Cats and Canes
"My... mom?" I asked in a whisper.
"Yes! She just goes on and on about you, and she warned me that you didn't believe. But, I can see now that she was obviously mistaken.
"I was so shocked, I couldn't find the next words I wanted to say. I muttered, stuttered, and fumbled with every sentence I tried to conjure up.
"I- uh... her, she, I mean-"
The cat started to chuckle.
"Oh my my my my, you are almost exactly like your mother."
I rolled my eyes.
"I know. You've told me that already."
"A little less patient, but still the same." It told me.
I shrugged. I couldn't argue with that. But, the cat didn't understand what kind of stress I was going through.
"I'm sorry, I've just been having a rough week."
"Really? Do you want to talk about it?"
"I don't know. I mean, I just don't understand why all these terrible things are happening to me." I started to chuckle, as I turned to look away from the cat. I was still grasping all this, and I wasn't ready to accept it.
"Look at me. I'm so out of it, that I'm actually talking to you."
"And what's wrong with that?" It asked with irritation, placing its paws on its hips.
"Well, I mean don't take it personally. I mean, I'm talking to a cat."
"You are your mother's son..."
"That's not what I mean. I stopped believing in this stuff a long time ago." I explained, lifting my hand up, and letting it fall back on to my lap.
"Well, maybe you'll have more reason to believe now hmm?"
I turned around.
"What do you..." I looked through the metal gates to find a small line of cats slowly approaching me. The sound of traditional ceremony music accompanied the small parade. In noticed a small, closed off, carriage like device, carried along by four other cats. I almost started laughing again, when a ceremonial gong stopped me.
One of the cats cleared its throat.
"Mr. Satoru?"
I nodded. "That's me."
"Please, allow me to present, our wise and most exalted ruler, King Lune."
I watched as one of the carriage doors opened, and out stepped a purple cat a few and almost unnoticeable strands of white fur on its face, wearing what appeared to be a long, red, velvet cape and a beautifully decorated crown, encrusted with jewels.
"Mr. Satoru, it is a pleasure..."
"Uh, yes Mr. Lune, uh King! Sir, I... wow. Uh... um..."
There I went, struggling to find the right words cat laughed heartily, which helped me relax a bit, and extended a paw out to me. I gently grasped it, and we shook.
"You are most certainly your mother's son. You have her eyes."
"Yeah, I've been getting a lot of that."
He smiled.
"Mr. Satoru. You have preformed most admirably on my behalf. You saved my daughter from that evil restaurant owner. For this, as you probably can tell, we have attempted to reward you. But," he looked back and stared at the brown cat that had been speaking with me earlier. It sort of shrunk back, and averted its eyes away from him.
"If you are anything like your mother, we realize that we have completely wronged you by giving you gifts that were so inappropriate."The brown cat's face brightened as he stepped forward.
"So, how would you like to have your own private tour of our King Lune's very Kingdom?" it asked, grinning.
"A... tour?' I repeated.
"Yes! Oh it's marvelous. Great food, beautiful scenery..."
"And my entire Kingdom is awaiting your arrival."
I smiled. I was re-living my mother's , in my wildest dreams, had I such an opportunity. This was one of the most amazing days of my life, besides Ruri's kiss.
"Not only that, but as distinguished as a hero like yourself is, I am also awarding you my daughter's hand in marriage."
I had a feeling he would say something like that. I was about to decline, when I thought of something. My mother had described to me what the Kingdom was like. A lazy day that lasts forever. Large, peaceful fields to lie in. A bright sun and a fresh, windy breeze really sounded enticing. And now, with neither of my parents to hold me back, all I had to say was one word, and I would be , I wasn't so sure that's what I would I want to marry a cat? And, what about Ruri? Or my life here? Like it was so nice my brain was fighting with itself, I unconsciously slurred my response.
"Sure. Sounds fantastic."
Lune smiled, and patted both his servants on the back, and climbed back into his carriage.
"You won't regret this Mr. Satoru! We'll pick you up tomorrow!"
I shook my head, and fell back into reality just as he finished his sentence.
"Wait. What?" I questioned.
"Tomorrow Mr. Satoru!" The King called through a curtained window.
"Hey, no wait!" I cried as I tried to stop them from leaving.
"Good bye! Until tomorrow!" Lune repeated once more, waving a paw at up, I attempted to stop them. I followed them along the fence until they disappeared behind a building.
