Alley Cat
Lanterns

We can’t just leave her!

I look over to the girl lying lifelessly on Belvedere Castle’s stone floor. I could understand why Todd would feel bad, but then I remember what she did to me and my emotions turn numb.

I shrug my shoulders and start for the exit. “She’s a tough kitten. She’ll be fine. Now let’s go!”

Todd bites on my tail, holding me back. It hurts and I yelp. “Todd!”

I know you’re a petty ex and all but it would be wrong to leave her.

I bite my tongue before I could say what I really mean. Well, she left me. And it’s true. No letter, no note. We knew each other at a time way before social media, cell phones, and email existed. Still, an answer would have been better than no answer at all. She had broken my heart in two and left it in a dumpster to rot. I should leave her in her most vulnerable moment just so she could have a taste of her own medicine. The thought turns my blood cold with brutal satisfaction coursing through my veins. I relish in the fantasy, but Todd stares me down and snaps me to my senses.

We could at least get her some clothes.

I sigh and think of all the stashes of clothes I’ve hidden around the city. “You know the bow bridge we crossed on our way here?”

Yeah?

“There should be some bags under the bridge. There should be enough for both of us.”

Todd nods and leaves as fast as his short stumpy legs could carry him. When he’s out of the room, the girl’s eyelids flutter open and she looks at me with a dazed look before smiling. I refuse to return the gesture.

“Hey Hel.” She sounds hoarse as if she hadn’t drank water in days. I stand a good distance from her and remain in stoic silence.

“Aw, look at you. Haven’t changed a day.”

My eyes wander around the castle. I focus on the painted ceiling above me and try to block out the sound of her voice. Yet she persists.

“Oh, I see.” The girl tries to lift her head and winces. Blood drips from her wounded neck. “You’re still mad at me.”

My muscles tense as I try to block it out, but the mention of her transgression burns through my mind. Perhaps you’re wondering what could have happened between us. You assume that it must have been just a bad breakup. And maybe it was. We were young and didn’t know better. I should have let it go, but I didn’t. Shirisha hurt me in a way that no sword nor poison could recreate.

I met her in my third life shortly after I died in my second. My life was quite stressful at the time. Witch hunters chased me from one end of the Himalayas to the other. I was getting tired of running, especially through all the ice at high altitudes. Eventually they caught up to me and I woke up with an arrow to my back. They were determined to kill me each time I woke up until I could wake no more.

I would have been done for if it hadn’t been for a certain snow leopard. She crept behind the hunters as they hovered over me. And while they were high from bloodlust, the leopard took them out in one sitting. I screamed from the horror of it all, thinking that I would be next. To my surprise, the leopard took human form. A beautiful girl of seventeen stood before me. Her long dark hair was frosted with snow and her cool unwavering expression indicated that she meant me no harm. I was amazed as to how her warm brown shoulders steadily heaved up and down, giving no indication that she was cold from the freezing temperature. She entranced me.

She called herself, Shirisha, and told me her story. She was a princess from a far away tribe and her whole family, including herself, was slaughtered by an insurgent force from within their circles. Her uncle had betrayed her, and she died swiftly in her sleep with a blade to her throat.

We grew close with time. Shirisha had been a werecat just a little longer than me, so she took me under her paw. She made me stronger. We spared, trained, and traveled all over Asia. We met people like ourselves, people who were unjustly killed and found themselves reborn into a new feline form. We were told that we had either descended from a lost bloodline of a goddess (Bastet) or that we were cursed. I didn’t care much about the past. At the time, I only cared about surviving and that Shirisha would always be by my side.

I didn’t realize just how much she meant to me until she took me to Nanking, China to see the lanterns. Every fifteenth day of the first month, Nanking would hold a lantern festival where people would send burning lanterns flying into the night sky. I’ve never heard of it before, but Shirisha promised me that it was worth it. I trusted Shirisha. I believed that I would be amazed.

“It would be fun,” she said as she took my hand. My heart beat rapidly at the feel of her skin. When she saw me blush, she giggled. “I’ll race you to the boat.”

She steadied me onto the small boat, docked against the riverbed. It was narrow like a canoe. I was afraid of falling into the water, so Shirisha rowed slowly. Our lanterns sat balanced on our laps until we rowed as far as we could into the river. As Shirisha fumbled with the matches, I asked her in a low whisper.

“Why are we doing this?”

Shirisha looked up from her matches, and I swear that her eyes were so brilliantly blue. The fierceness in her expression softened. She only ever did that with me.

“The man who sold me these lanterns said that the purpose of the Yuan Xiao festival is to promote reconciliation, peace, and forgiveness. I figured that we both needed this.”

I couldn’t help but look down at my unlit lantern in shame. “I killed my husband and dishonored my family. They’re better off thinking I’m dead.”

Shirisha didn’t hesitate to lift my chin up and look me in the eyes. “Hey. I never said that you needed to apologize. What happened to you–what happened to us–is unforgivable. I only meant that this is a good way to finally replace peace within ourselves.”

