The Extraordinary Cats of Riverstone: Chapter Seven

“The greatest healing therapy is friendship and love.” ~Hubert H. Humphrey, Jr.

“Jessie and Tammie, please join us,” stated the Professor. “We are sharing stories.”

“I love stories,” said Jessie.

“Me too,” declared Tammie.

“So, who would like to go first,” inquired the Professor. Tammie pointed at herself. “Okay, dear. Let’s hear your story.”

Tammie looked away in shyness. She then smiled and began her story. “I am a big dreamer. I love writing stories of sailing through the clouds.” I had a big smile on my face. Tammie saw my excitement and returned the smile. The Professor, Chai, and Munchkin nodded their heads. I’m sure they were thinking of me, as Tammie was sharing her story. “You see, I envision myself sailing through the sky with white golden wings. I have dreams of beautiful angels. They share their magnificent love with me. They tell me that we should never stop dreaming.” I saw a few tears fall from Tammie’s eyes. Her brother, Jessie, put his paw on her shoulder and nodded his head. “You see. Many of the villagers think I’m foolish. They tell me that dreams do not come true. Squirrels are to only collect nuts. That is our main purpose in life. We are not to venture off this life path.” A few more tears fell from Tammie’s eyes. We all sent her loving and comforting thoughts.

“My dear,” replied the Professor, “what ultimately matters is what you think.” We all nodded our heads. “There is nothing wrong with following your dreams. You see, you even have the support of the loving angels. They understand, perfectly, the language of your heart.” Tammie smiled and wiped a tear from her eye.

“You are right, Professor Cairo. I feel so happy when the angels come to visit me. Their love feels so warm and comforting to my soul. They tell me that I have what it takes to make my dreams a reality. They have told me to call on them anytime.”

“Tammie, we all know what you are going through,” I said. “Munchkin was told that it was impossible for a cat to sail to the Orion Sea, due to the fact that cats are afraid of water. The Professor was told that he was making a big mistake to join Munchkin on this journey. In fact, the Dean of the school wanted to kick him out of the University. However, this didn’t happen thanks to the support of Professor’s colleagues. Chai was told in her youth by fellow peers that she wasn’t cut out for the theater, but the love and dedication of her theater teacher, provided the right guidance for Chai to excel. I had learning difficulties as a kitten. I was told that I wouldn’t amount to anything in life. I would basically be a “nobody” my entire life.” I felt a stream of tears flow down my face. The Professor put his paw on my shoulder. Tammie ran up to me and gave me a great big hug. She kissed my cheek. “Thank you, Professor. Thank you, Tammie.” They both smiled. “But this changed in high school when an amazing teacher transformed my life. He knew that I wasn’t stupid. I just had a different learning style. I was quite amazed that my life took off from a simple test.”

“It is really amazing how the right person coming into your life at the perfect moment can transform your life,” stated the Professor. “I also believe in angels.” The Professor winked at Tammie. She smiled. “It is very sad that society expects us to be like everyone else, and in the process, we lose our identity. We are no longer honoring our beautiful self. I am very fortunate to have friends that are not afraid to celebrate their uniqueness.” Munchkin nodded his head at Jessie. “Jessie, my friend, it is your turn.” The Professor winked at Jessie.

Jessie smiled. “I am a builder. I can build anything with these two paws.” Munchkin winked at us. We smiled. “My dream is to build tree houses. I see a long rope connected to two different tree houses. I can just see myself sliding down the rope from one tree house to the other. This would be so much fun!” As Jessie was sharing this, he made a sliding gesture with his paw.

“Yipee,” shouted Munchkin. “Can I slide down your rope? I am also a builder. I built the boat that is taking us on our journey.” Munchkin looked at his friends and smiled. We knew that Munchkin was up to something. He had that twinkle in his eyes. “Hey, Jessie, if it is alright with you, we can help you build your tree houses.” Jessie nodded his head and smiled. He then ran up the tree a couple of feet, then took a large leap into the air, managing to do a couple of summersaults before landing on his feet. We were all amazed by Jessie’s feat. He then made his way to Munchkin, giving him a big hug.

I also found out that Jessie had plans to build a theater stage, as well as storage unit for all the nuts that the villagers would collect throughout the year. I also learned that Tammie was a lover of the theater. When Chai learned of this, she had tears of joy in her eyes. Chai shared her script with Tammie. They talked for several hours about all things related to the theater. They both were in Heaven. Tammie said her parents didn’t really approve of her wanting to act, so she did it in secret. She would pretend the trees, bushes, and flower were actors. Once in awhile Jessie would give her a hand, but his heart wasn’t really into acting, he wanted to create things with his hands. He built chairs, tables, and bookcases. He said he was ready for a bigger challenge. He was very excited that he was making his dreams a reality. He wished more of his villagers shared the enthusiasm that his sister and he shared. Someday, he thought.

It was starting to get late, so we said our “goodnights.” We would begin building the two tree houses first thing tomorrow morning. It was such a wonderful feeling to help others. I kissed my little acorn and closed my eyes. I thanked God for these beautiful friends. Moments later, a peaceful sleep washed over me.