Electra rolled the ball towards Jemima. She batted with her paw and sent it towards Tumblebrutus, who caught it.
"Over here, Tumble!” Etcetera waved at him.
With all the force he could muster the young tom sent the ball speeding towards her. She giggled as it rolled past her towards a rather isolated part of the yard. The bright, red ball had stopped near an overturned trashcan.
Etcetera ran over ready to retrieve her ball when something caught her eye. Two white envelopes sat on top of the can. Ignoring her ball, she inspected the two new objects. She was ready to snatch them away and bring them to the others when she turned around.
“ Ad--------” She began.
She froze, stiff with fear as her eyes grew wide. Her high pitched scream rang throughout the yard. Falling to her knees, she immediately began to bawl loudly until she hid her face in her paws, muffling her cries. Victoria was the first one to find her.
“Etty!” She ran to her sister’s side. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
Etcetera didn’t answer. Victoria dropped to her knees, wrapping her arms around her shaken sister. As she looked up she gasped and her eyes soon filled with tears. Hanging from a rope was their oldest brother Admetus.
Dead.
The two queens were left sob only for a few seconds. Soon, a horde of Jellicles found them. Jennyanydots hugged the two queens, trying to find out the source of their grief.
“Victoria, Etcetera!” She cried. “What’s wrong?”
There was another scream. This time it came from Jellylorum. Her eyes were filled with horror as they reflected her oldest hanging from a plank. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she slowly teetered backwards. Thankfully, Skimbleshanks caught her before she fell.
“ Is that--” Tumblebrutus gulped. “Admetus?”
Victoria whimpered slightly; she looked up only for a second. Jennyanydots soon covered the queens’ eyes but it did no good. A whole new wave of tears soon came. Tumblebrutus had turned away, holding his stomach. Jemima and Electra were hiding their faces into Plato’s chest, both crying softly. Asparagus couldn’t even look at his dead son.
“Someone go get Munkustrap,” he ordered.
The sight of Admetus hanging, motionless, made him feel sick even though Admetus looked somewhat peaceful. His eyes were closed, his lips curved into a small smile. Munkustrap imagined Admetus opening his eyes and winking like it was just a cruel joke.
Sadly, no one could cheat death.
“I can’t believe this,” Alonzo shook his head sadly. Munkustrap noticed that Alonzo looked like he was ready to vomit. "How--how could he just go and do this? Did he ever say anything to anyone in the yard?"
“Can’t say,” Munkustrap sighed, looking down at his feet. “I just can’t--hey, what’s that?”
His eyes landed on the trash can. Sitting there were two vanilla envelopes. The writing on both was in the same color ink but the names were different. He took them both, reading the names.
“To my family,” He glanced at the other one. “To Cassandra.”
“What?” Alonzo snatched the one with Cassandra’s name on it. “Why’d he write a letter to her?”
“I don’t know, but I better give this to his family,” Munkustrap sighed. “I am not looking forward to this visit.”
“No one would.”
Asparagus felt his heart break in two all over again. His eyes were wet from the tears that he refused to let fall. He hugged his mate closer, burrowing his head into hers. His chest was damp from her tears. This was the worst thing that had ever happened to either of them.
Apart from her wails, the crying from his two darling daughters, Victoria and Etcetera, was tearing away at him even more. Victoria was sniffling pitifully while Etcetera was howling into her older sister’s stomach. In all their nine lives Asparagus had hoped they’d never have to see something so horrid.
“Hey, mom! Hey, dad!” Pouncival entered the den. “Sorry I’m late, I--- what’s wrong? Why--why is mum crying?”
Jellylorum didn’t answer and neither did Asparagus. Pouncival glanced over at his two weeping sisters, a confused look on his face.
“What’s wrong?” He asked again.
Victoria looked up, her face wet. Pouncival’s face softened slightly.
“Pounce!” Victoria began softly. “It’s Admetus---he’s--”
“Yeah, where’s Addy?” Pouncival looked around. “I haven’t seen him all day and he promised he’d wrestle with me today!”
Victoria lip quivered slightly yet she didn’t cry. Pouncival’s ears drooped, still looking extremely confused. He turned around, seeing Munkustrap enter their den. A slight smile came up his face as he ran to greet the Jellicle protector. As he approached the silver tabby, he noticed that Munkustrap looked slightly uncomfortable.
“Hey Munkustrap!” Pouncival smiled. “Do you know where Admetus is?”
