where can I find you?”

“You can always find me in your heart. When you remember your favorite color, lavender, when you think of your future or your past, when you go outside and sit on a swing, you will see that I am here.”

“Thank you for reminding me.” I smile, watery-eyed. “Thank you for coming to find me, Simba. You're a real, true friend.”

“You're welcome, so are you. Oh, and 'Go catch'em all.' ”

I roll my eyes.

Simba walks over and cuddles with me.

“One more thing, remember, you don't need any one's approval but your own. You are in your most innocent, yet most vulnerable state. But don't worry, see, this is your strongest state. Your bravest state.”

I look up unexpectantly, “Why?” I ask innocently.

He smiles one more time, only for now, because he will smile again at me and for always.

“Because you are brave enough to be yourself. At last.”

I, Melanie, smile – as I will from now on – and cuddle up next to Simba again.

It's never The End until I say it is The End.. ;)

It is *not* the end.