A MEETING IN HEAVYSIDE

By Dennis C. Callin (Rumblepurr)


      When the world faded to black, Mikey was scared at first. The Human he had known had held him to the last sight… his eyes’ second Closing. As the darkness became more complete, he felt the arms slip away from him and a chill slowly seep into his body. His limbs were heavy, and he could not move… Panic started to overtake his senses, and he feared madness would strike him. His body seemed to touch something hard, but Mikey could not feel anything else, nor could he see anything at all. The darkness was all around him… and also inside him…
      And he was now alone…
      He could feel the tears welling in his eyes, but they felt like ice…
      Was this… how all things ended…?
      He tried to move… but his body stayed still and quiet…
      He tried to speak, but nothing issued from his mouth…
      He listened for a sound, but nothing came out of the void he was in…
      He tried everything he could possibly think of… once… twice…
      Nothing…
      And yet…
      “Good-bye…” came a voice in the darkness.
      He knew that voice. His Mistress! 'Good-bye?’ She was leaving him? How? Why? None of this was making sense…
      [Wait! Don’t leave me! I don’t like it here! It’s scary…]
      Nothing…
      The voice and the presence was gone…
      Mikey started to despair now… His Mistress, for some reason, was gone, and left him behind…
      ~* That’s nae true… *~ another voice said.
      [What?]
      ~* Your Mistress did not leave ye… Ye had tae leave her… *~
      [What are you saying? I’d never leave her! I love her!]
      ~* Ye’re not listening tae what I’m telling you *~ the voice said somewhere closer to him. ~* Ye had tae leave… It was your time, and I was sent tae guide ye… *~
      [I don’t believe you! What you’re saying is wrong! I was just tired and needed some sleep…]
      ~* Yes… The Sleep is required of all creatures, even Jellicles… except for the Chosen… They dinnae sleep before their Journey. The ones who were nae Chosen by the Leader must sleep before they go. When ye start tae dream in this Sleep, that is when I appear. I have come for ye… *~
      [Who…? Who are you…?]
      Suddenly, the darkness was not so dark…
      Before him, many lengths off, the inky black turned indigo around the shape of a cloaked and hooded figure. Yellow-green eyes abruptly appeared - as if the figure had just blinked.
      ~* I have many names… But for Jellicles, I am called the Dark Cat… *~
      [The… Dark… No…]
      ~* I frighten ye? Dinnae be afraid… Perhaps… Maybe it is this cloak and hood. I shall remove it… *~
      Spectral hands seemed to reach up and pull back the hood, revealing a feline-like white face with a rather bushy silver-white mane. The yellow-green glow disappeared and turned into a pair of sky-blue eyes that sparkled. A stern mouth gentled slightly with a slight smile as he gazed at Mikey.
      “Better?”
      [Who…?]
      The dark cloak fell to the “ground” and disappeared into the murk around the now totally white feline Tom… who was standing on his hind legs! Mikey noticed that the area just around the Tom’s body shimmered with white light… The figure reminded Mikey of some of the humans he had seen, but this was no human in front of him…
      “Ah… Ye need tae awaken, or the rest of this is so bothersome. Stand, Mikey.”
      The white spectral hand rose, and a brilliant white light streamed outward, and surrounded Mikey. The heaviness he had felt steal over him was banished almost instantly. Suddenly, he felt himself take a deep breath - almost as if he had been holding it! He then felt the pounding of his heart, and almost groaned with relief as he both felt and heard it. And then…
      He stood…
      Looking downward, he realized that he, too, was now standing upright. His paws had changed… Those stubby digits had lengthened… They reminded him of those wonderful paws his Mistress had… The… fingers(?) that scratched him delightfully around his ears, cheeks and chin… He had them now…
      “How…?”
      Mikey’s eyes widened. “I can… speak…?”
      The white Tom nodded. “Aye… Ye dinnae listen tae your Mistress when she played the music and let ye watch the story?”
      Mikey felt his ears swivel atop his head. “The story?”
      “Aye. Our story… The full explanation will be given later, but we have tae go now. I am sure ye dinnae like this place… I dinnae ken why the Way Station has tae be so dark, dreary and cold… Come…”
      Looking around him, Mikey felt puzzled. “Where?”
      “Ah… Nae matter how many times I perform this duty, I always forget that ye have nae been here before… The stairs… Here. Let me show them tae ye…”
      Another flash of white light burst from the White Tom’s hand and struck the ground not too far off. Where it hit, the light shattered into bright twinkling lights. As the sparkles spread out, they seemed to outline something… When the beam flickered out, Mikey could see the object clearly now, and he felt a chill crawl upward from the base of his tail to his shoulders.