"No! Hey! I need more time to think about my decision!" I shouted.
I was answered by silence.I stepped away from the fence, and put my hands behind my head, and tried to make sense of my new situation.
"Okay Satoru. You've gotta think! What are you going to do?"
I lowered my head, and sighed.
"Great. Now I'm going to have to get married to a cat..."
My eyes opened up real wide when I finally realized what was about to happen.
"I'm going to get married to a cat?" I screamed.
"No! No! No! There's no way, no how! I can't..."
I sat down, and yet again, threw my face into my hands, and gave the skin on my face a good stretch.
"Augh! This isn't fair!" I sound of my cry echoed, bouncing off the walls of nearby buildings. I allowed myself to listen to the world around me. The sound of a bus leaving a stop, and the laughter of a child all sort of made me forget about what was happening. If I thought about tiny suttle things, I would began to just relax.
"Satoru?" A strange voice asked.
"Oh, what now?" I desperately cried, standing up, and looking around.
"Satoru? Find the Cat Bureau."
"The what?" I screamed.
"The Cat Bureau Satoru. Look for Muta. The large white cat. He'll be at the Crossroads. Find it, and hurry!"
"Hey, how do you know about the Cat Bureau? And the Crossroads for that matter?"
"Just go Satoru, please!"
I didn't know if I could trust this voice, but could I trust anyone?
"Okay, I will. Thank you!" I cried back, hoping that the mysterious voice would hear my thanks. I didn't want to anger anyone after all.
I quickly threw out what trash I had left, and, throwing my backpack on to my shoulder, I took off towards Crossloads the entrance to the square, I began to look for signs to direct me to the shopping center. Following each sign, I made my way through large crowds and past the clothes stores. I looked up at the different signs, each of them displaying memories of family and friends. The clothes store next to the entrance to the tourist center brought back some great memories. I remember it was where my father had surprised my mother by presenting her with a red dress both he and I had picked out and bought for her. It was the first thing I had ever helped purchase with money I had earned picking up trash at my old elementary school. She was so thrilled, and also very proud of me.
I turned away, and continued back down the street towards my destination. There was no time for recollecting past time. I had to , after dodging families, young couples, other teens, I made it to the center of the food court. I began to look around for what I hoped to be a large... to be honest fat no luck, I frowned, and headed over to a nearby cafe table, and took a , I angrily banged my head onto the top of the table.
"Not so hard kid, you might have to check yourself into a looney bin," a deep voice informed me.
I snickered, and looked up.
"Yeah, like I'm not that messed up alre-" I stopped in mid-sentence when I couldn't find the owner of the voice.
I span around, looking to see if the stranger had snuck behind me. Keeping my head on a swivel, I scratched my head, and returned my gaze to the glass surface of the table.I nearly fell backwards and out of my chair when I saw the enormous white cat lying in the seat of the chair across from me.
"You! I- I've been looking for you!" I cried out. I was probably attracted attention from onlookers, but I didn't care...I had found him.
I had found Muta.
"Yeah? Well you found me. So what?" The cat mumbled.
"I was told to come find you."
"Let me guess, a voice right?"
"What?" I asked.
"A voice stupid. A voice told you to come find me, huh?"
I stuttered a bit, and before composing myself, he laughed. It seemed like I was getting laughed at all the time now.
"Come on, I'll show you," the cat told me, leaping from the chair, and lumbered off down the cobblestone street.
"Hey wait! Slow down Muta!" I called out after the massive cat.
'Geez, he fast for his size,' I thought to myself. The both of us rounded a corner, and quickly took another sharp turn into a small alley. I jogged quietly, in pursuit of the massive white beach ball. It was difficult to keep with it. Pretty agile for a two hundred pound cat. At least that was my guess. The cat immediately jumped up on to a small, staircase like wall. I watched as the cat reached the very top, it leapt off towards a series of small, differently colored window overhangs.
"I sure hope those don't break under my weight..."
I whispered, tenderly setting my foot down on top of the first overhang. When I tested my weight on top of it, it gave off a loud moan, and I stepped back to study them for a moment.
