cat's secret* tenative

Gentle humming rose out of the tower, the sound rousing a cat from its sleep on the edge of the fence.

The cat let out a small sigh and turned to face the other way. He was a black cat except for four white patches that served as his mark of originality. He had several unique traits in addition to the white spots, his eyes for instance. His left eye was a piercing green the other a deep jewelled blue. The humming changed to singing, loud singing. Off key singing. With something like a growl the cat stood and glared at the tower window.

“Who’s up there? Why are you making that terrible racket?”

He heard the sound of some kind of bustle before the head of a human girl appeared at the window. Her face was aglow with a smile and the cat could tell she had paid no attention to his last comment. She stretched her neck out and craned to look all around the tower. The cat shook his head, why did no one ever think to look at the cat?

“Gentle sir, please come out of your hiding place and speak to me again.”

“For pity’s sake,” the cat mumbled before turning to leave.

“Please come out, I heard you.”

The cat turned his head to look behind him, the girl was still looking about from the window, clearly still trying to spy the “man” that had spoken to her before. It had been a while since he had had any fun. He sat but kept his back to the girl so she wouldn’t be able to see his face.

“I fear I would scare you if I were to show myself.”

“Perish the thought,” she still looked for him.

“What are you doing here?”

“Oh you want to know my story,” the cat groaned slightly, “Well then I’ll simply have to tell you. Oh where do I start? Well I was born in...no, that’s too far back. Um, my sister told...no, that’s too far forward.” As she continued to talk her voice became louder and her words came faster. “No one would believe me that I saw it and my sister was all jealous, she’s been jealous of me ever since I, wait that doesn’t effect this story. And the people were all like, ‘get rid of her’ and I was saying, ‘You’ve got it all wrong’, and then the mayor was there and he was going on about ‘we can’t have this kind of influence in the community’. I didn’t want to go. Miss Taylor makes the best biscuits ever, I was disappointed that I didn’t get any the last time she came because I...that doesn’t affect the story either.(I’m not boring you, am I?) I was so upset, I thought they were all turning on me. But the butcher’s son was so nice and he defended me. I called him my hero and prince and he looked so happy and proud with the most darling gleam in his eye. But all the other girls were jealous and they tried to take me away from him. I wouldn’t let them and then we were going for the most lovely walk and I saw it again and it tried to fight him...it was so beautiful but it was trying to hurt him. I was so afraid, I wish you could’ve seen it. And then his friends came, I fell down the bank. I tore my skirt. It’s my favourite skirt, my cousin made it for me she makes the most beautiful things you’ve ever seen. I couldn’t wait to try it on and I told her so and she was so good as to smile at me and pat my head and tell me that I was a good girl. Her name is Polly. Everyone says it is a weird name but I like it just fine. (Would you like some tea? Opps, silly me, I don’t have any to give.) And then that weird guy showed up and he helped me but he didn’t really want to help me and then he called that weird thing and then that old lady showed up. I tried to help her, my mother always taught me to look after the old ladies. After all they can’t completely take care of themselves very well anymore. Not that they couldn’t take care of themselves before, I’m sure they are very capable of it. And then she pulled out that thing and the man said ‘ha’ and the lady said something I don’t understand and then that singing person came and I sang with her but she didn’t like that very much and she told me that I was a terrible singer. The old man got the thing to attack the old lady and the horse came and there was the beast again and it was about to let me ride it. I was so scared to ride it and it tried to reassure me. I got to ride a horse once it was so tall and powerful. (You’re sure I’m not boring you? Good). But I insisted that I could sing if she would let me try again. I tried but I couldn’t which was weird because I usually sing to myself all the time and everyone else always said I was quite good at it. I was flown up to some kind of city and it was covered in jewels and gold and there were giant lizards everywhere and I saw that some of them were wearing hats. And they gave me a jewel. Then there was the giant and he made me play a game and I asked him what was at the end of everything and the beginning of some and then he asked me...I forget what he asked but I won and then I got to choose a prize. My sister never thought I made good choices but I showed her that I could so do things right. (I ‘m so happy you’re here I haven’t talked to someone in so long) I beat my brother at a game of chess. And the ladies were dressed in the most beautiful clothes you had ever seen, and they gave me one that was covered in roses and the different card suits and I was so grateful and I danced the whole night and the people fell asleep. I didn’t get to say good bye and then the headmistress told me and everyone else in the room that I was a trouble maker. I didn’t want to do what they forced me to do. I took his place you know, and it wasn’t easy. I could beat them all with my hands tied behind my back. Then the king pointed at me and said that I was the one. The girls all acted weird, as if they were in love. And the stream did something weird to my hair. The merchant made a deal with the man that I had to come and work every other day in his glass shop. I snuck out and I met a boy named Cornelius and he was very nice but not a very good fighter. (I’d offer you something to eat but I don’t have anything.) I saw the creature and I went up and curtsied to it. My sister was very unhappy but she dealt with it. The boys kept coming at me but I fought them off. I was sad and it was intense waiting for the right moment. When I finally got out I found out that he had been put in the room. She wasn’t happy about what I had done, and she wanted to punish me. Then I got banished and another weird man used a stick to put me in here. What’s your name?”

