Epilogue – Rebuilding Our Lives.

Six months passed before any sort of normality returned to our Tribe.

We went back to the Junkyard, burnt and destroyed though it was. Bombalurina had to carry Alonzo there, he was so weak. But we made it.

He's recovered now. Still has a bit of a weak chest, but he's alive. That's the most important thing. Mistoffelees has recovered too. Tantomile and Coricopat were very good at patching him up again. They said this wasn't the first time he's overexerted himself. I can believe that! He's a bit of a show off, for a kitten. If he's not careful, he'll end up like that Rum Tum Tugger.

Actually, the Tugger has calmed down a lot recently. He had to take control of the Jellicles for a brief period, being Old Deuteronomy's oldest descendant. He didn't make that bad a Leader, really. I think seeing his brother again has made him think his life through a bit, although he's still hopeless around his little fan club. Good thing Munkustrap took over last month – he is only second to his father in the leadership stakes. Demeter's really helped him through it all. She knows how it feels to be Macavity's victim. It's quite poetic, because she's helped him and he's helped her. They both dragged each other out of the darkness. It took them five months, but they did it.

Yes, most things are returning to how they were. Except for me.

I've lost everything.

My mother died at Macavity's paws. Then my father, and my best friend Jenny. It's almost as if Macavity wants to ruin my life, although I doubt he has it in for quiet little Jellylorum. So why does he target me?

I'm being selfish. This hasn't just affected me. None of the Tribe will ever be the same again, it's not just me. But I still can't help feeling like it is.

And this hasn't just cause death. A couple of weeks ago, Demeter gave birth again, this time to Munkustrap's kittens. There were five of them, two toms and three queens. And one of the queens was a little marmalade coloured tabby.

Yes, we think Jenny's been reborn already. It's uncommon, but it's happened. Demeter and Munkustrap are slightly scared, but they're okay with it as long as she doesn't try to boss them around, like Jenny did when they were kittens.

So I think everything's going to turn out alright. I do. We have had the best luck in the past year. We're actually lucky that we didn't lose more cats.

In fact, it's like a story, really. A human one, with heroes and villains and damsels in distress. I'm not the hero. Bast, no. I'm too old for that kind of thing nowadays. I play a small part, a passerby, an onlooker.

And it's not a happy ending. Too many good cats are dead for that. Mum. Dad. Gus. Old Deuteronomy. Jenny. Even if Jenny won't stay dead for long. So many lives have been ruined. Skimble was inconsolable for weeks, he wouldn't even let Jerrie and Teaze near him. But now little Jenny has come back, and we know for a fact that that kitten will have the best uncle ever. And who knows? Maybe she'll remember her past life. Maybe she'll remember us.

The sun is shining. The birds are singing. This isn't our happy ending, it's our new beginning. A blank page, just ready for our story to continue. Nobody can write it but us, so we'd better be ready. The future is in our paws.

Macavity will be back. That much is certain. We've tried to kill him before, and we've never succeeded. But now, we'll be ready. After all, that's why we have heroes. Alonzo, Bombalurina, Munkustrap...even Tugger, in the end.

We look to the future. The new kittens have brought hope for us all; hope that they will grow up in a better world, a peaceful future. Hope for safety. What better future can we have? So, for this cat anyway, the story goes on. As the golden sun touches the borders of the Jellicle Lands, we think ahead. The blank page, still to be written on. A new beginning, of sorts, for a new world. A better world.

Fin

The Final Author's Note-That's it. That's the end of Demeter's Struggle, Jemima's Loss. Wow! I actually can't believe that it's finished.
So, here's my thank yous. Thanks to everyone who read this, a huge thumbs up to everybody who reviewed and a round of applause and a cookie to everybody who reviewed more than once. And even though this is the end, feedback is always appreciated, good or bad.
This is Silikat, signing off. Next time, I have bigger and better plans for the world of CATS, but you'll just have to wait and see what they are ;)
Thanks again, and goodbye for now!
~Silikat.

The Final Disclaimer-I own CATS! But only in my dreams...