      The object was shaped like the paw and arm of a giant cat! In the fur of the arm, he could see stairs…
      “What… What is that?”
      “The stairs, lad… The stairs that go tae…”
      “The Heavyside Layer,” Mikey suddenly said.
      The White Tom nodded. “Aye… Ye did learn a wee bit from what ye saw and heard from your Mistress. That is where they lead… Up ye go, lad…”
      Mikey stared at the stairway with wide-open eyes of wonder. He went forward, his gaze locked on the marvelous sight! He was going to… Heavyside! His foot touched the fingers of the Great Paw, and the sensation stopped him.
      “Aren’t you coming with me?”
      “Nay, lad…” the White Tom said, shaking his head slightly. “Tis nae my time. I must stay here and wait for those who come here. My job is tae awaken them and send them onward. Your guide awaits ye at the top of the stairs. Go, now…”
      “What… what is up there?”
      “Naething that ye should fear… Think of me, Mikey. When ye first saw me, ye felt frightened… And now?”
      Mikey stared at the White Tom, and thought for a moment. “No… I’m not scared of you… Why? Why do you have to wear that awful cloak and hood?”
      The White Tom shrugged his shoulders. “I was told that the ones who come here are frightened by the unknown. They see me in the darkness, and the fear builds. For such as ye, I am allowed tae remove the cloak and reveal myself. For others, I remain as you first saw me. For them, the stairway seems to go downward…”
      As Mikey stared, the White Tom’s mouth curled further into a warm smile. “It dinnae make any difference in the long run. Both stairs lead tae the same place eventually. After all, we all must stand before the Great Cat…”
      Mikey nodded. Things were starting to make sense… Still, he looked behind him, and saw nothing but the inky darkness. “Such a gloomy place… How do you stand it?”
      “Ye dinnae see it as I do… And, I dinnae always stay here. I sometimes must go out tae find those who have fallen asleep. When I do, I get tae see the world ye lived in. And that is when I envy ye… Ye live in a beautiful world… Ye have everything there…” He sighed. “If ye would only share it and nae trouble each other over trifles…”
      The White Tom shook his head, and looked back at Mikey. “Ye have tae go, lad. Your guide is waiting…”
      “Do… do I know you?”
      “Ye have nae never been aware of me, Mikey, but everyone knows me eventually. They know I am waiting for them when Life comes tae its passing. The Great Cat has known ye from before ye were born. Go, Mikey…”
      “What about my Mistress? She should know…”
      “She knows you are now in a place where the pain and suffering are no more,” the White Tom said softly. “Go…”
      Although he felt as though he could ask a million questions, Mikey had to nod. Looking up the stairway, he seemed to see no end to the steps. Turning, he started to ask one more question…
      But the White Tom was gone…
      A shadowy figure stood in his place…
      ~* Go… This place is just a Way Station… You cannot stay here… Go… *~
      The indigo outline dissolved, and blackness covered the place where the Tom had stood. Sighing once more, Mikey turned back to the stairs and started to climb…
      Each step he took, Mikey felt like the stairs beneath his feet were moving upward. The bottom of the stairs was no longer visible. All he could see now was a stretch of steps going constantly upward - outlined by twinkling silver-blue lights that reminded him of stars…
      He did not feel tired, no matter how many steps he seemed to have climbed. In fact, he never felt as good as he did right now… well… maybe he felt this way when he was a kitten… He grinned. No… He got tired as a kitten after running around and playing. When his mother called to him, he would fall easily into sleep after he was fed. Even after his mother no longer fed him, but led him to the food bowl, he would always feel the need to nap.
      How long had he been climbing…?
      Minutes…?
      Hours…?
      Days…?
      Suddenly, he became aware that the stairs ahead of him had a light far off in the distance. At first, he thought the stairway was leading him upward into a silver-white star. As he came closer, that light seemed to be coming out of an archway. As he approached the archway, a figure was waiting for him…
      He slowed when he mounted those last steps and stood before the figure… Strange, he thought… She’s… like a… little human girl…
      And then she spread her wings… silver-white wings…