The cat stared openly at her. His full tail twitched slightly. The girl waited a moment, then hung her head and started crying. “Please come back, I don’t want to be alone!”

The cat considered then made his way up the tower. The girl was still crying when he reached the top. She turned her head slightly in her arms to look at him. She sniffled and reached out a hand to pet his soft fur. The cat paced the available sill to find a more stable footing. He was not a small cat, being more akin to a small panther than a house cat.

“I guess you’re the only company I’m going to get,” she sighed her hand in the middle of scratching his ears, “I just wish I could remember what happened to me properly.”

The cat looked up at her.

“I can’t remember what it was that I can’t remember or why I can’t remember it, I’m confusing you aren’t I?”

The cat nodded.

“I just wish I could remember properly.”

The cat launched himself at her. She stared at the cat sitting on her chest. The spade shaped patch over his left eye making him look mysterious almost magical.

“Do you really want your memory back? I can get it for you, but I’ll need what you do remember.”



Ace opened his eyes the broken memory of a girl in this village imprinted on his own mind. He just had to figure out where in her broken memory he was. Hopefully near the beginning. He hated it when he had to go back further, he often ended up missing memories when he did that. Now which one was her? There were several children playing in the streets, mostly because they were too young to effectively work anywhere else. Ace stood up and made his way across the street to where two slightly older children were engaged in a board game. Ace smiled when he was what it was. So this was to be the famous chess game that Arlette won against her brother Ethan. Ace jumped onto an apple barrel to observe the progress of the game. It took no more than a glance to ascertain that Arlette was losing. And losing badly.

She was down all but three of her pawns, and though she had kept her queen, king and both knights, and one rook. White had almost twice the number of players and was close to check. There was a large area devoid of players in the center. The deciding battle ground perhaps. Ace looked at Arlette, it was difficult to track the face of the young woman in the tower to the child before him.

She was a small girl of seven. Not small for her age but not particularly tall either. Her hair was pulled into a dark brown braid and her brow was furrowed in concentration of the board. Her eyes...

Ace looked at her eyes again. Was he wrong in assuming that this was Arlette? This girls eyes were concentrated with a secret quality, the Arlette of the present had a confused helpless look. Ace began wondering if this girl had had her memory scrambled by magic. But why would that be? Could she have done something bad enough to have a wizard cast such a spell?

Ace watched as Ethan moved a pawn up, “I’ve got you now Lette, in two more moves I’ll have you beat.”

The gleam in Arlette’s eyes was unmistakable to Ace, “You haven’t won yet.” Arlette interrupted her brother’s laughing by moving one of her knights back to capture one of his rooks. Ethan recovered quickly and move one of his pawns up. Arlette responded by moving her queen. Ace could easily see what she had planned, Ethan simply moved another pawn. Ace shook his head as Arlette took his bishop. Ethan had made the mistake of not allowing for any useful tactics at this in the game.

“I won’t let you get away with that, Lette,” his knight’s movement was answered by the change of position in his opponent’s knight. Ace looked on in amusement as Ethan scowled at his opponent. “Don’t copy me, that’s cheating.” He moved his rook.

Arlette shrugged, “Fine,” she took of of his pawns with her own.

Ethan gritted his teeth and took her pawn with his knight. A round of movements from the knight followed before Ethan moved his bishop. Ace got up and paced closer along the wagon. A large portion of the other children were now stopping at intervals to check on the progress of the game.

“I guess watching those old geezers play everyday hasn’t helped you much, has it, Lette?”

Arlette moved her knight again, “Shut up and play.” Faintly Ace could feel the memory of watching the old men play creep back to Arlette’s mind along with what she had learned about staying cool under pressure. Ethan took one of her pawns. She casually responded by taking his last knight.