A Cat’s Tail CH 3

Ace and I migrated towards the library, admiring the rustic scenery. We entered the gigantic doors, this was completely furnished with comfortable places to sleep and thousands of lined books. This was nothing like dad’s small bookcase on Earth, this was beyond anything. The shelves themselves were encrusted with gold, like the fountain outside. “Here we are!” Ace loudly spoke. “My favorite place.”

“The library.” I spaced upon my thought. There were so many books, though I never understood most books dad and mom had written. “Why would Heaven have a library?”

Ace pointed his snout towards a huge draped list alongside a world map. “Most cats come here to see if their families are here. That list over there tells you where you family’s names are posted.” There were cats climbing up stairs to read a specific name. It covered the entire wall, at least 10 bookshelves side by side and another 7 stacked on top of each other. “They are human families, rather your own personal family… you know?” Ace smiled before walking forward again. “Even if that isn’t your intention, the library is filled with just about everything. Guardian Training prep books, recipe books, novellas, we have volunteer-led session to read for the Kittens. It’s quite the comfortable place to even lay down and sleep. I take cat naps all the time.” Ace started to trot up the slabbed steps, I followed still bewildered at the whole expanse.

I still questioned further, “How could we understand the texts? I didn’t understand human text then.”

Ace paused, following a chuckle after. “Easy! This is Heaven! Dedicated just towards cats, we can understand any text we couldn’t on Earth. Like, some cats have a language barrier and could only read texts in that language, so they notice see the language they grew up with and go with it. You speak English, so you’d probably understand English texts.” Ace proudly presented a small book with silly font spelling Shapes and Colors! in rainbow coloring. “Or you can always read a kitten book like this one.” Ace bellowed a laugh.

I rolled my eyes as I smiled, it was strange he could be loud in a library. I never heard of that. “Oh, and…” Ace trotted up to a ladder leaning on the shelving. “To grab a book…” Ace ran up and jumped on the ladder, forcing it to glide along the shelving. He slapped a book with his tail, causing it to tumble out a fall from its original spot. Ace quickly jumped off and the ladder abruptly slammed into the wall. The book elegantly landed on a rolling cart underneath, Ace promptly and joyfully pushed the cart to me. “Easy as pie.”

That was a cool stunt, no doubt about it. Though, that looked like luck. “Let’s find a book for going back to Earth.” I started towards the History and Historical Fiction aisles first. “I’ll go down here.”

“Alrighty!” Ace happily sauntered over to the Manga and Fiction sections. Figures, his joyous personality came form somewhere. I couldn’t help but chuckle, I went my way.

I entered the walls, overwhelmed with the myriad of books that had lined the shelves. The bookshelves were taller from this perspective, they had reached the second floor so easily! There were cats pushing carts stacked with books, nudging the thick pages with their heads and noses. I found it very difficult to find most books, some sleeping cats stretched and pushed books off their shelving. It was like an avalanche of books. Historical facts flying at you, literally. Every few feet or so was a new subsection; Earth facts, Earth History, Heaven Districts, the list could go on forever. I scaled through the next few aisles, hoping to see a more precise location for my cause. I ended in the Kitten section instead. This wasn’t for me either.

As I walked away, I overheard a smooth female voice. I looked back to see a tortoise shell sitting on the mat, acting out a story for the cats sitting down. That must be one of the volunteers, none of the cats looked alike. “Though as the night grew dark, the lost kitten saw that the forest was too big. ‘What could I do,’ said the kitten. ‘I don’t have my mommy or my daddy, I’m lost!’” I walked closer to the reading mat, seeing how the kits stayed near each other for comfort. “There were scary noises everywhere. The clouds were dark, like it was going to rain.” She explained, some of the kits bowed in fear. I couldn’t help but feel the eeriness myself. “Little Mittens was scared, he missed his mommy and daddy. Then, a bush went shake, shake, shake all throughout the night! Mittens was extra scared now!” I noticed myself sitting down on one of the benches, I listened to a kitten story. “The shaking had stopped, Mittens went to investigate.” She leaned forward, the kittens following along. After a brief pause, the reader went “Boo!” as she scared the other kittens, I jumped as well. “A little white kitten jumped from the bush, giggling about the spook!”

The kittens giggled like the presenter did. I could help but shuffle something beneath my own voice. Ace bumped into me, “What are you doing?” He quietly asked. Now he lowers his voice, probably for the better though. “Are you… listening to a kitten book?” Ace chuckled at the expense. He looked back at the storyteller, seeing her mesmerizing pattern. “You were looking at the lady… weren’t you?”

Listening to a kitten story seemed embarrassing enough, though I couldn’t admit to the second option. “I did not, I overheard the story and was drawn in.” The kittens gasped in fear at my sentence. I looked over, seeing the kittens control themselves as the teller went on. “It seems they like the book too.”

“Little kittens or not, you weren’t looking for the Earth Returning book.” Ace sat on the bench next to me.

“Says you. You went directly towards the Manga section.” I chuckled, putting my head down.

“Yep!” Ace confirmed confidently. “I found a novel for Earth you might want to check out. Legends of Cats: Risks to Take! seems like a fitting title.” Ace pushed the book in front of me as I perked my head. “It’s basically about a cat who set out to find his family from Heaven. You are Welcome.”