"Well if fatso there could do it, than so could I," I chuckled. I took a small step, placing my foot on one of the shingles. All of them creaked and groaned under my weight, but they stayed up. As I reached the top, I noticed another larger overhang that expanded in both directions. I jumped down from the small height I was at. I stumbled a few steps after the cat, until I saw the cat manage to squeeze through the support rails of an apartment staircase. I quickly trotted over to the stairs, and bounded over the railing, and continued to follow him. Down a small hill, and then through another long alley way, I was slowly growing bored of my chase. But, I had to find the Bureau. Soon, I noticed a faint light at the end of the alley way. It was a soft, yellow glow.
"Sunlight, finally," I sighed in relief. The cat took a right turn through the opening, where I followed him to a small archway. Beyond it, was something I may never forget. A series of miniature buildings and houses. I smiled. Suddenly, everything my mother had ever told me about her adventure, was coming back. The colors, the lights, and the statue in the center of the square; all of these seemed familiar. I looked around, and noticed that only one of the buildings had a small tree, lamp post, and mailbox standing out in front of the small, but beautiful house. In the back and around the sides were a beds of flowers. They didn't look fake or plastic, they actually seemed very life-like, and very well trimmed. I wasn't any gardener, but the flowers looked amazing. Not that they took away from the very home they accompanied. It's green wood and stone supports were bright and nowhere near dull looking. I looked down into the front window, attempting to find the owner of such a lovely home. Instead, I saw... the answer to all my questions.
"This is it..." I whispered into the silent air.
I looked back towards the archway to see a setting sun. I had a feeling I knew what happened next. All the building's windows began to shine rays of light, most of it scattering into multiple directions at first. The sun set a bit lower, and the disorganized light fragments suddenly morphed into one unified beam that lit up the building I had peeked into.
"Baron! Enough already! You've got a guest! Show a little humility will ya?" Muta grumbled, as he walked past me. I was surprised that a cat of that size could even keep its balance. After the sun had gone down completely, the light show ended. And the beautiful little house grew dark. Suddenly, the street lamp began to glow, as did a second lamp that rested above the doors to the home. Lights within the house also joined their external counterparts as they too began to reveal their own gentle glow. I smiled as I watched the entrance to the home open. The two large wooden doors gave way, and opened out into the night air, as a silhouetted figure stood in the doorway. I felt myself grow weaker from the onslaught of emotions that began to overwhelm me. My mother had been telling the truth. About a year before... before all of this had happened, she asked me if I still believed.
I had told her no.
That was a lie.
A part of me that day hurt from telling such a lie. But, another part, the grown-up part, had reasoned that I was done pretending. However, I could see now that she never was pretending to begin with.
"May I help you?" a bold, British voice asked over the sound of clicking shoe heels.
The shadowed figure that had been standing in the door had now come within arm's distance of me. The light from the streets lit up his features. My eyes began to study the figure. I immediately figured out who I was in the presence of. He looked exactly as I had imagined him. His whitish-pastel suit, orange fur, and dark green eyes. It was him.
It was Baron.
"You... you are real!" I almost shouted.
"Indeed," the cat assured with a smile.
"I am very real. As are many of the other things here. This is a world much different from your own after all. For-"
"this is a refuge for creations with souls..." I interrupted. Throwing a hand over my mouth, I muffled an apology.
"That's quite alright," he laughed.
"It's been a while since we've had a visitor," I heard an unfamiliar voice say.
"What? What do you mean?" I asked the mysterious stranger, turning towards the direction of the voice.
It came from the statue pillar in the center of the square.
"Well, we don't find many humans visiting here." I started to do my own investigating, walking around the pillar, trying to find the voice's owner.
"What is he doing?" I heard Muta's gruff voice ask behind me.
"Hey, kid? Did you loose somethin'? Other than your mind..." He whispered the second half quietly, which I still heard it, and rolled my eyes in response.
"Where's that voice coming from?" I asked.
"From up there, stupid," Muta impatiently mumbled, pointing towards the top of the pillar. I looked up, expecting to find a third cat, staring back at me absent-mindedly.
Instead, I met the gaze of a collected, but gentle looking Raven.
"Hello young man," its calm, soothing voice greeted me. It was one of the largest ravens I had ever seen! It was maybe three times large than the average raven. Suddenly, I thought back to my mother's story. That must have been Toto. She had the same reaction when she first met Toto. I returned his greeting with a smile. It was the first time in a week I felt no shock, surprise, or anxiety.
It was as if I hadn't any need to be. I felt as though I had grown up with all them my whole life.
In a way, I guess I had.