Twiggy

Chapter 16

       They stopped. The comets weren't raining on us anymore. I had been beyond happy. We found a small bush on the moor and were sheltering there to rest. My leg was still pounding, but it was slightly better.
      It was daytime when we went to sleep. Silver Sky stood on watch for dogs, humans and foxes. I lay down, but we didn't have any moss, and the springy heather was poky and uncomfortable. I was restless. The sun made me think it was time to get up, not go to sleep. It was simply confusing. I finally fell asleep after the tom went up for his watch, half the day had passed already. I think it was Silver Sky's rasping licks that helped. . . .
~~~~~~**********~~~~~~
This time there wasn't any comets. Now there were the violent sounds of dogs and foxes. My conscious was there too, looking at me with his simple brown eyes. His tail flicked with unhappiness. He opened his jaws to speak and whispered. "There's more. . . . "
      There was more? Of course there was. Of course. It was my life they had chose to ruin, so why wouldn't there be more? The comets had been too easy. My conscience still looked sympathetic.
      "You don't need to be like that." I said. "It's fine. They chose to kill me, and I . . . I'm fine with that."
      It was the first time he'd been angry since we'd become friends. "What about me? I'm not fine with it! If you die, I'm gone forever as well. Maybe you'd be happy to go to the dead place. You'd be with Mommy again. You'd always be in the light. You'd live in a world of peace and joy, with no grief or anything. It would be perfect." He said.
      "You would be there too. I don't see the big deal."
      "No, Twiggy, I wouldn't. You don't know what happens to a conscience. When a cat goes to the dead place, they know everything, and they're smart enough to not need a conscience. They're good enough to be by themselves, with only their own brain to help them."
      "What?"
      "Nobody's conscience goes there. I'd be lost in an eternal place of doom,  full of  only blackness. There's nothing for anyone there. It's not a good place. It's just a black hole, far away in the night sky. . . . "
       "But that can't be true. I'd need you."
      "That's not how it works. Not at all."
      Then my  friend began to fade away. And I was alone.
~~~~~~***********~~~~~~
       I woke to a piercing pang in my injured leg. Silver Sky's paw was pressed against it, claw out. She must've been dreaming that I was a rabbit, and she was hungry. I looked outside. The sky was dark again, and there was a glimmering moon. Stars sprinkled the sky, and there was almost no evidence of the comets across the moor.
       The white tom entered to wake us. He shook his legs out one by one and grimaced as a droplet of snow fell down from the bush. "Wake up." He growled. Then he retreated once again. I wondered what his name was. I gently glided my tail in front of the two she-cats and Comet sneezed. She blinked awake and stared at me. "Where's Puff?" She asked.
      "Who's Puff?" I wanted to know.
      "Oh, he's that tom. He's my friend." She replied.
      Hmmm. . . . . Her friend? Comet was now seven moons old. This 'Puff' was probably only slightly older, but were they really friends already?
       Comet got up and left the den. I heard snow crunching as she walked away and sniffed at the ground. I turned back to Silver Sky and snuggled closer to her. She awoke, looked into my eyes, and touched her nose to mine. "Twiggy, are they gone?"
      "Yes."
      "Well, I'm not going to be slow like other she-cats." Her eyes brightened. "I'm expecting kits!"
       "You are?" I was surprised. I was giddy with joy, but worried. If I had to die, would these kits grow up without a father? I didn't want that to happen.
      "Yes, they're due in a moon and a half."
      "And you didn't tell me?!"
      "I wanted to make sure."
       I nuzzled her. "Well I'm happy. I just don't know if I'll be a good father or not." She immediately swatted at me. "Don't say that! You'll be brilliant!"
~~~~~~**********~~~~~~~
       One moon. That was all it took for a life to be turned around. We had found new shelter in a human town under a small cherry tree with bushes gathered around it. It was in a field that people visited. Little humans came and played, had fun, then left. Smells of greasy food drifted everywhere.
      Puff had become closer to all of us, especially Comet. He was still a little know-it-all, but he was more helpful and kind. He always offered to hunt for Silver Sky, whose belly was large and swollen. It swung when she walked, and she got tired very fast.
      It was a pleasant day when it happened. The sun was shining brightly. Young humans played on the small metal bars called a 'playground', jumping and making sharp squeaks of joy. I had been hunting for Silver Sky.
      Then the screech came, and she called for help. "The kits! They're coming!"
      I raced back to the den, leaving the mouse I had been stalking. When I entered, my mate was lying on her side and gasping with pain. I had no clue what to do, so I just stood there like a stupid squirrel, mouth wide open and saliva dripping.
       "Don't just stand there!" She yelled. "Do something!"
      Puff walked casually in, yawning, and then noticed the panicked looks on our faces. "Um. Uh, what's going on?" He asked.
      "Her kits are coming!" I yowled a bit too loudly. "Early!"
      He just stared, not knowing any better than me. "I'm going to go and um . . . hunt. Yeah, hunt." He said, then disappeared again. Then Comet walked in calmly, holding a large, sturdy stick. She pressed it into Silver Sky's jaws and murmured. "Bite down on it when the pain comes." She then turned around. "Would one of you be so kind as to get her some wet moss?"
      I whirled around, scrambling quickly to the mossy patch by the river. I sliced off a wad of the green moss and dunked it into the frigid water. Then I pulled it up and ran back to the red cherry tree. I dropped it in front of Silver Sky, who was heaving now. Comet was feeling her stomach with a small paw. "Yes, that's good, now push. It's the first kit."
      Silver Sky pushed so hard that her eyes seemed to pop out of her head. She pushed again, and soon a tiny, wet bundle emerged. Comet nodded. "One last push," Silver Sky did, and a little kit was lying there. Comet but the sac off, then pushed it to its mother. "It's a tom." Silver Sky stared in wonder, but soon had to push again.
      The afternoon went on. The second kit had been harder for Silver Sky, but that was all there was. One tom and one she-kit. I entered the den as Comet left, leaving Silver Sky and I to privacy. "They're beautiful, my love." I told her, and she gave a small purr.
      "They are, aren't they," she agreed. "The tom looks just like you." She looked down at the eldest kit, who had a brown tabby pelt.
      "And the she-kit looks like you." I said in amazement and wonder. "I want to name her Lark, to go with your name. She can be the bird to your sky. . . . "
      "That's a lovely idea." She agreed. "And for the tom, I think he should be called Sap. Because sap comes from trees, like a twig does."
      "Yes." I mewed. "Lark and Sap. I love them. And I think I'm ready to be a father, now."