Scars (Part II of J.H. White's Puss in Boots)

Chapter Thirteen: The Secret

Puss felt a wave of sadness sweep over him as his boot met the street. So many memories flashed through his mind.

O noticed and asked, "Señor Puss, are you okay?" Puss came out of the trance and looked at the robot.

"Yeah, I'm fine." They walked through the deserted streets, not seeing a soul. Then, Puss saw her.

Dulcinea.

He thought that he would've never seen her again either; she had died in The Swamp Massacre, as it was now known.

She spotted him and ran over to him.

"Puss, what are you doing here? I thought you were at the cantina."

Puss was at a loss for words. The past attacked his brain like a pack of vultures. It hadn't happened yet, their break-up. The awful words they had said to each other. The tears. He tried not to cry, especially since she didn't know her fate.

"Uh..." he said awkwardly. "I decided to come and see you instead."

"Oh, and who's your friend?"

Puss stopped dead and remembered O was standing behind him.

"Oh, he's an old friend. I wanted him to see the town."

"But Señor Puss, we are here to find Señora Kit-" Puss clapped a paw over the robot's speaker.

"She can't know," he hissed. "Play along."

O tried to make conversation, but it was obvious he was hiding the truth.

"Oh, yes. Old friends indeed. Pleasure to meet you," he droned.

"Puss," Dulcinea said. "Will you come with me? I wanna show you something."

"Okay," Puss said, following her with O trailing behind them. They got to Dulcinea's bedroom and she pulled out an envelope.

"I've never shown anybody this, but I trust you, Puss," she said hauntingly.

"You see," she continued. "I don't think that Sino created San Lorenzo after all."

Puss felt a wave of unease.

"Well, who did if it wasn't Sino?"

She opened the envelope slowly, pulled out a small photograph, and handed it to him.

He almost passed out, gasping in horror.

Scars was smiling in the photo, staring right at him.