I felt so happy that I could cry. When Shirisha saw my lip quiver, she hurried to light the lanterns. They ignited with a brilliant orange glow, illuminating both our faces in light. The lantern flew, joining the thousands already in the sky. They look like stars burning in the dark, each representing a liberated soul transcending to heaven.

I wish I could say that I said something clever or remotely romantic, but I was lost in the magic and beauty of that night. So, I kissed her. I never expected for her to kiss me back but when she did I thought we would be together forever.

I went to sleep that night incredibly happy. I had thought to myself, this is it. This is the happiness I always dreamed of. I finally found someone that truly loves me.

But when the sun rose the next day, I found the other side of the bed empty. I was back to where I started. Alone.

Todd comes back dragging two bags of clothes in his mouth and turns around to give us some privacy. Shirisha claims a pink romper. Me? I settle for a red hoodie and a pair of leggings. We both try to take our time changing into our new clothes, trying not to crumple under the weight of heavy awkwardness. When we’re done, Todd is the first to speak.

One of you guys has to talk eventually.

Todd’s intervention gets things started, and I’m the first to test my bravery. “What brings you here, Shirisha?”

Shirisha brushes off her romper and does some twists and twirls; she’s imagining how good she must look in her new outfit. I can’t help but roll my eyes; she’s always been so vain. And when she catches me looking and winks back, I know that she’s back to her usual self.

“Oh, you know. Traveling as usual. I’ve always wanted to see New York City, the big NYC. It looks exactly like it does in the movies!”

“Cut the bullshit.” I shove my hands into the pockets of my red hoodie and tilt my head up to glare at her. “You legit have teeth marks on your neck so unless you cough up the truth, I’m taking my leave.”

“Alright!” Shirisha seems defeated, but I know she really isn’t. I remember her all too well. She loved pushing people, teasing them like a game of cat and mouse. But I remember that I’m not a mouse and certainly not a toy. Shirisha sees my fury steadily burning from within me, and I catch a glimpse of respect. “I really did come here with the intention of sightseeing. I was touring through Belvedere Castle like everyone else, taking pictures for the ’gram, when I felt like someone was following me.” Shirisha’s expression darkens, and I realize that she’s serious. Confusion muddles her face as she recalls her memory.

“Since when did you feel like someone was following you?” My words race with urgency.

“Honestly?” Shirisha looks upward and winces. Her hand flies to her wounded neck, and I catch myself darting to her side. I hate myself for it.

“I–I think it started in the subway. It was just a feeling though. I tried to ignore it, but I kept looking over my shoulder every few minutes or so.”

“And how long ago was that?”

“When I arrived here, New York City.”

“Do you at least remember what attacked you?”

“Werewolf,” Shirisha says casually as if it’s just another ordinary thing she saw everyday. “Stupid mutt.”

I step back and think. I don’t doubt what she saw, but I remember that NYC is lynx territory. Sure, there’s outliers like me and Todd. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a few wolves and vampires roaming throughout the city as well. But when a territory is claimed, it’s something to be adhered to. Territories are claimed through bloodshed. So if an outlier dared to cause trouble, it puts everyone at risk.

“And you didn’t insult him, right?”

Shirisha recoils back as if I’d slapped her. A part of me wishes I did. “What? Of course not!”

Todd re-enters the conversation after a brief moment of intense listening, and I remember that he’s there. What does this mean, Hel?

I can only answer back with a grim reply. “I don’t know.”

We’re silent for a moment until Shirisha’s stomach rumbles obnoxiously loud, and she laughs it off. “Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m starving,” she says, patting her stomach. “Maybe we can talk about this more after lunch?”

Before I could stop him, Todd juts in with a grand proposal. “We should go to Russo’s!”

“We don’t have any money!” I pin a glare at him. Todd returns my glare with a sheepish smile.

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Shirisha says, ignoring me.

“You look like you’ve been mauled by a bear!”

It was a wolf, Todd says, correcting me.

I grit my teeth in frustration. “Fine. Let’s eat at Russo’s, which is a pricey five-star restaurant, by the way, and run out of there since we don’t have any money to pay for it. And hey, if we’re lucky, we’ll get to have a few bites before someone calls 911 because you look like you’ve just risen from the dead!”

Shirisha looks down at Todd with a quizzical brow. “Oh, honey, I never asked for your name.”

It’s Todd. I think I’m imagining it, but I think Todd’s smirking at her. Oh god, are they flirting?

“Todd, honey. Is she always this tense?”

Sometimes. I try my best to calm her down. It is how it is.

Shirisha gasps. “Todd, you’re such a sweetheart! Helene must be so grateful to have such a loving and handsome cat like you.”

I dash towards the exit before I puke. I can hear them laughing behind me, and I groan. My best friend and ex? Friends? And werewolves attacking people out of nowhere? This day can’t possibly get any worse.