by Robert Dixon
Chapter One
I awoke to the sounds of birds chirping and water flowing over rocks. “What the…” I called out. As my eyes gained focus I realized I could see as good as I use to! I stretched and tried to get to my paws, and then I noticed them, my paws, that is. They were huge and covered with white fur! There were no aches or stiff joints either! To my amazement I had been rejuvenated into this big, white pawed, body, or is that transformed? I thought back to my last memory and… Oh! Yeah, the stupid snake! I must be dead. Looking around at the lush green valley I found myself in, I thought, “So this is Heaven!” I walked over to the stream and bent to take a drink. When I saw my reflection in the water I took a step back. I had seen my reflection on numerous times in my prior life and knew the one staring back at me from the water wasn’t it!
Forcing myself to look again, I inched my head back over the clear water. I had seen a few other cats before, but what was looking back at me was a lot bigger and hairier than I had ever seen. It, or should I say, I had mostly white hair, with black stripes, huge eyes and ears, I opened my mouth and had a shock as I saw the size of my teeth! Looking down at my paws I turned them over and extended my claws. “Wow! Look at the size of these daggers!” I exclaimed to no one in particular, but I got a reply just the same. I turned to see a deer just down from me taking a drink as well. “Well alright,” I thought, “at least I won’t starve here.” Just as I was about to try out my new claws, the deer spoke.
“New here, aren’t you?” it said. I said nothing, just stared dumbfounded at the talking treat. “I thought so, always the same thing from the newbees.” it continued, “By the way, I would forget the whole, “About to pounce” attitude. That stuff is simply not allowed here.” The deer noticed that I had lowered on my haunches and was swishing my long tail and called me on it.
My tail! I looked back and sure enough, I had a long white tail that had a tuft of black at the tip. “Wow!” I thought, “Never had one of these before.” I swished it back and forth a few times before I remembered my lunch!
The deer was in the same spot, but was now shaking his head. “Don’t tell me, new body as well?” the deer remarked sarcastically.
“Shouldn’t you be running for your life right about now?” I growled at the deer, “And screaming! There should be screaming! Lots of it…” That’s when I began to notice that we had developed an audience. A few mice and a rabbit stood to one side of the deer and a few birds and a squirrel watched from a nearby tree.
“Nubee?” asked the rabbit to the deer.
“Not listening to you, is he Terry?” the voices of the mice resounded.
The squirrel in the tree said, “I think he is about to pounce, Terry!” The birds were in agreement as well. I put my new paws to my ears in disbelief.
“Since when did animals begin to talk?” I roared.
“I’m sorry…” the deer quipped, “did you think you had the monopoly on speech?” I decided that I’ve had quite enough of this and launched at the deer.
“Here he comes Terry!” shouted the mice as my claws reached for “Terrys’” neck and went sailing through him.
The momentum I had given in the pounce carried me right into the stream as my body went sailing through the deer as well. I landed squarely in the water, and with a bruised ego, I padded for shore as laughter exploded from the gathered on-lookers. The laughter died out as I stood among them and shook! Water sprayed all over the audience as they were rolling with laughter, birds and squirrel included. I had the last laugh! The others looked from me, now rolling with laughter to their soaked friends and busted out anew. “Welcome to the garden, newbee,” the deer said, “I am Terry and perhaps now you will listen?” I sat back in the grass and listened to the rules of the garden.
It appeared that Terry had been here the longest of the group and only the rabbit stuck around to hear the rules again, “Ain’t been here long enuf to have em memberized!” he drawled out, “Jest got kilt last week!”
“Rule number one,” started Terry, “almost no one gets hurt, eaten, or killed, again.” To demonstrate this, Terry slammed his hoof down on my paw. My reaction was to pull the paw away, but I saw that Terry’s hoof disappeared through my paw and as I pulled the paw away it slid through the hoof ghostly.
“Wow!” I thought, “We really are dead… but the water! I felt the water and so did you two!” Terry replied that we are not ghosts and can still feel, taste, smell, drink, run into trees if we are not careful as well as jump into streams. We can even hug and embrace, with that he laid his hoof gently on my paw and stroked the fur there. I felt the hoof and was comforted in this knowledge.
