Twiggy

Epilogue

Wailing is the first thing I hear when I regain my senses. Deep, pitiful, and regretful wailing. Why is there wailing? What do they have to be hurt about? They must be fine. Yes, they must, or they wouldn't be stopping to wail. But why are they wailing? Did somebody hurt them?
I slowly cracked my eyes open, and my gaze rested on the glaring sun centred above my head. Suddenly I couldn't hear them anymore. What happened to the voices? I thought they were sad.
A sharp prick of pain on the back of my neck. I whirl around, but there is nothing there. Not anything that would be able to hurt me. I smell the air. It has a whiff of prey, and of plants, and something else that's hard to pinpoint.
I get to my paws and look at the trail spread before me. It has dirt, and leaves, and also some sticks, spread in a carefree manner. I take a step, then two. My paws are light, just like the feathers of a bird. I continue to walk, tail brushing against the ground.
The sky is still sun-lit. It is bright and happy. All I can hear now is the joyful chirping of birds. . . . I should hunt them. But what if I don't want to? The songs they sing are very pretty. I continue to walk along the trail. What seems like ages is nothing in the sky. The sun had only moved a minuscule amount.
Then it's the end of the path. What now? Where do I go? What do I do? I stop and rest my breath, even though I don't feel tired. Then a shape starts to walk towards me. And . . . It's me. I'm walking toward myself. But who am I?
He arrives and he touches his nose to mine. "Do you remember me?" He asks. "Oftentimes the cats forget what happened to them. I just want to tell you, your family is safe. They are grieving right now, they miss you, and your kits will grow up without a father-"
I remember suddenly. A sharp whimper of grief rises. "My kits. . . . " I say. "Silver Sky. Puff. Comet. Are you sure they're ok?"
"Yes." He says. "You've broken the curse. Do you want to see them?"
I growl. "Yeah. . . . "
I follow him to where another trail appears and we take the path. At the end of the path is a small pool. It has reeds clustered at one end, and trees stand on either side of the clearing. Even so, the sun shines through the top of the clearing and ignites the pool with light.
I- the other me, walks to the pool, motioning for me to follow. As I do, he looks down into the pool. "Ask it for the ones you must see." He says.
"Silver Sky." My voice cracks as I say it. I loved her so much. . . . I still do.
The pool ripples and an image appears of the lovely cat I love so dearly. She is wailing the same ones I heard earlier. She misses me. I miss her too. Our two kits are by her belly where she sleeps beside . . . my body? It looks squashed and dirty. Silver Sky licks at my head and she keeps whispering to me. "I love you." Is what she says.
My heart breaks at how much she hurts. I didn't want this to happen. I see that Puff is sitting beside my mate. He meows. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault."
Silver Sky's head whirls around. "Never blame yourself!" She yowls. "Never! He made his own choices, and he did what he wanted. This was his choice. . . . "
The vision ends. "I want to see Comet." I say this time. The first thing I see in the pond this time is a small, long-furred shape, huddled inside her den. She's curled into a ball and has her head rested on her paws. She mouths "Twiggy" over and over. I never knew my death would have this effect on cats.
The vision is over quickly and I turn back to my double. "Take me to my mother."
"No need." I hear a silky voice say from behind me. I turn around to see my mother. She has her green eyes fixed deliberately on me. Her purr echoes around my ears. I rush to see her and she embraces me in an amount of licks. Her tongue is warm.
"I see my brave little kitten has stopped the curse." She smiles. How did I stop the curse?
"All I did was get stomped on." I growl. "It's not really that hard, you know. I don't really consider that a brave death."
My mother purrs again. "But you did it. You knew that there could be consequences. You thought it out. You were doing it for Puff, and Comet, and Silver Sky and the kits. You did this for them. You did it so they wouldn't suffer from the curse anymore. This is what you had to do. And you did it."
She seemed proud, like a good mother. "So it's really broken?" I ask. "For sure? No more deadly comets flying out of the sky on a mission to kill them?"
She speaks. "Yes, the curse is over. They'll still have to watch out, though. Foxes and dogs will still be set after them."
My mind blanks out. I really did do it. I saved my family from the curse. They were grieving, but they'd get over it. I'd visit them in dreams. I'll miss them, but at least they're safe now.