Chapter 12

𝘚𝘬𝘹𝘺𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘴... I heard a whisper. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵? 𝘚𝘬𝘹𝘺𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘴... 𝘚𝘬𝘹𝘺𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘴...

I looked up at the sky.

I saw Orb.

I barely remembered her.

She was a faded figure in the sky...

I blinked.

I opened my eyes to a magical-smelling land along with the smell of fresh-cut grass. I saw a huge streaming lake with steamy fog covering it from a nearby waterfall. You could smell the hot mist of the water, like fresh pine and fish. In the distance, the sun was about to set, but it wasn't touching the ground yet. There were cliffs and huge mountains that stretched far out into the distance.

There was greenery everywhere, trees, bushes, even growing on the mountains even though they were slanted, moss and grass growing on the cliffs. The sky was a sparkly shade of turquoise, some bright pink clouds catching my attention as they were beamed on with the sun's light. There were some small waterfalls, only tiny streams flowing out of mountain cracks. You could see his reflection in the stream like you were seeing a copy of yourself right in front of you. It was a marvelous sight - but Oreo didn't know how he got there.

I lifted my paw up in shock, looking at it to make sure I wasn't dreaming or something. I looked around, seeing more mountains and trees. I turned around--- seeing two familiar she-cats. One stood on the right, a calico with brown eyes. The other stood on the left, golden-shelled fur with heather-colored eyes. I took a step back, confused and shocked. I could tell the one on the left was Orb, but I couldn't recognize the one on the right.

"Hello, Oreo," the she-cat said, her fur sparkling as she looked at me. "...hi. Are... you Orb?" The sparkling she-cat nodded as I noticed she and the other cat looked... transparent. Orb pointed with her muzzle to the calico cat next to her. "And this is Zinia. Might you remember her?" Zinia stepped forward, her transparent tail swishing back and forth. I remembered she was the cat that died trying to save us from that horse-pull... And then Orb ran onto the pathway to go with her? Wait... was this heaven? Did I die? "You're daydreaming,"

Orb purred, interrupting my thoughts. "Wait--- you can read my mind?" I asked, dumbfounded. "Thoughts are spoken aloud here. And don't worry, you're very much alive. Your body on earth is still watching what's going on, but your spirit is paying attention here," she explained, a portal opening beside me. I jumped back, my eyes wide with shock as I saw what was in it. I saw myself, watching as Zach helped Sally wash the mud out of her mouth.

Wait. If my body is there, then... I looked at my paw. It was sparkling and transparent, just like the fur of Orb and Zinia. 𝘚𝘰... 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦? Our normal selves but sparkly and see-through? I turned back, the she-cats still there. "You may enter that whenever you are ready," Orb said. "We are here to discuss some things," meowed Zinia, sitting down. I sat down as well, not wanting to seem impolite. "First, I would like to apologize for... yelling and scaring you before I died. I was ignorant, and I should've realized that Zinia saving you and your sister for the cost of her life was the right thing to do, and it wasn't a reason to end mine. I had too much going on, and I couldn't live without her. But I regret not understanding that sooner. I hope you can forgive me."

She dipped her head, awaiting my response. I was taken aback by her apology. I had never expected this, and I didn't know how to respond. I simply nodded, and she smiled in understanding. I turned to Zinia. "Thank you for... trying to save us. I'm sorry it didn't work out." "It's not your fault, young tom," she said simply, seeming like she wanted to change the subject. "Do you have any questions about what we are or what this place is?" She gestured to the beautiful background behind her.

"Well... what is this place? Is it heaven? And... Yeah, what are you guys?" "We are the Skxyspirits. And this is the Sky-Ridge. Also known as Spirit-Mountain. This is where your spirit goes when you die. This place never ends. You never fade away here. Everyone before and after is here." "Everyone before and after?" I asked. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯? "Every cat who has died in the past, every cat that will be born."

I blinked as I saw a yellow, golden flying spec in front of me, a curious look on its face as it inspected me. My eyes darted around as I saw thousands of them flying around the scene, flooding the sky. They weren't fireflies... I looked closer. They had tiny cat ears and a body but instead of legs, they had wispy smoke right below their stomachs. "What are these things?" I asked, my eyes reflecting the creature's light as I looked at them with wonder.

"Those are the unborn kittens." Orb held out a paw, one of the little beams of light flying onto her paw. "This is Rose Blossom, Zach's future niece. She will bring lots of other cats to everyone's future." I stared in awe, looking at the little unborn kitten. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘡𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳... 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦, 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘺. "Wow... Will I ever get to meet her?" Zinia looked at Orb with annoyance as she began to answer, seeming annoyed that they were getting off-topic. "No," Orb said simply.

"She will be born long after you are gone." I frowned, looking at the little creature one last time before Orb let her go, Rose Blossom flying off into the sky with thousands of others. "One day, when her time is up, she'll come up here with us once again and you will be able to see her for all eternity." I smiled, feeling a sense of peace and joy wash over me. I knew that one day, Rose Blossom would be with us, and I was content with that knowledge.

"On to the important thing. Remember, you thought 'Whoever you are, thank you.'?" I bowed before the she-cat, realizing it must've been her. Maybe the dead spirits here could control what happened back in my dimension, at least a little bit. Or maybe it was just her. Maybe she was the lead of Sky-Ridge, and only she could control what happened. "Do not bow before me!" Orb hissed, as I felt a pang of fear that we had just done something wrong.

I stood back up, my heart pounding in my chest. I had no idea what I had done wrong, or why she was so angry. "It is not I controlling what happens. It is The Spirit-Forest. I have no control over anything whatsoever." Orb took a deep breath, starting to calm down. "Whenever something happens, thank them. Sky-Ridge. Not us. And thank the Great I Am, owning the heavens far beyond Spirit-Forest that we cannot reach."

I blinked, trying to process all this information. "Okay... The Spirit-Mountains are what makes things happen?" "And the Great I Am, Now, I believe you are ready to go now, young tom?" I looked at the portal, as my body continued to watch Zach help Sally. I nodded, feeling the power of the Spirit-Forest pulsing through me. I stepped towards the portal, feeling the warmth of the energy radiating from it. I took a deep breath, and stepped through. "Remember, you always have the power to come here again..." I heard Orb's muffled voice say, as I closed my eyes and waited for the warping of the portal to stop.

I opened my eyes, and found myself standing in the same place I had been before. But something was different - the air was charged with magical energy and the rain seemed to stop. I sighed, looking up to see what was taking place. Sally had finished rinsing her mouth out, and she was now lapping up the water from the stream without hesitation.

I could see her still shivering, and I remembered that she was probably still sick. ...𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸? 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴. I had to think fast. I had to find help for Sally, and fast. As I was about to get up and suggest one of us find a place we could at least stay dry for now, I saw a cat running towards me.

Sphynxia?