“But! If the intent is to injure then the act is not allowed and the ghost like action will occur.” Terry finished.
“You said “almost no one” gets hurt before.” I questioned, “What do you mean by “almost”?”
“Well, there are exceptions to every rule and this one applies to snakes.” Terry explained, but I cut him off.
“Did you say snakes?” I said hopefully.
“Yes, snakes!” he continued, “You can’t kill them or eat them, but you can hurt them. You can stomp, shred, or even bite their heads off as they squirm in agony, but they re-form themselves and slink away.” Terry finished this line with, “I don’t know why, but I tell you, they must have made someone pretty mad to get this treatment! Glad I’m not a snake!”
I chuckled to myself, “At least I can have some fun here!” I was so wrapped up in the snake possibilities that I failed to notice Terry had gotten up and was walking away. “Wait!” I called out, “What about Rule number two and so on?”
The rabbit raised a paw to Terry and exclaimed, “Ooh! I no this un! Kin I tell em? Huh! Kin I?” The deer nodded and then the rabbit shouted, “Rull numba two iz, Dun’t ferget Rull numba one!”
With that they walked away into the woods chuckling. I forgot to ask them about food when I turned to see a bowl appear out of nowhere. The closer I got to the bowl, the more aware of this new body I was getting. My sense of smell told me that the bowl contained milk. I made short work of the bowl and set out to explore this new world, “Burp! Excuse me!” I chuckled, as I trotted off, “I can live like this!” As I scouted around I came across other animals scattered about here and there, some of which I had never seen before. Elephants and camels for sure, but also ones with long necks and feathers! I was beginning to think I was the only cat around when I spotted something… familiar, lying on a rock in the shade of a tree. My renewed eyes focused on the shape as it raised its head and returned my gaze. “Grandpaw!” I yelled out.
Anubis stood as I rushed forward and said, “Slow down there, young cub! I think you might have made a mistake!” He was backing up a bit when I got to him.
“No mistake! I would know you anywhere! It’s me!” I cried, “Amun!”
The other cat did a double take at the name, but said, “I had a Grandcat named Amun, sure, but he wasn’t a tiger cub!”
I gave him a puzzled look and thought, “Tiger cub, so that’s why I’m so big!” I called out again as he was turning to leave the rock, “But it is me Grandpaw Anubis! I am Amun, born of Isis your daughter, and a guardian of the kings! I don’t know why I am now as you see me, but believe me! It is I!”
Anubis stopped mid-turn at the mention of Isis and the guardians and said, “Amun? Is this possible? How can it be?” He then came up nose-to-nose and looked into my eyes. “By the Gods! It is you, Amun!” At this recognition he wrapped his paws around me and I got the warmest hug I have ever had. “Your mother and the others will never believe this!” He said, and as he pulled me forward I said, “Mom!”
Grandpaw led me into a wooded area by a running spring, across a log that spanned the stream to a shear rock cliff face. I saw the face was full of holes and caves. As we approached he called out, “Isis! Ra! I want you
to come out and meet someone!” A tear ran down my eye as Mom came into view, followed closely by Ra. They slowly came closer, a little leery of the larger cub, and then Mom recognized me!
“Amun!” she cried and came running the remaining distance. Being considerably larger in this new body had the advantage of being able to handle Mom’s headlong leap into me. Had there been any anger in her, she would have sailed right through me, but since there was only love she landed squarely on me and rolled me over into the grass. “I have missed you so much!” she exclaimed, and then she stepped back and took a good look at me. “I told you the communication violation was going to get you in trouble!” she said, matter of factly then added, “Here is the proof that Goddess Bast is not happy with you!”
I asked mom what she meant by that and she continued, “You are a white tiger cub! This means that soon you will be returning to the land of the living!” Mom paused and called over another cat that I had never seen. “Have I got that right Mom?” she said to the other cat.
“Grandmew!” I thought.