I took the book from him and immediately started reading. It was a huge book, I can’t imagine reading the entire novel in one setting. I had no time to lose, I did die. The first few chapters highlighted the importance of the Human Atmosphere and how he Atmosphere contributes to veils on Earth. I remember Aaron talking about the Atmosphere and Anthrosphere, talking about how the human interaction caused pollution and many other harmful things. The book did as well, explaining how the veil is too weak to hold new coming spirits in. One chapter caught my attention, it had talked about one cat who wanted to go back home to Earth. A brown tabby walked across Heaven to the Earth Viewing Area. As a note, the Earth Viewing Area was highly recommended for anyone willing to go through reincarnation or wanting to see their family. It was fascinating to read about.

Another gasp came from the kitten reading session. I looked down to see Ace laid down, intently listening to the story. “Little Mittens is still really lost. Even the white kitten was confused through the forest. ‘Where could my mommy have gone? I’m really scared.’ Mittens said. The wind picked up, pushing against the two baby kits. White kitten went out and grabbed a leaf, ‘Maybe the leaf could lead the way!’ White kitten let go of his leaf, making the leaf fly freely through the wind.” The presenter enthusiastically said her story, the kitten perking with joy. I went back to reading.

The problem with the Heaven Cat was that he wasn’t found afterwards. No one had heard of him. He gathered such courage to try and break through the barrier of Heaven and Earth, only vanished without a traced. This could mean he is still safe in Heaven for 2,000 years… or he transferred into the veil holding Heaven together. I closed the book, touching Ace with my tail, “Ace?” I asked quietly, hoping not to disturb the reading session. “Ace?” I asked a little louder, nudging my shoulder to him. He still hasn’t answer. I looked up to see Ace tearing up, much like the kittens. Was the story session still going on?

“Little Mittens finally found his home! White kitten walked him up the doorstep, he said, ‘Goodbye! It’s nice to have a good friend with me. I was starting to get scared too.’ Little Mittens touched White Kitten’s forehead, something he only did with his mommy and daddy. ‘Thank you! My mommy probably really missed me.’ White Kitten headed off back into the forest. Little Mittens knew, he was no longer a scary cat… he was a nice friend. The end.” The storyteller ended by closing the book. “How was that story?”

The Kittens sprung up in unison, “Yea!” they all shouted. The kittens scattered to their own mothers, telling and chattering of the tale of Little Mittens. My heart warmed to the greetings. Many of the kittens touched each other’s forehead, teaching their mother how Little Kitten was best friend with the mysterious White Kitten.

“Ace.” I asked once more, noticing a subtle sniffle coming from him. I turned to see a sobbing grown cat.

“Mittens… he found his… home.” Ace tried his best not to cry, though the sniffles gave it away. “He made a… a… a… a new… a new friend.” He whimpered until turned his head and exposing his crying face. He panicked and jolted up, wiping any tears left over. “You didn’t see anything!”

I shared a small chuckle. “You? Tearing up at a kitten story? Impossible.” I nudged the book over and put a paw on the picture in front. It was modeled like it had said in the book. “That’s the Earth Viewing Area, right?”

Ace looked down and nodded, “Yea, it’s a huge sphere that shows where humans are on Earth. Why?”

“That’s our next destination.” I smiled.

Ace looked more concerned, “That’s almost a two-week walk. We won’t make it there in time.”

“In time?” I questioned. “There’s a time limit?”

Ace looked up, trying to find the right words to explain. “You are a spirit, safe in the Spiritual veils that support Heaven. However, when you step out of the region, such as the going to the Viewing Area, you last only a few days before you deteriorate.” Ace turned his head, revealing a tip of an ear missing. “My ear tip is missing since I walked out pretty often, after a month or so, my ear started fading away.”

I looked closer at his ear, it wasn’t like a rip or scar. The ear tip was faded away, like it had vaporized into a solution. “A few days? Do you think we’ll be able to make it?”

“My ear started vanishing after a month of moving between different veils and spots. I think we should be fine.” Ace smiled back, “Problem is, once you start fading, it’s irreversible. It’ll only get worse, but we are both strong spirits! It’s hard to get rid of us!” He boasted about us, confidently as always.

I smiled back, my confidence restored in his judgement. “We should get going then.” I turned, accidentally bumping into the volunteered tortoise shell that was reading the kitten book. “I’m sorry ma’am.”

“That’s alright.” Her soft voice spoke. “I couldn’t help but notice you guys listening onto my story session with the little kits. Do you have kittens of your own?”

“No, we are on a mission.” I answered. “Do you know anything about this book?” I shoved the book over to her.

The tortoise shell closely inspected the book jacket, “This is some old legend we tell the kittens. A mysterious cat tried going back to his family in Tokyo from the Spiritual realm. Well, he tried, though he disappeared. We don’t know anything about what had happened, only that there was one witness.” The tortoise pushed the book back over, “You two better be careful, the veils are getting weaker out there. You little boys should be extra careful. She started walking away, “Please come for another reading session though. We could love the company!”

Ace walked in front of me, catching my attention instead. “Well, I am not a little boy.” I smiled, ready to officially leave and start the journey. “Ready, Ace?”

He took in a deep breath and nodded. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” He gave me a smile and we started walking out. “You want to join the next story session first?”

I chuckled until opening the door, dashing on sight. “Hurry up! You are too slow!” I quickly rushed to the next destination, the end of the International District. That way we can leave.

“Hey! Slow down!” Ace had trouble catching up. Considering he always rushed in front of me, I thought this wouldn’t be a challenge.

I couldn’t help but laugh. Viewing Area…

Here I come.