My Life Story

Well, well, well. Hello, what has the wind brought to me this time? I hope you are not afraid of me; most of your kind are, since I’m so much taller and bigger than you. I know you hope I have suriphobia. If you don't know what that is, it means having a fear for beings such as you. Do you get it? Oh great, why did I catch one as stupid as you? Anyway, did you have a good life? One of the most important things in living is life itself; living a luxurious life does not help if you are always unsatisfied while being poor may bring you the greatest happiness in the world. Oh why am I preaching? You shouldn’t have made me come into this subject, in fact you should have just stuck to the subject we were talking about: you.
Don’t you want to talk about yourself? There’re many interesting things in somebody’s life, though it may seem trivial to you. Talk, hurry, make me interested or I’ll kill you now. You don’t want to talk? Well then, I’ll talk about myself first and you better pay attention; I’ll ask you questions later. Better still, you ask me questions but don’t interrupt me every minute! Understand? Good, don’t forget what I just said, remember I make the decisions here while you’re the victim.1

Life is boring, never fun but we still have to live through the years. Wait, don’t say that what I just said does not makes sense since that wasn’t what I said a minute ago. (What a long and winding sentence that was!) Have you forgotten that I’m the one in charge here? Remember it well or you may just lose your life. As I way saying, life is really pointless, as if some sick person put us here so that he can watch us live. Don’t you feel that he is kind of crazy? But then, that is only my opinion. Anyway, as I was saying, my life is private. Sorry. Forbidden. Out of bounds. Nope, not even a peek. So now, this is the end of my life story, any questions you want to ask me? Now you say, “Miss, something just ran past, shouldn’t we chase after it?”
(You) “Um, Miss, something just ran past, shouldn’t we chase after it?” Good girl. You deserve a pat on the head.
Really? Something ran past us? What are we waiting for then, let’s chase after it!2

Oh dear, it has run through a door which has a sign, written on it are the words “Chibi’s Life. Out of bounds to all. It is FORBIDDEN for you to enter. Trespassers will be EXECUTED!” Woah, Chibi made her point so clear. Oh wait. I’m Chibi! I put that there long ago! How could I have forgotten! That must be my shadow which had run inside to hide from the sun. Sigh. Sorry but you’ll have to leave here and wait outside until I come back. Stay here and don’t move a step near to the door if you want to live! I won’t be responsible for any actions I may take against you, as I have warned.
Why are you following me? Don’t you value your pathetic little life which I could end now? You’re supposed to shake your head.
Why are you shaking your head? And you said "No" too. You don’t? Oh, I get it. Fine by me. Come on in then, let’s have a tour of Chibi’s life, which is me, not you. Hurry, you should feel honoured that your very own experienced tour guide is right here!3

Oh, who’s that little cutie? Me, of course! Weren’t I cute when I was a baby? Say yes!
“Yes…”
Say it as if you mean it, not half-heartedly!
“Yes, you were cute! You’re cute even now!”
Thank you very much; I didn’t know you are so nice. Oh look! Those are my brothers and sisters! The white one is Yuki, the black one Yoru, Sunset is that big red and orange one. Aren’t they all pretty? There’re still Mittens, black with white socks, Lightning the pale yellow one and me! I’m the smallest but the smartest to make up for my tiny stature! Mommy says so too! That’s why she always let me feed first so the others won’t trample over me. I’m called Chibi ’cause I’m small, isn’t that a nice and fantastic name? *Pause*
“Yes, definitely!” Finally you realise that you are supposed to answer!
Thank you. Of course, being the smartest I learned the fastest too, so I was forever far ahead of my siblings; they always lag behind me, being the big clumsy cats they are, unlike me and Mommy who are small and nimble. Even so, whatever food we find we have to share among ourselves since Daddy is very unreliable when it comes to finding food.
Do you find all these interesting? The rest of the tour will be like this, everything about me! Be enthusiastic about this! You were the one who insisted on tagging along, I didn’t force you.
Now then, since we have come to the end of the first part of my life, we shall proceed on. That’s the door! Oh, it is not too late for you to turn back now. I’m in a good mood now so I may not execute you. What?! You don’t want to leave? Okay then, it’s perfectly fine with me, so let’s continue to the door at the end of this long corridor. It’s a maze here, more like a place the Gods put just to make fun of us I think, so follow closely; you won’t be lost with me around. If you’re lost, I wish you good luck in finding your way out, and/or shouting loud enough to attract my attention to save you.4