“That’s right Isis!” she said, “Cursed by Bast he is!” She came up and gave me a hug equal to Grandpaws’ earlier and said, “So this is the famous Amun, eh? You have done some pretty wonderful things, but the goddess is pretty strict with her rules!” I looked around and saw other cats some I recognized some I didn’t.
Ra came up and put his paws on both sides of my face and said, “Are you really in there, buddy?” Then he punched me in the arm and laughed, “What finally got you, scorpion, snake, or thief?” he asked. I told him about the last encounter with the snake and he took the opportunity to reiterate Rule number one’s exception.
“Believe me…” I said chuckling, “The first one I see better run faster than me!” I turned my attention once again to the new female, “So, Grandmew…” I asked, “Why a tiger cub?” She replied that the tiger cub is sacred and is favored of Bast. “Favored?” I asked, puzzled, “How can I be favored and cursed at the same time?”
Grandmew said, “The proof that you are favored is why you are a tiger cub, you are a white cub because of the violation. The communication violation punishment alone would cause you not to be here.” At this she pointed a claw in a downward movement. My eyes got wide and she nodded, “Yes, there is another place, and it is not so pleasant! I said that you had done some good things as well, like getting the cats back into the palace, and getting justice for a human that would have been a great king. These deeds gained you the favor of Bast, but a violation is a violation and this was the only way she could reward you and punish you at the same time. Gods hate to be hypocritical!” I thanked Grandmew for the information and hugged her again.
“When can I expect to be returned?” I asked.
“I wouldn’t worry about that too much.” Grandpaw cut in, “The main thing is to enjoy the time that you have!”
The others nodded in agreement, then Mom said, “There is someone else here that I would like for you to meet before you return…” she paused then said, “your father.”
A large cat came through the gathered crowd and glanced at Mom for a second, then advanced up to me. “Well!” Horus said, “You don’t look anything like me!” then, looking back at Mom again said, “Are you sure he’s mine?” When he turned back, he was grinning from ear to ear and gave me a wink. His paws wrapped around my neck and he gave me one of the longest and tightest hugs I have ever had!
The tear running down my face matched the one running down his. “My Dad!” I visited with Great Grandpaws, Great Grandmews, uncles and aunts till my head was spinning. “Wow!” I thought, “This is beyond my greatest expectations!” It was amazing the amount of knowledge that was around me and I wanted to soak up as much as possible before I had to leave. Dad and I talked about things he did as he grew as well as Grandpaw, and Great Grandpaw. We all sat around the cliff passing stories, but all were amazed into silence as I retold my final encounter with Ay. When I told them of my communicating with the humans with glyphs and gestures they shook their heads in disapproval, but laughed when I demonstrated the gesture across the neck that I had given Ay. They roared with so much laughter that the females called for us to keep it down.
“It is suppose to be peaceful here!” they called out, snickering, “So how about a little peace… and quiet!” With that they began their own laughter roar that rivaled ours!
I got thirsty and strolled to the spring for a drink followed by most of the others, still laughing. I looked up at the sky and noticed that it was turning dark. “There is still night here in the garden?” I asked, puzzled.
Horus answered, “It just signals a time of rest for those who want it. Not that we need it here, but some like to have a schedule to follow, speaking of schedules are you hungry?” Horus continued, “All you have to do is think “hungry” and food appears. Milk that is, but it is still filling and very tasty.”
“Now I know why that bowl appeared out of nowhere.” I thought. So as if to test this out I concentrated and a bowl appeared just in front of me. Dad was right about how good it tasted and soon I had lapped the bowl clean. We rejoined the group and I stretched out in the grass, Ra came over and lay down next to me.
“I think a nap is in order.” he said, “Lets go hunting for snake when we wake!”
With a big yawn I said, “I can’t wait!” I rolled over onto my stomach and placed my head on my paws. As my eyes began to get heavy I thought I saw another tiger cub come towards me from the clearing, but this one was orange. I watched it approach and before I slipped away I could swear that something looked… familiar. After all the discoveries I had made, it didn’t take long before I was fast asleep.