No! I turned to face George.
No, don't do it!
My heart was pounding in my throat, the blood rushed through my ears deafening the sound of the noise coming from the Catacombs.
George looked at me, a resigned look in his face.
Lil' we came here, there is no other way, if I don't I'll end up in there anyway at least I have a chance of getting home with my voice if I do.
What sort of horror show are you running here? I called out to The Judge.
HORROR SHOW! he sounded angry.
What makes you think it's a horror show and what makes you think I'm the bad guy here?
Well...
I turned to face The Lane of Bells and indicated with my paw towards the Catacombs
I'm not their prisoner officer, I'm not their torturer, I'm their nurse maid, I'm the one who looks after these poor unfortunate cats. I didn't do any of this to them, I'M THEIR PROTECTOR and I protect the rest of Catkind. What would you have me do let them all out into the world to run riot, they are beyond saving Lil' and I didn't do this to them. They did it to themselves I'm just making sure they are living the best life there poor souls can.
Themselves! I was angry.
Yes themselves! They chose to come here, they chose to take their chance and this is the result. It's not my fault, I'm The Judge, I'm not the jury!
What did he mean? My head was spinning, none of this made sense. I turned to George to see if he could give me an answer but he was just staring at the open box.
George what does he mean?
Silence.
George won't answer you, he knows but he won't answer you he cares too much for you and he knows what it means to come to The Lane of Bells and he knows what's ahead, the one and only direction that's ahead!
With that George jumped up and right into the box, a blinding light flashed through the room before dimming again.
You can only go forward Lil' you can't go back, if you want to go forwards you have to go in the Box of Fate and face it Lil'! FACE FATE!
It was as if I was transferred back in time to a conversation in March between George and I just before he lost his ability to speak;
"Do you believe in fate Lil'?, We didn't meet by fate Lil'! It wasn't fate, Fate Lil' Fate!"
Round and round and round those words went, my head spinning, now they all made sense, he was trying to tell me something that he knew I would need later on but then got silenced in case he told me too much.
Are you telling me it's my destiny to go in there? I pointed at the Box of Fate.
You're here so it's your destiny, I'm just hear to help proceedings. You chose to come here for some answers and that's where you'll get them. You cannot leave without going through. You can stay here and chat to me for as long as you want, I'm not going anywhere and to be honest I would enjoy conversing with someone who is not tortured by madness but if you do you will eventually go that way anyway. Imagine it, for all of eternity here with only the company of me and my wards, forever and ever loosing memory of everyone and everything you have ever known. This place Lil' freezes time, you can never leave unless you go through and get your key but that key comes with a price, it comes with a price of knowing what will be and if you think that's an easy burden to carry then you are very much deluding yourself. It's true I've had some that have chose not to go in, you'll find them in here somewhere, maybe that was their fate I don't know and it's not my job to care.
Who are you?
I told you I'm The Judge.
OK who where you?
Clever cat, only two have ever asked that question before and I'm quiet flattered but I have no idea who I was, I've been here too long! I've forgotten how I got here, who I was and why I came, I have no recollection of why I am in this position or when this will ever end. I have no memory Lil' I told you it goes over time but I do appreciate the question it makes a refreshing change.
But if you know everything, as you said you did why don't you know that?
I know everything about other's and nothing about me, maybe one day I went in the Box of Fate and this was mine, who can tell? More to the point though Lil' are YOU ready to face the Box of Fate yet, George is already facing his?
I felt there was something I was missing, something that George had said that my catty powers were telling me I needed to recall. What was it? Damn why can't I remember?
Give me a minute, I said, I'm thinking.
What advice would the Wiseman give, he was the cleverest in the whole universe, oh how I wish he was here now? I sat and wracked my brains what would he say? He'd tell me, oh I don't know what. Right stop panicking imagine you are in front of him. Relax and tune in, listen to myself, what did George tell me?
I talked as if to myself, there, there it is, somewhere between the tip of my tongue and the far off distances, of my memory, stop playing with me, don't give me half words, got it, no gone, eyes, eye's what? Oh why have I forgotten, don't forget, that's it eyes, don't forget. GOT IT!
"You Lil', you've got an all together different set of eyes now, and abilities, just make sure you don't forget to explore them, you are going to need them later on"
With that I stood up, my chest puffed out, I had everything I think I needed now. George's words, The Wiseman's advice and Troy's lessons. I was ready alright.
Confidently I walked up to the Box of Fate and jumped in, the light grew a million times longer and filled the dome, the lid closed and the dome fell into darkness and silence.
