Kitty on a Milk Carton

"No mentor". The words thundered and echoed through my mind. I could picture my fate if Teacher had not found me, had not showed me, had not given me direction. Just another set of bones, cracked and dried on the savanna.

"No mentor". And yet she must have promise, or Celine would not have guided her path through all the pitfalls. Why did they abandon her? Can she be saved?

"No mentor". I must. There is much to be done, but these two above all. I will have my own lands and she must be taught. Maerose, what winds of fate sent you to us, to me? Will she still deny her heritage after seeing the truth? Can I teach her what she needs to know? What has she done to turn her from the way of the Bastet?

We reached the other side of the river and as Vanessa got down, I shook the water from my mane and shifted to crinos. The echoes quieted as I walked into the woods, to the clearing. I left Vanessa with water and hoped she would not be too bored. Soon the rhythms caught me and Vanessa and Maerose retreated to the back of my mind. They come.

The circle was finished and the Moon-wall was erected between the trees. Many answered the call and the tension was high. I stood and began...

"With a smile and a greeting, the stranger walked into Rosie's diner..."

Stories and tales flew back and forth, the speakers not seeking to outdo the others, only inform, only teach. We went around the circle and it was my turn again.

"It seems that there was a man in a brown and tan coat who came upon a woman in a black and orange jacket. The man had places to go and people to see, but the woman was catching his attention with her every motion. She was tossing a rock into the air and when it landed, she would bend down and look at it. She would take a few steps after picking up the rock, and then throw it up again."

I could see that all were listening and the Khan in particular was swiveling both ears my way.

"Coming closer, the man reached up and caught the rock before it landed. On one side was scratched an arrow and a number that changed the more he looked at it. On the other was a double-headed arrow with the same changing number. 'Why do you follow this rock?' said the man. The woman replied, 'It is as good as anything else I have seen in this world.' 'But what happens when it falls and tells you to return from where you came, but to take more steps?' 'That has happened already, and as you see I am none the worse for it.' "

"With that the woman reached for the rock. Luckily the man was faster and threw the rock into a nearby lake. The woman watched the rock sail out over the water and splash far out from the shore. 'Now I have nothing to tell me where to go. Where will I go now?' "

"The man decided to teach her to find her own way, but he still had places to go for he was very busy. When he finally left the woman was able to go on her own but still found herself looking for rocks to show her the way."

"One day the man happened to see the woman again and noticed a bandage around her head. 'How did you hurt yourself?' 'Well, when you left I knew where I wanted to go and remembering what you said, picked a direction. Unfortunately the lure of the rock was too much for me and since you threw mine into the lake I looked for another. There were pebbles all around so I used one of those.' 'But a pebble could not have done that to your head,' said the man. 'No, the pebble was lost in the sun and it only bounced off my head. But once on the ground I could not tell it from the rest, so I looked for something larger.' Here the woman laughed and produced a rock as big as both of her hands. 'This is the beauty that did it. I got distracted while it was in the air and it caught me square in the head. At least I only have to do it once a day now' "

"The man shook his head and walked off. He had done all he could and the woman still used the rock. Once a day, to be sure, was better than at every step, but even once a day was once too much."

The stories moved around the circle and we all learned and shared. Once I looked up and caught the Khan looking at me. He nodded, without breaking the rhythm of the tale he was telling and I went back to the story of the Guiding Light building.

We knew that dawn was coming when cricket scratched his legs and sparrow called out from the branches. I went to each in turn and gave my respects and received theirs in return. It was time to open the Moon-wall and let all present go back.

Vanessa's walked up as the last of the ritual died out and the ghosts of echoes of silent cat feet danced in my head.

I leapt up with a shout, "They came, they saw, I conquered. Oh, sweet Celine, what a night." She asked me how my story went and I told her they liked it just fine. "I even mentioned Maerose, but I don't know just what they will do about her."

We headed out of the woods and I could feel Vanessa near me. She looked at me strangely and knew she felt the same thing. There was a tug as we passed the boundary of the Den and a need to return to this place, my home, grew with each step.

"No mentor" once again echoed in my head, but now I knew there was hope, at least hope.