A True Soul

The next day, my father and I took Greta to the pet cemetery located at the far end of Green Acres. He dug a hole and I place her body, which was wrapped in linen, inside of it.

Bo and Dax followed us to the small grave. It was a little surprising that they came with us, but soothing all the same. My father said animals had a sixth sense. In my experience, he words were true.

I knelt at the side of the grave. Tears trickled down my cheeks, but I did nothing to stop them. Some people would say Greta was just a cat, but for whatever reason animals touched my soul at its core. I had such a strong connection with them. Losing Greta was like losing a family member.

I felt Bo brush against me. He laid on the ground and let out a little whine. I tilted my head towards the gray skyline. Somehow everything around me seemed to be mourning. Dax was even showing signs of empathy. He put his head on my lap and looked at me. This was such a comforting action, my tears stopped for a second. I was in shock; I couldn’t remember a time when he had come to me like this. Dax let me wrap my arms around him.

“Good job boys.” I heard my dad say to them. “You’re making sure she’s ok. You’re doing good. She’s gonna be just fine.” Bo seemed to be smiling as he looked at my father, but Dax stayed where he was and let me rest against him.

The next few days past by slowly and gloomily. By Friday I couldn’t take being in the house anymore. My dad took a few days off of work. He was acting so unusual lately it annoyed me. I had to get out of the house; I could not sit another minute feeling sorry for myself because of the accident. This was not like me. That feeling of stir craziness was horrible, I felt like I was being kept in a locked cage.

I jumped off the couch and threw on some slippers; I didn’t care at all how I looked. “Dad, I’m going out,” I called to him, but I didn’t wait for a response.

Running out the door I almost slipped on the stone walkway. My mother had designed the split story house that we’d lived in, but for once in my life this house, and all of its sentimental value brought no comfort to me.

As I walked into the woods I realized I’d forgotten my jacket. My arms had gotten goose bumps. My tank top and long pajama pants hadn’t done anything to sooth my physical discomforts.

The bush beside me shook and a rabbit popped out and looked at me. It moved towards me. I jumped back, a little ashamed I was spooked by an animal so small. All things considered, this did not even register on the weirdness scale for the past few weeks. Then the rabbit came to the edge of my shoes.

“I know what you are. I can see your sorrows.” I stumbled back… Rabbits were talking too?

“What? No, no, no.” I kept walking forward. This is not Wonderland, my name is not Alice. I walked a little faster to put distance in between me and my delusions.

There was a thump in front of me. I looked around but I couldn’t see where it might have come from. I moved forward again as the tree branches began to sag. My body lurched backwards; I could feel my heart thumping. I scanned the trees again and spotted a squirrel. Automatically my body relaxed, and my breathing began to normalize. It was only a squirrel, a harmless squirrel. I was about to continue walking, when something hit me on the back of the head. My right hand flew to spot the acorn had hit. “Ow.” I spun around. The damn squirrel was throwing things at me! “What is wrong with the animals in this god forsaken forest!?” I screamed. The squirrel got closer to me. Letting out a little gasp I took a step backwards and tripped, landing hard on my butt.

“Don’t think we don’t know who you are. All of us do. We can smell you miles away. However,” the squirrel moved an acorn to its other side and continued, “even if we do not agree with what you are, you’re unfortunately safe here.”

“What are you talking about, nothing you animals say makes any sense at all.” Now I was truly going insane, talking back to them.

“GAAH!” The squirrel made a disgusted look on its face. “You’re stupid too. Ember should have gotten rid of you. But she had to go and make other horrid decisions… and well, it doesn’t matter. But you’d be gone too if it wasn’t for that deal she made with the stag. If you asked me it was the wrong thing to agree to. Things like you should not be here, should not at all.”

I shook my head, baffled “How do you know my mother?” I pushed myself off the ground and dusted the dirt off. “How is it even possible you’re talking?” I sighed and closed my eyes. Why was I talking to a squirrel? There was a swoosh sound overhead. And a raven landed on a branch by a neighboring tree to the squirrel.

“You squirrel, do not you have better things to do?” The raven cawed at it, and pointed its beak in the squirrel’s direction.

“You have to go and put your huge beak into things that aren’t your concern,” the squirrel chittered.

“Excuse me.” The raven flew at the squirrel. “Say that to me again and see if I don’t peck your eyes out.”

The squirrel made a growling noise at the raven and ran off.