No, don't do it!
My heart was pounding in my throat, the blood rushed through my ears deafening the sound of the noise coming from the Catacombs.
George looked at me, a resigned look in his face.
Lil' we came here, there is no other way, if I don't I'll end up in there anyway at least I have a chance of getting home with my voice if I do.
What sort of horror show are you running here? I called out to The Judge.
HORROR SHOW! he sounded angry.
What makes you think it's a horror show and what makes you think I'm the bad guy here?
Well...
I turned to face The Lane of Bells and indicated with my paw towards the Catacombs
I'm not their prisoner officer, I'm not their torturer, I'm their nurse maid, I'm the one who looks after these poor unfortunate cats. I didn't do any of this to them, I'M THEIR PROTECTOR and I protect the rest of Catkind. What would you have me do let them all out into the world to run riot, they are beyond saving Lil' and I didn't do this to them. They did it to themselves I'm just making sure they are living the best life there poor souls can.
Themselves! I was angry.
Yes themselves! They chose to come here, they chose to take their chance and this is the result. It's not my fault, I'm The Judge, I'm not the jury!
What did he mean? My head was spinning, none of this made sense. I turned to George to see if he could give me an answer but he was just staring at the open box.
George what does he mean?
Silence.
George won't answer you, he knows but he won't answer you he cares too much for you and he knows what it means to come to The Lane of Bells and he knows what's ahead, the one and only direction that's ahead!
With that George jumped up and right into the box, a blinding light flashed through the room before dimming again.
You can only go forward Lil' you can't go back, if you want to go forwards you have to go in the Box of Fate and face it Lil'! FACE FATE!
It was as if I was transferred back in time to a conversation in March between George and I just before he lost his ability to speak;
"Do you believe in fate Lil'?, We didn't meet by fate Lil'! It wasn't fate, Fate Lil' Fate!"
Round and round and round those words went, my head spinning, now they all made sense, he was trying to tell me something that he knew I would need later on but then got silenced in case he told me too much.
Are you telling me it's my destiny to go in there? I pointed at the Box of Fate.
You're here so it's your destiny, I'm just hear to help proceedings. You chose to come here for some answers and that's where you'll get them. You cannot leave without going through. You can stay here and chat to me for as long as you want, I'm not going anywhere and to be honest I would enjoy conversing with someone who is not tortured by madness but if you do you will eventually go that way anyway. Imagine it, for all of eternity here with only the company of me and my wards, forever and ever loosing memory of everyone and everything you have ever known. This place Lil' freezes time, you can never leave unless you go through and get your key but that key comes with a price, it comes with a price of knowing what will be and if you think that's an easy burden to carry then you are very much deluding yourself. It's true I've had some that have chose not to go in, you'll find them in here somewhere, maybe that was their fate I don't know and it's not my job to care.
Who are you?
I told you I'm The Judge.
OK who where you?
Clever cat, only two have ever asked that question before and I'm quiet flattered but I have no idea who I was, I've been here too long! I've forgotten how I got here, who I was and why I came, I have no recollection of why I am in this position or when this will ever end. I have no memory Lil' I told you it goes over time but I do appreciate the question it makes a refreshing change.
But if you know everything, as you said you did why don't you know that?
I know everything about other's and nothing about me, maybe one day I went in the Box of Fate and this was mine, who can tell? More to the point though Lil' are YOU ready to face the Box of Fate yet, George is already facing his?
I felt there was something I was missing, something that George had said that my catty powers were telling me I needed to recall. What was it? Damn why can't I remember?
Give me a minute, I said, I'm thinking.
What advice would the Wiseman give, he was the cleverest in the whole universe, oh how I wish he was here now? I sat and wracked my brains what would he say? He'd tell me, oh I don't know what. Right stop panicking imagine you are in front of him. Relax and tune in, listen to myself, what did George tell me?
I talked as if to myself, there, there it is, somewhere between the tip of my tongue and the far off distances, of my memory, stop playing with me, don't give me half words, got it, no gone, eyes, eye's what? Oh why have I forgotten, don't forget, that's it eyes, don't forget. GOT IT!
"You Lil', you've got an all together different set of eyes now, and abilities, just make sure you don't forget to explore them, you are going to need them later on"
With that I stood up, my chest puffed out, I had everything I think I needed now. George's words, The Wiseman's advice and Troy's lessons. I was ready alright.
Confidently I walked up to the Box of Fate and jumped in, the light grew a million times longer and filled the dome, the lid closed and the dome fell into darkness and silence.