      Otherwise, Mikey was right… Smaller than he was, the little girl still looked somewhat like the White Tom had looked like… only… A colorful mane of orange, black and white framed her feline-like face and downy facial fur. Her bib and most of her body was white, but streaks of scarlet and black colored her on her flanks and back. A feathery tail curled about her legs. She was like his Mistress in a way, but he knew he had never seen her before…
      “Hi!” she chirped lightly. “You must be Mikey. I was told you were coming, so I waited. And I don’t mind waiting either because it’s a lovely day to be here.”
      “It is?” Mikey could not see past the bright light inside the arch.
      “You can’t see in there because you’ve been out here for a while,” the Princess chuckled softly. “That’s why you need a guide. Was Grandfather there to meet you?”
      “Grandfather?”
      “Yeah… He likes to dress up all black and scary-like… Did you…?”
      “Yes…” Mikey nodded. “That’s what he looked like at first… But he took it off and then…”
      “He took the cloak off?” the little Princess gasped in glee. “That’s wonderful! He’s so much nicer when he does that!”
      “Yes… yes, he is,” Mikey said, smiling now. He was beginning to like this little cat-girl. “I’m sorry, but who are you?”
      “Grandfather didn’t tell you?”
      “No, he didn’t…”
      “He can be so prissy at times,” she huffed, and glared down the stairway. “Well… maybe he didn’t know it’d be me this time…” Bright, sparkling and mischievous eyes looked up into his. “I’m Toireasa… but everybody here calls me Tess… Well… the Great Cat still wants to be formal, but then, the Great Cat always is…”
      “You… You know the Great Cat?”
      The Princess chuckled briefly and then laughed musically. “Silly… Everyone here knows the Great Cat. Come on. I need to get you inside… You’ll never get used to the light out here.”
      Mikey squinted, and held out a furry hand. The little Princess took it and pulled him forward. Stepping through the arch was almost as frightening as entering the darkness for some reason
      “I’m… I’m scared…”
      “Mikey… There’s nothing to be afraid of… You’re with me…”
      “But… I can’t… Toireesa, I’ll lose…”
      She stopped. “I’m Toireasa… 'a’ - not 'e’. Trust me, please? All you have to do is enter into the light, and everything will be okay. Come on, Mikey… You can do it…”
      He took one more look out and down the stairs. If he went back down there, he would never find his way back to his Mistress. He suddenly knew that… For whatever reason, he was now here, and he needed to do what this little Princess wanted.
      Taking her hand and squeezing it, he allowed her to pull him into the bright silver-white light…
      The moment he stepped through and was surrounded by the light, he felt that last vestiges of heaviness fall away from him. If he felt wonderful while climbing the stairs, he now felt beyond that sensation! He could not see at first. The brightness was too much, and his vision was cloudy.
      “Don’t worry,” the Princess said beside him, but all he could see of her was a bright ball of light that hovered in the air next to him. “You’ll get used to this soon…”
      Sure enough… The cloudiness started to clear, and his vision started to make out the blurred images… When he opened his eyes for the Second Sight, he was speechless.
      “Gets to you, doesn’t it?” the Princess said, clearly giggling.
      Wherever he looked, he saw things that defied description and yet he knew that pleasure had somehow taken physical form. Everything that appealed to him was there, and in such beautiful colors and shapes. He was so busy that he did not realize a large Tom was approaching him until he stood in front of Mikey.
      Tess tugged on his elbow. “Mikey?”
      “Yes?” he said before he became aware of the tall male. At first, he felt a slight bit of misgiving as this Tom looked down at him.
      “Tess?” the Tom said, his voice deep and rich.
      “Dragon! You’re not being very nice about this!”
      “Dragon?” Mikey said, now puzzled at both the name and Toireasa’s reaction.
      “Yes,” the Tom replied, now smiling as he reached down and ruffled the Princess’ mane. “My full name is Pushdragon, but Tess likes to call me that. I have come to measure you…”
      “Measure me?”
      “Dragon, you’re supposed to wait!”
      “Wait?” Mikey turned to the little Princess. “What’s going on, Tess?”
      Pushdragon appeared to be enjoying some joke. “If you recall, Lady Tess, you got yours before you saw the Great Cat…”
      “But…”
      “No buts…” Pushdragon said, grinning openly. “The Great Cat said for me to do so. He’ll get them afterward.”
      That statement seemed to placate the Princess. “Okay… this time, Dragon!”
      Still grinning, Pushdragon reached out, and touched Mikey between his eyes. After a slight feeling of unease, Mikey felt the fingertip draw back.
      “I’m through. Tess? The Great Cat will see him now.”
