121. I Ask For High Things

There is a new grave in what is still Owlwood Manse Cemetery. Gatocatcha, my tiny cat with three feet and the name of an elephant, patiently observed how one mortal buried another.

                         

“Darn!” said Tyrone Shyboy, wiping the sweat off his brow. “If I had known how tiresome it is to dig graves, I’d have asked to have this one done for us when I sold the place. Well, that’s done,” he said, sighing with relief as soon as he had checked that the new headstone was well in place and would not fall and that the peace lilies he had planted on each side of it were holding fast too.  He stood back and contemplated the headstone with the satisfaction of someone who has done well by another.

Below half a sun with the motto Altiora Peto inscribed on it, the headstone read  Lonefellow Shyboy, Parafairy and Vet. The stone explained that Mr. Shyboy had died defending his privacy. And below that there was something those he had befriended insisted on adding: The Forest Creatures will never forget you. 

A tear dropped from Ty’s left eye onto the grave. “´Bye, Unk,” he said, softly. “I’m going to have a shower.”

As soon as he was gone, Pilar, the almost feral cat with the strange stripes and huge tail climbed onto the grave and cuddled up there.

                

This was what Gatocatcha had been waiting for. He came out from the bushes where he had been hiding and stood before the grave.

“Have you come to pay your respects?” asked Pilar. “Did he once heal you too?”

                           

“I’m digging for information,” said Gatocatcha. “I have a pet fairy lad  who needs to know where to find somebody called Felina of the Forest Cats.”

“You should have asked Ty,” said Pilar. “She’s his wife. But bring your pet to this part of the forest at midnight and if you’re lucky we’ll find her. When she’s at the manse, she  tiptoes out to feed the forest cats and play ball with them.”

But Ty and Felina lived in a rented apartment in the city and they left that very afternoon to speak with their landlord and tell him they would no longer need it because they were moving to the country. Because they were rather disorganized people it took them more than a month to see the landlord and another month to get organized and pack their stuff. By the time they moved to the manse it was the last week of October and Michael was organizing his annual Halloween Party. It was to be the most hazardous party he had held to the date. So hazardous that I will only be able to tell you about it months after.

"We are Lek and Lamon, the Siamese twin Leafies. Our names mean gentle and little person. We just wanted to say we loved Lonefellow too.