The next room is more interesting; of course it is, since it’s my life. I began to seriously hunt, stalking any bird I could find, scavenging in the rubbish bins outside restaurants. If we were really hungry, I tried my luck with humans. After knocking on the door, I put on my best “act cute” face, with my big grey eyes showing my “innocence” as a small kitten. Look here, this picture shows exactly what I did, oh don’t I look cute? It usually works but I absolutely hate doing it, sometimes there were dogs in the house and they would slobber all over me, however much cats and dogs are supposed to hate each other to the core. I detest being salivated.
Meals usually consisted of any leftovers found in the dustbins and the occasional mouse or bird. Obviously, Mommy and I are the hunters in the family; the others only know how to search for food but not catch it! What a pathetic excuse for a cat, and a prestigious one at that! Didn’t you see in the other room? I’m a Mackerel Tabby, descended from a line of Mackerel Tabbies with no other cats, which means that I’m a pure Mackerel Tabby. You will find that recognising me is relatively easy, as I have a “M” on my forehead, though it’s not easy to notice it since it kind of blends in with my grayish-white skin. This is a close-up of my face when I was a kitten. See how big my eyes are! Don’t you find me just perfectly adorable? You know it’s true, so at least nod your head!
Why are you nodding you head uncertainly? You should be certain, be confident of what you do. *Sigh* I give up on you; you’re a lost case. Well, who cares anyway since you are not the main one here, I am. You are most probably filled with so much mix-blood that you’ll soon have mutant kids. How wonderful!
Why are you always dragging me off topic? Hmm, never mind about that, seeing as we’ve reached the end of this room too. Well? You still don’t want to leave? Stay close to me then, and GET AWAY FROM THOSE DOORS! Do not even let a single strand of hair touch it before I enter or I’ll kill you straight away! What are you doing standing outside the door? Move away or I won’t be easy on you this time!5

Ah, I love this part of my life. Those were the days, when the males followed me everywhere, and I never went anywhere without an entourage of them behind me. I was, and still am, a very pretty cat in their eyes, so naturally they tried to court me, offering their food to me in the hope that I would accept it, and them. I took advantage of this sometimes, when food was scarce or I’ve had a poor day with little catch, thus I accepted their food but I made sure to take from a different cat each time; I didn’t want them to think that I was taking a special liking for one of them. Being the stupid cats they are, they never realised that I was using them occasionally for my own needs. All but him.
I was strutting about as usual, with many other male cats in tow. It had been a bad day; I hadn’t been able to catch any food for myself and my aging mother along with my old father; my siblings could feed themselves well enough. Though I could freely take the males’ offerings everyday, I preferred eating food I have caught by myself, not those others’ have caught. I was debating whether to accept one of the males’ food, a striped black and white cat exactly like a zebra, when someone placed food at my feet. I looked up, and saw this handsome cat I’ve never seen before, a lean, muscular silvery-blackish male with startling bright eyes. I had always thought I had all the males under my beck and call already, but it seems that I was wrong. He spoke before I could even take a breath after holding one for so long from shock of seeing such a gorgeous tabby.
“Remember me, Chibi?” he asked, his golden eyes glinting in the light.
I stared at him, struggling to remember where I have seen him before, as some part of me did know that I knew this male. We gazed at each other; my entourage sensed our intensity and backed off, half-hoping that the mysterious cat would attack me so they’ll have a chance to prove their loyalty to me by protecting their “queen”. Oh I knew all of their thoughts; it’s obvious after you’ve seen it happen to others. As I say, learn fast from mistakes, your own and others’. Back to my story. His eyes changed colour when they travelled upwards and saw my birthmark. I forgot to mention about the teeny tiny “M” above the bigger one on my forehead. It’s really small so if I never told you about it, you won’t notice it easily. Anyway, his eyes lightened, from gold to light silver, matching his fur. Seeing this, I knew who he is; only one cat in the whole world had eyes which could become gold and silver.6

“Hikari…” I murmured. His eyes lit up at the mention of his name. “Why are you here? Didn’t you move away?”
“I did but I hated every second of it; I missed you, so I came back by myself,” he said, coming up to rub against me. I purred contentedly at his touch. Hikari had grown up with me and we were sad when he had to move with his owners long ago. I am a free alley cat with my own territory so other cats respected me. Don’t you pay attention to all the stuff you see here? If you don’t then pay attention and stop asking me about every other thing you don’t know!
Whispering into my ear, he asked,”I see you are still as popular as ever. Why don’t you choose your mate soon? You are old enough after all.” It took me a few seconds to digest the words he had just said. Then, I stared at him, and grinned. He looked quizzically at me.
“I choose you. Hikari, you will be my mate for life.” I smiled, winding my body around his. Of course he was pleased; which cat wouldn’t if he was accepted by a cat as stunning as me? Deep in my heart, I knew that I had been waiting for Hikari to come back, for I had loved him as a young kitten, hoping for him to be my mate when we grew up. He had never shown any interest in me, so I thought I was holding on to false love, praying for the one day he will accept me. Surprisingly, he loved me too and returned for me. Never was a cat as ecstatic as me, oh well maybe Hikari was too, now that he had won the heart of the cat of his childhood: me. I whimpered happily while he licked my forehead, claiming me as his own, as was the tradition of Mackerel Tabbies. Then, I pushed him into the ground, and he laughed, looking up at me lovingly.
Don’t forget the male entourage hiding behind me. When they heard my whispered words of acceptance, they cried into the air, all their hearts breaking into tiny pieces, for their queen had chosen! Soon, the entire city knew of the choice of the “Princess Chibi”, as a princess is smaller than the queen. Secretly, I preferred being called “princess” more than queen, since princesses lead a better and more carefree life.
We were bonded together the next day, Hikari and I, Chibi. It was a grand day and many cats turned up, most of the gang leaders and all other respectable cats. Food was abundant, even if it had not been a good week. I was quite sure it was the greatest gathering of cats in the entire history of the cats in the city. I was proud to be the cause of it.
And so, there you have it, another part of my life. Shall we move on? We are nearing the end of our journey so be prepared for my verdict of what would happen to your life soon, really soon.7

