by: broadway_bound

"Moonlight, turn your face to the moonlight! Let your memory lead you! Open up enter in! If you find there the meaning of what happiness is, then a new day, will begin!!!" Jemima was singing to herself when the hairs on her neck rose up, someone was behind her, she could tell. "Who's there!" she called, she looked behind her and saw Tumblebrutus.
"What, can't I hang out with my girlfriend today or something?" Tumblebrutus asked her sarcastically.
"Of course you can, you just know how paranoid I can get." She told him.
"We all do. What were you singing anyway?" Tumble asked her.
"A song my Grandmother taught us before she left." Jemima explained.
"How can you not be mad that she left you guys, you weren't even a month old!" Tumble questioned.
"She left to follow her dreams, she loved being a glamour cat, and she went off and look where it got her, her picture was on human-cat food bags, and she was very happy." Jemima explained.
"SILLABUB!" called Victoria.
"Call me Jemima, please!" She begged once Victoria found them.
"Of course not you silly cat, Sillabub suits you perfectly!"
"It does not, I loathe that name beyond reason, just call me Jemima." Jemima told her.
"If I can remember I will." promised Victoria, "What were you two doing over here anyway?"
"Talking." Jemima and Tumblebrutus told her in unison. They all burst out laughing. And all of a sudden a cloud of dust appeared and Mistofollees showed up within it.
“Victoria, what were you doing with these two?” Misto asked suspiciously, but kindly.
“Well I was just talking to Jemima.” Victoria told him as she walked around him, she let her tail touched his shins, as she walked around him, causing him to close his eyes and smile. She put her arm around his shoulder. “Are you hungry Misto?” Victoria asked changing the subject, “I’m hungry, let’s go get a mouse or something.”
“Okay.” And they left.
“They’re kind of a weird couple aren’t they? Misto’s always suspicious of her, and she’s always tricking him.”
“I agree,” Tumblebrutus told her.
“Well, I’ll see you around later then Tumble.” Jemima walked around him and did the same thing as Victoria, but she was smiling at him at the same time. He started purring and then she left, waving her fingers at him.
“Every street lamp seems to beat a fatalistic warning, someone utters and the street lamp gutters and soon, it will be morning. Sunlight, see the dew on the sunflower, and a rose that is fading, roses wither away, like the sunflower I yearn to turn my face to the dawn, I am waiting, for the day.” Jemima sang again, Tumblebrutus joined her again, this time sitting down. She put her head down on his shoulder.
“You know...” Tumble began.
“What?” Jemima asked.
“The Jellicle ball is in about a week...” he continued.
“And?”
“Would you like me to escort you there? Possibly as a date?” He asked.
“Who would I be, to say no?”
“Not Jemima!” He laughed. They started playing, he picked her up and threw her and caught her, they were both laughing and having a good time. He put her down and they talked some more.
“Tell me about your family.” Jemima asked.
“Well, you know my brother, Pouncival, you also know my Father, Alonzo, and my mother, she’s a housecat and doesn’t get out much.” he told her, “What about your family.”
“My grandmother, I told you about her, my mother, well, she got murdered by Macavity...my sister, she ran away from us Jellicles.” she said and she looked at her feet.
“Your father?” Asked Tumblebrutus.
“He’s here, I just don’t talk to him to much, I don’t know his name, I just call him Dad.” Jemima concluded. Tumblebrutus remained silent, and put his arm around Jemima. She put her head on his shoulder and purred. Tumblebrutus joined her in resting his head on hers and purring. She looked at the moon, her second favorite past time, next to spending time with Tumblebrutus. Tumble also gazed at the moon, but turned his gaze to Jemima. The moon made her face glow, and Tumblebrutus just looked at the way she was smiling.
“The moon makes your face glow.” Tumblebrutus told her.
“Midnight, not a sound from the pavement, has the moon lost her memory, she is smiling alone, in the lamplight the withered leaves collect at my feet, and the wind begins to moan.” Jemima sings softly, she looks at Tumblebrutus and smiles. He closes his eyes and purrs.
“I’d better head off to bed.” Tumble told her. Jemima watched as he got up, and almost followed him, but knew she shouldn’t, so she stayed put. Tumblebrutus looked at her and helped her up. He looked at her eyes sparkling in the moonlight which was sinking into daylight.. She looked at his eyes, and embraced him in a hug, and held him for a long period of time. “I’ve got to go, okay?” Tumble asked, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“All right.” She looks at Tumblebrutus and sighs and smiles at him. She also ventures off to bed.
“Mornin’ Munkustrap!” Calls Jemima as she goes to greet Tumblebrutus. He’s talking with Pouncival, and she lightly traces her finger across his back. He stops talking, closes his eyes and purrs. She stands next to him and he puts his arm around her waist.
“Hey Tumblebrutus, hey Pouncival.” Jemima says to them. Pouncival just nods at her with a smile.
“Hey Jemima, me and Pouncival were just talking about the ball.” Tumblebrutus told her.
“Oh, well, I’m going to go see Victoria, okay?” Jemima tells him.