“I apologize for his actions, Ember’s daughter.” The raven flew closer to me. “The stag will hear about that..” She tilted her head. “I am called Angel. At the moment, I cannot explain these events, but there are other who can.”

A feeling of extreme frustration with these animals, and myself, overcame me. I had to be going crazy, but for whatever reason I kept talking, “Well, who can tell me what is going on?”

“A Natural Born , who is not under the stag’s authority. The stag doesn’t want to hide what you are, but he does not believe that all creatures in this forrest are trust worthy. Some of them wish to harm you.”

“What’s a Natural Born ? And what do you mean ‘who I truly am’? I’ve been here countless times before and nothing has happened.” I sighed, nothing made sense. I’d tried to convince myself that none of this was happening; none of this could be real.

“I cannot answer that for you. I do apologize for this. I can promise I am always here watching over you. When you find the information you are looking for come and find me again. I will be there to assist you,” Angel said as she flew off.

I threw my hands in the air. Goose bumps prickled my skin as the cold air blew across me. I decided going on my little walk had only made me feel worse, not to mention completely insane. I wrapped my arms around myself and hurried out of the woods. As I walked I looked around me, to make sure nothing or no one threw things at me, or talked to me unexpectedly.

I stepped out of the woods and took a deep breath; the cold air punctured my lungs. I walked around on the edge of the woods, towards the back side of our yard. At the back of the property there was a small garden with an archway, covered in an over growth of roses. I walked in the archway and sat on the bench located inside the garden. My handprints, from when I was a baby, along with my parents were pressed into the stone. I traced over my mother’s handprint and hoped I wasn’t crazy.

I saw movement out of the corner of the yard. I turned around on the bench, hoping whatever it was would leave me alone. I felt a stabbing pain in my wrist and realized I haven’t taken any pain medication all day. So much for being able to explain my hallucination…

It was time to head back inside; being in the garden hadn’t made me feel any better either. My mind was still as clouded as before, and the day had only added to the confusion that loomed over me.

Suddenly a cat jumped over one of the hedges. Oh great, here we go again. I had hoped that this was all a bad dream and that I would wake from it soon.

I buried my face in my hands. “What are the chances you’re a normal, non-talking cat?” I sighed, utterly exhausted. “With my luck today, I’d say slim to none.”

Blue eyes with orange circles around the pupils starred at me with great intensity. That was the moment I knew I’d gone completely insane. I’d jumped off the deep end. And all I could do was stare back at the creature with it’s odd coloring. It had short white fur with an orange colored ear, tail, and spots on the tops of its head. The cat jumped from the group onto the bench. It walked towards me. I jolted up and back into the rose bush.

Luck was not on my side, there was no chance she’d be normal. “Please do not be frightened. Before you go completely psychotic, why don’t you sit and relax. Didn’t you listen to anything Angel said?” She licked her paw contently.

I stayed standing. “Listen here, I am not Dr. Do Little, I am not supposed to talk to animals. There is something really, really wrong with me,” I braced myself on one of the hedges.

“Listen, you can go with the ‘you’re crazy idea’, or you could listen to what I have to say. I knew your mother and I know what you are. I know you have questions and I can help.”

“I thought the animals under the stage’s authority couldn’t help me?” I shook with agitation.

“Well, one, the stag does not dictate what I do, and two, this would go a little easier if you could calm yourself. I am here as a friend.”

“How do I know you’re not lying? Angel said that there are animals who want to hurt me.” I stayed where I was, trying to be cautious. Maybe if I pinch myself I’ll wake up, this can’t be real.

“So you were listening?” The cat seemed to smile. “Listen to me. I know your mother was a good person. And you, Angela are more like her than you know. When she found out she was pregnant with you, she did everything she could to protect you… And I know the truth about how she died. You can trust me no matter what happens; I will never lie to you.” The intensity of its eyes seemed to gleamed with light. There was something truly unique about her.

“Let’s say I do trust you. What’s your name?” I said stepping a little closer. I had to be going crazy.

“My name is Faux.” The cat quickly glanced behind them, before shifting their gaze back to me.

“You’re a cat named Fox?” I asked.

The cat laughed a little. “Not quit, my name’s spelled f a u x,” it purred.

“You’re name’s supposed to be pronounced foe,” I said.

“Yes. Well, in this world not everything is as it seems. What you need to know is that I am a Natural Born, but I’ll explain what that means in a moment. Would you be so kind as to give me a second to make myself more presentable to you?” But it turned without waiting for my reply, dashing into the woods.