“Actually Pouncival, that’s why I’m here,” The silver tabby’s smile faltered slightly. “Pouncival, do you know what suicide is?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Well, you’re brother---” Munkustrap stared at the young kit. “Is--dead. He killed himself. I’m--I’m sorry.”
The grin on Pouncival’s face disappeared instantly. He stared at Munkustrap, his face blank. He sniffed, tears slowly forming in him eyes. Just like Victoria, his lip began to tremble slightly but the tears wouldn’t come. Feeling obligated, Munkustrap hugged the young tom.
“ Wh--why?” He asked, his voice shaky. “Why’d he do that?”
“I really don’t know,” Munkustrap patted his back. “But I have this. It’s a note to your family. Do you want to read it?”
“You read it!” Pouncival begged. “Please?”
Before he could obejct, Munkustrap saw every Jellicle in the den staring at him. Their eyes were begging him to read it. He sighed again before he opened the letter.
I’ve done this letter in sections so I can say something to each of you.
Dear Dad,
I bet you’re really disappointed in me right now. I don’t blame you. If I was my son I’d be disappointed in me too. I know you brought me up to be a strong and admirable tom. I’m really sorry I let you down. Even though I wasn’t the best you still loved me. Thank you.
Dear Mom,
If you’re crying, I want you to know that I feel like scum. I knew this would hurt you but I did it anyways. I’m a horrible son but you loved me anyways. I never did much to make you proud but you always were. I want you to know that you and dad were the best parents anyone could ask for and more than I deserve. You’ll never know how much I loved you.
Dear Vicky and Certa,
You most likely hate me now. I know I’ve abandoned you and maybe some day you’ll understand why. As your big brother, I’ve let you down. I’m supposed to be the one to protect you and be there for you. I’ve done a horrible job as a big brother. I hope you’ll forgive me someday.
Dear Pouncival,
It’s now your job to look over Victoria and Etcetera. I know you’re mad at me for leaving you all but you can’t dwell on me too much. I’m not important right now. What is important is that you take care of Vicky and Certa. You’re the only brother they have now. Remember that.
I’m sorry for what I have done but I couldn’t live my life anymore. My life seemed so meaningless at times but you are the only thing that made it worth living. Once again, I hope you all can forgive me. I love you all.
Admetus
Munkustrap clenched his teeth, his eyes slightly moist; he couldn’t show his emotions in front of Admetus’ family. The others didn’t try so hard. Etcetera was still wailing at the top of her lungs. He could tell that Victoria was fighting the urge to cry; her lip kept on trembling and she kept sniffing occasionally. Pouncival was fighting too but it seemed harder for him; his fists where clenched, his body shaking.
“W---w--why did he--he say he wasn’t--important?” He asked. “He was our brother! We loved him!”
“I know Pounce but---well, maybe you’ll understand when you’re older.” Munkustrap patted his head.
“No, I’ll never understand! I don’t want to understand!”
“Oh, Pounce!” Etcetera wrapped her arms around Pouncival.
He looked ready to hit her but as he looked down, he saw her face; she was hurting too. Admetus hadn’t only been his brother but theirs as well. Gulping hard, he resisted the urge to smack her. The tears then rolled down Pouncival’s face, hitting the ground below him. A lot of hitting going on, lol Victoria hurried over, hugging both of them in a large embrace. Munkustrap sighed heavily. He looked behind himself; Jelly was still in tears. Asparagus squeezed his mate tightly; he glanced up at Munkustrap, nodding solemnly. He nodded back before heading out of the den.
While he was walking, he noticed something fall out of the envelope. Stopping, he picked it up and found writing on a small index card. He was even more shocked when he found his name written at the beginning. Confused, he began to read.
Munkustrap, Yes, I am a bastard. I don’t deny it. If you’re reading this, then I guess you were the one who told my family. I can’t even begin to tell you how bad I feel. I didn’t want to do this but I had to. You’ll most likely find out why I did it and you’ll probably think I’m a selfish jackass. I know that I am. I want to apologize for not telling you. You’ve been my best friend ever since I was a kitten. You took me by the paw and treated me like an individual. Most Jellicles didn’t notice me until you came along. I thank you for that. I’ll never regret having you as a friend.
Good bye friend,
Admetus
It was more than Munkustrap could bear. He dropped the letter, dropping to his knees. He held his head as tears quickly trickled down his face.
“Admetus,” He whispered. “I never regretted having you as a friend either."