      Although Mikey was a bit puzzled about what had just happened, he nodded to the taller Tom, and touched knuckles with him. Then, he reached down and collected one of Toireasa’s hands.
      “Are you ready, Mikey?”
      “I think so…”
      She raised one hand and from out of the clouds overhead, another stairway dropped down and settled gently at their feet. As soon as it was there, Tess began tugging at his hand. “Come on, Mikey… this way…”
      In the back of his mind, Mikey knew he should be frightened again, but he was not. Instead, all he felt was curiosity and a sense of awe. He was about to face what Jellicles called… 'God.’ With Toireasa leading him, he began to climb these stairs. As they ascended the steps, the white, fluffy clouds ahead of them seemed to begin to part. Again, much sooner than he expected to would take them to climb so high, he found himself in a dimensionless space of gold, silvers, and sparkling lights that reminded him of a jewel box…In front of him, a cat-like figure sat in a large throne. Majesty radiated from the figure like warmth from a fireplace.
      Without being told, he knelt before the featureless figure.
      Gentle eyes of gold appeared in the face of the cat-like figure and the transformation of the huge figure soon created the impression of a Jellicle… But, Mikey could not tell if the figure was a Tom or a Queen…
      “Psst…” Toireasa nudged him. “You need to turn around…”
      Mikey could not help it. He was looking at… 'God.’ Feeling the Princess nudge him again, he reluctantly turned around…
      ## BEHOLD… ##
      The voice was not spoken, but Mikey seemed to hear it - from everywhere, it seemed. His ears flattened but the echoes still filled his mind. Suddenly, images flickered in front of him. As he began to focus on them, his ears flattened to the sides and his tail tucked between his legs…
      “No… don’t…” he suddenly whimpered.
      The images were sharp and clear, and he knew the huge figure behind him could see every detail of them. Every little thing he had done or thought was being shown there… and he was ashamed of each image… All the bad things he had ever done - even the ones he had forgotten - was being shown like the telly his human Mistress had. He was forced to look at each act, and feel the effect those actions had on the ones he had harmed in anyway… even the ones he had done against his human Mistress… A chilly feeling radiated against his back…
      “Please… no more…” he groaned.
      Suddenly, the images faded away, and then returned…
      “The bad part’s done,” Toireasa said softly.
      His eyes stuck on the images now forming prevented him from asking what she meant by that. His tears began to dry, and his tail pulled away from his thighs as he looked at these. Warmth now took the place of the cold as he viewed things that had made him happy. He especially enjoyed the times his Mistress held him and stroked him. The tears he felt now were also warm as he recalled these wonderful moments… these moments of happiness he had given and shared… When these images finally faded, the only regret he had was that they had ended… He felt strangely at peace now. More so than he had ever felt in his Life…
      “Mikey?” Toireasa whispered. “Turn around again…”
      No longer afraid, he did, and saw the giant Jellicle nod. At that point, he saw Toireasa make a small courtesy. Taking Mikey by the hand once more, she led him back to the stairs. At the landing, he stopped and looked over his shoulder. The throne and the huge Jellicle were not there… But the warmth still radiated from that spot…
      “You passed, Mikey.”
      “I did?”
      “Yeah… Come with me.”
      The Tom nodded, and turned back toward the stairs. As they descended, he felt something on his back. Turning his head slightly, he saw them… wings…
      “I see Dragon’s showing off again,” Toireasa giggled. “He usually likes to make a bigger deal than this, but he sometimes likes to surprise people.”
      “I don’t understand.”
      “Normally, he brings a set of wings with him, and makes it seem like he’s strapping them on. He can do this type of thing anytime he wants. Sometimes, he’s just a silly old fussy Tom…”
      “Can I… fly now?”
      “Yeah…” Toireasa grinned as she floated up to his eye level. “Come on… I want to show you something.”
      As she once more took his hand, he felt his wings spread and flap gently. Like her, he floated upward away from the stairway and into the air. He could hear Toireasa’s laughter as she let go and sped away from him. Laughing now himself, he sped after her, climbing the tall white clouds, and diving down into the wispy canyons between them. She played hide-n-seek in one fluffy cumulus cloud, and giggled craftily as she caught him looking the wrong way, and cuffed him between his ears.
