From the Author: This story might make more sense if you read the story of “Calypso” first. This is a sequel to that one.
Mylitta was looking out the window in her lair. Her thoughts were of her daughter and if she and Aterrity got away. Mylitta couldn’t believe she had handled the situation so poorly. She shouldn’t have said those cruel things to her daughter. “You shouldn’t have come to Macavity 15 years ago asking for help knowing of his reputation either Mylitta.” Mylitta sighed unhappily. She unfolded her arms and turned around, to be staring into the face of Macavity himself. Mylitta gasped and stepped back so that her back was pressing against the window. “Ma… Macavity!” Macavity stepped forward and glared at her. He did not speak, but Mylitta could feel his anger. “You’re daughter….” He stopped in mid-sentence. Her eyes grew wide with hope. “Is she alive?” She stepped forward off so she wouldn’t be leaning against the window. She almost smiled. Macavity grinned. Mylitta started laughing with joy. She stepped away from the window and ran over to her bed, facing the wall with tears of happiness in her eyes. “She is alive!” she cried out. Macavity laughed from behind her. She turned around and faced him, her paws clasped in front of her chest. She smiled. “Well she is, isn’t she? That’s why you were laughing!” Mylitta smiled wider. Macavity stepped towards her, so that their smiling faces were just inches apart. “Your daughter is as dead as your husband was when I killed him.” Macavity turned and left the room, letting that comment sink in. Mylitta stared blankly at the wall; her paws still clasped in front of her. She swallowed with difficulty. She slowly sank to the floor…and began to sob. Mylitta didn’t know how long she had sat on the floor crying. But when she stood, she realized that she wasn’t alone in the room. She turned around quickly and saw the feline that was always with Macavity: Bombalurina. Mylitta stared at her for a moment and then asked why she had come. Bombalurina’s eyes kept darting back and forth, as if she wasn’t supposed to be in the room. Bombalurina stepped forward and stared at Mylitta with wide eyes. “Your daughter…” she stopped. Mylitta’s eyes threatened to overflow again with grief. “I know…”she whispered softly. “I know…” Bombalurina’s face adopted a look of confusion. “You know she’s alive?” Mylitta looked up, and grew angry. “How dare you come in here and say that to me when Macavity…” Mylitta froze. Could Macavity have been lying? Mylitta rushed forward and took Bombalurina’s own paws in hers. “Is she alive?” Bombalurina smiled and gave Mylitta the answer she wanted to hear: “Yes.” Macavity sat in his lair, with many feline dancers around him. He wondered why Mylitta hadn’t been grieving over her daughter. Not that she should be, he thought slyly. But I gave her reason too all the same. Macavity was growing more and more angry. He looked over to his right, and told his best tom, Tatterthorn, to go call Bombalurina. She will make me feel better, he thought, a small smile growing on his face. Tatterthorn walked down the halls to go find Bombalurina. I should be in Macavity’s position, he thought bitterly. I was here even before he was born! I don’t know what right was his to take over. Tatterthorn was going to walk right by Mylitta’s room, until he realized that the curtain that was usually tightly drawn was slightly parted. He walked forward and peeked in, curiously. Mylitta was inside by herself, bathing. Tatterthorn had never realized how beautiful this cat was, until that day. He back away from the curtain, and cleared his throat to let her know he was there. He heard Mylitta quickly stand up. “Come in,” she said quietly. Tatterthorn parted the curtain and walked into the room. “Oh…” Mylitta said. “Hello.” Tatterthorn smiled. “And how are you doing Mylitta?” Mylitta eyed the cat suspiciously. “How would you be doing if you knew your only daughter had been killed?” Mylitta was careful not to get too cocky with this tom. She knew of his reputation. Tatterthorn was amused. “Well…”he said, lightly. “I think you and I both know she is alive.” Mylitta was unsuccessful in hiding her surprise. Tatterthorn raised his eyebrows. “Ahh…you do know.” Tatterthorn walked over to Mylitta slowly. He whispered, “I think I could help you. Find Calypso, I mean.” Mylitta stared at him blankly. “How?” she asked quietly. “Well…” Tatterthorn began, walking to the other side of the room and looking out of the window. “I’m really good at finding things. That’s why I’m next in line for leadership if anything should ever happen to Macavity.” Tatterthorn looked back at Mylitta to see if she was listening. When he saw that she was, he was quite pleased. “Anyway, I could help you find her.” Tatterthorn walked away from the window and stood in front of Mylitta. “Is there a catch?” she asked, obviously wanted to find her daughter. “Oh no…no catch,” he said. “But… you would have to do something for me.” Mylitta narrowed her eyes in confusion at Tatterthorn. Suddenly, her eyes widened and she backed away from him. “No,” she said quietly. She wasn’t as calm as she was when he came in. As she backed away, Tatterthorn walked steadily towards her. “I’m not that much older than you Mylitta. It can’t be age your worried about.” He narrowed his eyes. “Besides,” he said cruelly. “I’ve heard you’ve been lucky not to have more kittens that you did...to put it nicely.” He knew Mylitta was scared, and he liked it. Mylitta’s eyes were filling with tears as Tatterthorn approached her. Her back met with the other wall, and she couldn’t back up anymore. “Please…” she said, pleading him not to do anything. “Please leave me alone.” Tatterthorn stared at her, and slowly ran a paw down the side of her face. “No,” he said. Tatterthorn pushed Mylitta to the floor. Some time later, Mylitta was carrying kittens again. She sat on a cushion in her room, rubbing her stomach and humming softly. As she thought about the world she would be bringing this kitten in to any day know, her eyes threatened to overflow again. It seemed as though she had been crying a lot lately… ever since… The feline Mylitta shared a room with, Triska, was sitting on the other side, looking out of the window. She decided to stay in the room with Mylitta and try to keep it hidden that she was going to have another kitten. Suddenly, Mylitta doubled over in pain. “Triska…”she murmured. Triska looked away from the window, and rushed over to Mylitta when she saw her on the floor. She quickly closed the curtain, which could now be sealed from the inside, and rushed over towards Mylitta. When it was over, it was clear that Mylitta was not going to live much longer. Her voice weak, she said “Take her Triska. Please…” Mylitta began to fade. Triska held her head up, and coaxed her. “Where Mylitta? Where do you want me to take her?” Mylitta’s eyes were becoming glazed as she said. “Bombalurina will help you. Take her to… to… the Calypso…she is with the Jellicles.” With that, Mylitta passed away. When Triska had spoken to Bombalurina about the Jellicle Junkyard, and how to get there, Triska prepared to leave. She wrapped the kitten up in an old towel, and left the warehouse, knowing that Bombalurina had taken care of anyone who might have found them, giving them something else to do. Triska ran through the night, careful with the kitten in her arms, and put it on an old cushion just outside of the Jellicle Junkyard. She saw another tan Siamese cat sitting there, looking up at the moon. “Calypso?” Triska called out. Calypso turned around and walked towards the unfamiliar cat. “Yes? Can I help you with something?” Triska took a breath and told her of her mother. She told her everything, about how Macavity lied, and Bombalurina helped. Then she told her of Tatterthorn. Calypso began to cry silently. Triska comforted her, and waited until she was calm before she told her of her sister. Calypso stared at the bundle of cloth on the chair while she listened. “I have to go…before anyone knows I’m gone.” It was then that she got a reaction from Calypso. “Thank you,” she said weakly. “Thank you.” Triska smiled and disappeared into the dark night. Calypso moved over to the bundle. She unwrapped the towel to see a crying, tan, Siamese kitten. She picked it up slowly and held it against her. She began to sing her sister, Amethyst, the song that their mother used to sing to her.
