The last one managed to nestle on his shoulder.
Kato slowly turned towards the bank with the four lion cubs pressed against his body as the current continued to push him.
But he managed to come back.
He took them under a large tree where the rain was falling less hard and stayed with them all night.
He didn’t sleep.
He kept them against his chest, watching over the forest and protecting them from the cold.
Over time, the four lion cubs were given names: Leo, Ash, Luna and River.
And something that no one expected happened.
They began to follow Kato as if he were their own family.
They slept on his back. They climbed up his arms. They cried when he went too far away.
The gorilla taught them where to find water, which paths were safe, and where to hide when danger appeared.
He gave them everything he could.
Except for one thing.
He couldn’t teach them how to be lions.
Months passed and the little ones grew. Their legs became stronger and their instincts began to awaken.
Kato remained their protector, but the forest was changing.
One morning, I found fresh tracks around the gorilla’s territory.
These were not Leo’s, Ash’s, Luna’s, or River’s.
They belonged to another pack led by a huge male named Titan.
These marks on the ground signified something that could change everything.
The original family of the four lions had finally found them.
And Kato would have to face a decision he had never imagined: protect the little ones he had raised or accept that one day they would have to return to the world to which they belonged.
The following days were the most difficult for everyone.
The lion cubs who had arrived in the forest alone now had two paths before them.
On one side was Kato, the gorilla who had given them refuge when they were too small to survive on their own.
On the other side was the pack of lions, representing the life that nature had prepared for them.
Kato did not fight against this change.
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