This room is half completed as currently, it is 7 months and 2 days to my birthday as of now. Careful. You won’t want to fall over the edge; I will not be able to save you then. Take a look at this! They are my babies, the offspring I produced with Hikari. Dawn the dark grayish cat with her father’s unique eyes, Midnight the entirely black cat, though where he got the genes I don’t know, he has my eyes, big and gray. My favourite is Moonlight, the pure white kitten with her father’s silver eyes but they don’t change colour. It’s rare to find a cat which is pure white so I know that she is special, my little baby kitty. There’s also Moonrise, Moonlight’s twin. Yup, they’re twins, says who cats can’t have twins? Although Moonrise is grayer than white, similar to me. Both of them inherited the double “M” on their foreheads, but theirs are easier to notice.
Now you know all about my babies, you will understand that you, yes you are the lunch for them, even if you won’t fill any of their stomachs, much less all of them. You are more like an appetizer for them. But food is food, so without any further ado, (that sounds like what an emcee would say, don’t you think?) let’s get out of here so I may bring you to see my children. I’m sure they’ll love you; they will absolutely love to eat you!8

Here, to exit, we will have to jump across this chasm and reach the other side. I will go first. Whee! This is such fun! Wow! What a nice landing you made! And you managed to fly through the door too! How did you leap across? Huh? What? Your butt is hurting? That’s too bad, since you’re not a cat like me; I can land on all fours. Shoo! Move away so I can pass through. At the end of this passageway is the door out. After we’ve gone out, I will decide what to do with you; if I’m feeling gracious I may not bring you to see my children but if I’m feeling grumpy, I will bring you to see them. I will not be responsible for whatever they submit you to! Well, aren’t you coming? What do you mean you will stay here and watch my life unfold?! NO! Get out! This very instant! Or do you prefer to die now, immediately? I will gladly fulfill your wish then; I promise it won’t hurt. Goodbye. Nice meeting you.
A flash. So bright. Scream for all you want, no one can hear you. Continue, go on. I won’t stop you running. I wonder why you didn’t run when I first met you; perhaps you were interested in understanding more about your mortal enemy the cat. Hurry, run for your life, but sadly, you will only get lost; this is a maze, remember. I will be smiling menacingly after you have gone. You do not know what awaits you on the other side. Faster! You can already see the brightness out there.9

You wake up screaming. It was only a nightmare, nothing to be afraid of. Whew. But what’s there in the corner? A raised paw poised to attack? And now you see me, your greatest enemy in this world, a cat…
Oh, you are not dead; I have not killed you yet. You stand stock still, more like a statue than a little mouse which had fell asleep outside its cozy tiny home, inches away from sanctuary, and was caught by a cat. Eyes pinned on me, never moving away for a split second for fear of attack in that instant. Slowly, you wait for your death hour, while you stare, frightened, at me, like a rabbit which has been trapped by a snake, but you know that being a mouse trapped by a cat, spells worse trouble than anything else you can imagine. For you know, never has a mouse escaped from a cat’s paw; that’s how terrifying they are. Oh, but this cat is different; you’ll see.
Goodbye: a last farewell from your captor, from the world, before the cat’s claw comes down, striking the wall beside your head, only a fraction of an inch away. The cat smirks at your horrified expression, as if you think that you have died but descended to hell instead; fear still grips your heart. I won’t kill you, no I won’t; I’m not a murderer. How ironic you think this is, a cat that doesn’t kill? It was fun playing with you and I hope we can do it again. Don’t you want to live for a bit longer? Your mouth hangs open, unable to believe that your mortal enemy is letting you off! But no, looking at the cat again, you see cruel glee mixed with secrecy. You close your mouth, finally understanding.
A mouse can never escape from under a cat’s paw; you know that but you have been foolish to think that this cat may be an exception. This cat, Chibi, will let her children play with you but you will not be eaten, oh no, you will be her prisoner, the “queen”, or “princess”, as she prefers. Thinking about the future, your head goes limp; you have fainted from shock and fear. The cat looks at you in disgust, then picks you up by the tail and brings you home, to her home…