No Reprise

When we were little, you said that nothing would tear us apart. Both just tiny, tiny kittens back then, yet that promise meant so much.

Well, to me anyway....

You say allot of foolish things when you're young. Life has only a rough script and it's pretty hard to follow. You have the scribbles and blobs of careless ink, spilt like a velvet curtain across those lines of words, and no notes on how to shape your character. There is no director.

The scene is all up to the player and how he (or she, in your case) chooses to deliver those few broken sentences. It can be a work art, or a simple portrait.

We were a perfect pair, you and I. We lived in our own little world, sharing something that none of them ever could. Blood.

We were twins, Tantomile! We were supposed to always be together! Couldn't you understand that?! Did you forget your promise?

A stage is but a stage without it's cast. A production without stability, without balance...WE were that balance! When the tribe was at it's worst, we'd always be there. Sweetening their dreams and whispering stories of The Everlasting Cat into the soft minds of the kittens. We were an act, all our own. Part of a play that was the Jellicle cats.

Did you get bored of your role, Tantomile? Was that why you deserted us?

Or was it really me?

You said it was. You said I was too possessive, that I never gave you any room to breathe. Well, how could I?! They were always sniffing around you, like dogs waiting for their next meal. It made me sick, but you receiving their attentions with so much welcome...That made my stomach turn into a heavy, heated knot. One I had no hope of untying.

We said we'd never look for mates, Tantomile. What changed? Wasn't my companionship and love enough?

Obviously not. Because you left the next night.

They would never have been good enough! I saw that! Why didn't you?! We were supposed to share everything, my sister. Flesh and blood. Heart and soul. It was supposed to be all split down the middle. A complete package in two! The single toms of the tribe...not ONE of them could ever love you like I did. Not one.

It was Bill who had become your most favourite play thing. You'd toy with his feelings, just like you toyed with mine. Only he cared nothing for you! You were just a night of fun for him. An easy target he could brag about to his friends.

No. He could never love you like I did.

Never.

I was only trying to protect you, Tantomile. I know you always craved a mothers love, something I couldn't give you, but I did my best. I'd listen. Night after night of your endless babbling about wanting love and freedom...kittens. Was it then you were trying to tell me? Trying, even in the subtlest way, to say goodbye?

It was your playmate lover that woke me, and told me of your disappearance. Fool! Did he honestly think I didn't know?! Not only did we share the same life liquid, we shared the same feelings too. We were one, in almost every sense of the word. He could never be that close to you. No one ever could. Didn't they understand?! We were twins. You can't break that. Ever.

You've been missing for almost a month now. They can't find a scent of you anywhere. But I can still feel you, and the curtain's coming down. It's thick, rich red drapes signalling the last act.

A final speech, my sister? Any last sonnets for your lover? The lights are growing dim and the wooden platform creaks with wear. The cast have retired, and the crew long gone. You're all alone on that limb out there. How lonely that must feel.

But you had that script, Tantomile. Those half-blank pages seeking a conclusion. The plot was thin, but you could have enriched it. The players dull, but you could have given them life. A plain, scruffy predictable, little notepad, and it could have been a hit. Something to be proud of. Instead, you kept it the old way. You left the lines untouched. Your beauty and your grace will forever be lost to the world, simply because you wanted to be like all the others.

A Juliet with her Romeo. Cinderella with her prince. The same tiresome plays that have filled our minds for countless decades. You've left me alone here, in the darkness. Tell me.....am I the only one who won't yield?

Your dancer comes towards me now, his eyes all swollen with pain. A pain that could never compare with the emptiness you've consumed me with, but pain all the same.

"Cori," He whispers brokenly, "I'm afraid I have some bad news...."

You died in a filthy alley. A victim caught up in a fight. Two toms, both fighting over you. Both so intent with claiming your body that they destroyed both that, and the other half of my soul as well.

Pain?

He doesn't know the meaning of the word.

The play is finished with, sweet princess. So do not act anymore. Take a bow! You won you're freedom...but was it worth it?

The actress has sung her solo number, the clerk has swept the grounds. There's no ovation, and no reprise.

Infact, all that's left to say is,

"The End."

~Fin~