Dongwa dropped his mate off at the alley and went off on his own as quickly as he'd gotten there. She stepped through the gate, fleetingly wondering if the stinky collar was even slightly affecting the stability of her stomach. Wu-Ming was on the wall again, and Sheegwa seemed to be pacing the alley; reaching the far end, she turned right around and began limping back. The alleycats sat on the board ramp, scrutinizing Hun-Hun as she walked past.

"Ah, maybe she's not one of us anymore after all," Wing-Wing said in her absence. "Didn't even look at us."

"Well, you are unsightly," Lik-Lik jeered.

"Don't be stupid. She's just got other stuff going on," Jet-Jet added, as the proud mother went to her three kittens.

"Yeah, because she's the one who's different."

Finding their conversation boring, Wu-Ming turned on his wall and sauntered towards the other end of the alley, hoping for something juicier on the other side. But his interest was piqued before he could get there. An awfully strange shape drifted through the water. It looked like a rock that was oddly unsinkable. Wu-Ming was trying to discern the image when sudden flashes of colorful light shot up into the dark sky. He felt the other cats jostling him as they clambered onto the wall to watch the fireworks, but he couldn't turn his attention from the large shape sailing the sea.

Then the light illuminated the body of an aged cat, standing awkwardly on the driftwood. And realizing there were very few cats who considered it a sport, Wu-Ming jumped off the wall. In mid-turn, Sheegwa swiveled to face him. "What's going o―where are you going?" she asked, as his bleak form disappeared into the dark. She shook her head in wonder. Day after day, night after night, he was there when the view was so boring; but when something interesting was going on...

Then a commotion from the wall drew her attention.

"What is that?"

"Where?"

"Down there."

"I'm not looking down, I don't...see..." But Wing-Wing's voice trailed off as he caught sight of the feline sailor.

"Wu-Ming, are you seeing this?"

Sheegwa trotted down to the river's edge, training her eyes on the suddenly familiar cat on the water, lit up by the fireworks. Then, suddenly, the form of a bat came flapping out of the fog to land beside the cat. His glasses caught the moonlight when he turned his head, moving Sheegwa to tears. Suddenly her tail lifted. Her shoulders stopped slumping. She turned to her three nieces.

"Come here," she said softly, and brandished a paw when they approached. "See that?"

"Yeah."

"Uh-huh!"

"Yes, Yímā."

"That...is my grandfather." Sheegwa sighed, trying to focus on him with blurred vision. "He's okay."

"Sheegwa, are you sure?" Lik-Lik called down.

"Yes." She sighed again, wiping her tears away as she watched the cat disappear behind some bushes. Turning around, she moved slowly into the alley, suddenly finding her pain a lot more tolerable.


Baba had just given a rather defeated sigh when suddenly a cat dark as night sped past him, at a pace perhaps only Sagwa could match. Though he didn't know who would actually win.

"Goodness," Mama laughed.

"Wu-Ming?" Baba said anxiously, and trotted after him, evermore feeling his age. It hadn't taken long for Wu-Ming to draw too far ahead, and Baba soon slowed, wondering where he had gone. Looking up, he saw the form of a bat flying away, silhouetted against the moon.

"I don't care for being this far from the walls," Mama declared. "We're getting much too close to hostile territory!"

"Believe me, I know, but I thought he was onto something."

A crack from behind made him whirl around, leaping defensively in front of his mate.

"Sorry, Baba."

He deflated at the sound of Sagwa's voice. "Oh. Um, no, I'm happy it's you."

"Yeah..." She stepped into the light, face twisted into an unpleasant expression. "It's me."

"Are you alright, Sagwa?"

"Yeah, fine. Fu-Fu and I saw Yeh-Yeh."

"What?" Baba said, stepping quickly up to her. "Where?"

"Floating on the river. Same direction Wu-Ming's going."

The trio continued following the current.


Stopping on the other side of the water, the cats collapsed in fatigue. From his vantage point on a boulder, Wu-Ming barely spared them a glance. "I was wondering if you'd catch up."

"I knew it." Sagwa stretched her tired limbs before walking just a bit further, approaching Wu-Ming. "I knew you're nicer than you let on."

"Didn't want to die of curiosity, that's all."

"If you say so."

He rolled his eyes. "Is there anyplace I can go that...you won't?"

"Yeah, you want directions? I can write them myself."

"Quiet, children. Don't...ruin this for me," Baba muttered.

Wu-Ming gazed out at the sea, wishing the fireworks were still going. He couldn't tell where the ground ended and the water began, let alone see farther.

"The calligraphy thing is impressive," he muttered.

Baba stood up and wandered impatiently to the shore. "So he was swept away this morning, correct? Where about was he when you saw him?"

"Uh, halfway, I guess. It's a slow current."

"Yes, but a long walk," he muttered, and looked up into the west where the sky grew lighter. "He should be here!"

"Patience, Wim-Bao. He will be."

Baba huffed an exasperated sigh and sat in front of the water. And as the darkness lifted, his daughter caught a fish that couldn't interest him. Then, as the fog began to clear, they saw floating right in front of them an abandoned piece of driftwood.