      And then, she took his hand, and guided him back down to the “ground.” Alighting in a grassy field, she pointed at a beautiful and bright shining rainbow. All around the field, there were Jellicles of every shape, size and colors. They rested in the shade, or sprawled gratefully in the sun. Some even swam in the lake, played on the shoreline or in the field or climbed trees to perch in the branches. Like him, all of them had wings of silver, or gold, depending upon their colors.
      “Where are we?” he asked softly.
      “The Rainbow Bridge,” she answered. “This is where you wait, if you like. The Heavyside Layer is open to you, but you will eventually wish to stay here.” Toireasa smiled. “Watch with me for a while and you will understand why many Jellicles simply wait for their time… Shh… I think Mittsey’s time is about to come…”
      Mikey wanted to ask what she meant when he noticed a beautiful silver-gray Queen rise up from her perch on a rock where she had been sunning herself. In life, she must have been stunning, but here, earthly beauty paled in her radiance. Her ears had perked forward and she arose effortlessly. Those around her waved and shouted after her as she raced toward the rainbow.
      “Blessings!!!” he heard them shout.
      Mikey watched, amazed, as she bounded up onto the bridge of colored light. As she did, Mikey saw the human on the rainbow. Mittsey leapt into the human’s arms just as he had done with his Mistress many times. This human embraced the cat in her arms, and kissed her as she descended the bridge. Touching the ground, the two moved off into the forest and disappeared.
      “What just happened?” he finally asked.
      “She got to go back to her human,” Toireasa said, a trace of longing in her voice. “Every one here has a human waiting for them… That’s why many simply stay in this spot. It wouldn’t matter really… No matter where they were in the Heavyside, they would feel the call, and come here. Even Dragon won’t explain it to me. The Great Cat seems to know, but no one ever gets the answer from the Great Cat. All I know is when their human goes to their heaven, their cats get to go with them. That’s why the Rainbow Bridge is here… So they can get back together and know love forever more…”
      “What about you?”
      “I’m waiting too… but the Great Cat lets me do a lot of things… My human… my mommy knows I’m here… If I’m on an errand when she comes, she’ll wait for me… Well, Mikey?”
      The Tom nodded. “I… I think I’ll wait here…”
      “It may be a while, Mikey. Humans live a lot longer than Jellicles do…”
      “Somehow… that doesn’t matter anymore…” Mikey gently pulled Toireasa into a soft embrace and kissed top of her head. “Thanks, Tess.”
      “For what?”
      “For showing me around… I think I know why the Great Cat chose you to be my guide… When I awoke, I wanted nothing more than to try and find a way back to my Mistress. I didn’t like being told to climb the stairs until I met you at the top. I… I don’t think I could have entered the light if you hadn’t been there… But now… I know my Mistress will come here when her time comes… She’ll want me to be here… I know she will… So… I think I’ll stay here… It’s just as nice as anywhere else I’ve seen…”
      “You can call her Christina, if you like... Your Mistress? Her name is Christina. I’ll come by to visit, if you like,” Toireasa said, giving the Tom a hug.
      “I’d like that a lot…”
      Both of them hugged, and then Toireasa gently pushed away from him.
      “I have to go,” she said softly, a gentle smile brightening her face. “Someone else needs my help. I’ll try and stop by after I’m done, okay?”
      “Sure… You know where to find me, right?”
      “Yeah!” she grinned. “See you later!”
      Mikey expected her to fly away, but she simply disappeared. Smiling to himself now, he turned and gazed once more at the Bridge. The colors sparkled and shimmered in his sight, and he knew he had never seen anything so beautiful. Taking his gaze away from the Rainbow Bridge, he climbed the gentle slope to the rock he had seen Mittsey, the beautiful Russian Blue Queen, sitting. Taking her place, he realized that the rock seemed like a comfortable pillow beneath him, and that the sun shone down on his fur with comfortable warmth. He curled up and allowed himself to relax.
      Within moments, Mikey smiled as he watched a calico Tom rise from his place against a tree. Once more, one of their numbers bounded for the Rainbow Bridge and the love that waited for them… His time would come eventually… and it would be his time to leave… to rise up from his place, and to run for the colors of the bridge… and the arms of his Mistress... Christina...

***** Finis *****

The RAINBOW BRIDGE

By M. A. Preston

To Christina Sattler
In Memory of Mikey

And to All Humans Ever Been Loved by a Cat

And In Memory of Mittsey, Blackie, Butch, Rags, Katie and Laura
Who Are Hopefully Waiting for my Wife and me...


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