“Okay, I’ll see you later Jemima.”
Jemima goes to greet Victoria, only to find that she’s not there. She goes to ask Munkustrap.
“Have you seen Victoria?” Jemima asked.
“No I most certainly have not, but Jellylorum might know, she’s over with Jennyanydots.” He tells her. She walks over to Jellylorum.
“Have either of you seen Victoria?” Jemima asks them.
“Yes, she’s over in the box by the pipe with Misto. Nice to see ya’ by the way Sillabub!”
“Thank you, you too, but if you please, call me Jemima.” She told them.
“All right, why? Did something happen? You used to love that name, why change it all of a sudden?”
“I’ve got my reasons, well, I’ve got to go.” Jemima called as she left. When she was in the middle of the junkyard, Rumpleteazer fell seemingly from the sky! “Rumpleteazer, are you all right?” Asked Jemima getting down on her knees to help. After that, Mungojerry jumped gracefully down. “What were you doing?!?” Rumpleteazer giggled, Mungo shushed her.
“We were
just looking for something.” Mungo told her. Jemima sighed and went to get Victoria.
“Victoria!” Jemima called, “VICTORIA!!!”
“I’m right here Sillabub.” said Victoria tumbling out of the box landing gracefully on her feet. Jemima sighed.
“What were you doing?” Jemima asked curiously.
“Taking a cat nap.” Victoria told her, “Misto left a while ago.”
“Oh, well I was bored and decided to come over here.” Jemima told her, “Well why don’t we practice our dances for the ball, Tumblebrutus is taking me. I actually have a strange feeling about this year.”
“I wonder why.” said Victoria while she was stretching herself out, “Is it a bad feeling, like death, or unexpected visitor or pain, or what?
“I don’t know. I can’t ignore it, it won’t go away!?” Jemima told her.
“Let’s go ask Munkustrap.” Victoria suggested.
“All right.” Jemima agreed. Once they got to Munkustrap, they realized that he was sleeping.
“Hey Munkustrap?” Victoria began waking up Munkustrap.
“What.” Munkustrap asked still groggy from just being awakened.
“Well, Jemima has a weird feeling about the ball this year.”
“Oh?” Munkustrap asked Jemima.
“Well, I haven’t been able to sleep, and I always feel like someone’s watching me.”
“Well, just wait for the ball and if anything weird happens, tell me.” Said Munkustrap, “See ya’!”
Jemima waited for the ball and about an hour before the ball, she went to go see Tumblebrutus.
“Hey Tumble.” She said tracing her finger across his neck as she went around him.
“Hey Jemima.” He said slowly, enjoying her extra attention. She scratched under his chin and he held her gently in front of her. She looked kindly up at him smiling. He loved her smile. And he went to his waiting spot and she went to hers. After a while, the ball had begun, after about an hour, she sniffed something strange in the air, and everyone scurried except for kittens like her, she saw her Grandmother and reached out to touch her hand but it quickly got whipped away by Munkustrap who gently pushed her away, she stayed where she had stopped and listened to the words her Grandmother and had to sing to her:
“You see, the border of her coat’s torn, and stained with sand. And you see the corners of her eyes twist like a crooked pin.” And she reached yet again for her Grandma, but again was shoved away by Munkustrap, this time she got escorted out. Once everyone saw that her Grandmother, Grizabella, was gone, they all went back into the junkyard. They all welcomed Old Deuteronomy in with their traditional song. Jemima was still left to wonder where her Grandmother had gone off to, when again, someone grabbed her arm and pulled her away, once she got behind the boxes, she was told to put on a ridiculous hat, she did, and listened to the story:
The pekes and the pollicles everyone knows are proud and implacable passionate foes, it is always the same wherever one goes. And the Pugs and the Poms although most people say That they did not like fighting yet once in a way Will once and again join into the fray And they Bark bark bark bark bark bark bark bark bark Until you could hear them all over the park Now on the occasion of which I shall speak Almost nothing had happened for nearly a week And that's a long time for a Pol or a Peke The big police dog was away from his beat I don't know the reason but most people think He slipped into the Wellington's Arms for a drink.
And then Mungo and Teazer went out, and they finally made sense of the goofy hats, they were pekes and poms. Jemima went out when she was supposed to, and then they all gathered around Deuteronomy, and after about a minute, the lights shone red and blue, and they all heard the evil laugh.
“Macavity!” Someone yelled. Jemima ran into the pipe, and saw Tumblebrutus already waiting there. Tumblebrutus held her hand, and looked at her.
“Is he gone?” He whispered.
“I think so.” she replied softly. And they left and went to sit by Coricopat and Tantomile. After that, Coricopat, Tantomile, and Jemima all got up, Tantomile and Coricopat were sitting in a weird position though, she held Tantomile's hand so she wouldn't fall.
“Moonlight! Turn your face to the moonlight, let your memory lead you, open up enter in. If you find there the meaning of what happiness is, then a new life, will begin.” Jemima sang to all the snoozing cats. The cats rose up and repeated her song. And Jemima noticed an old cat that was walking about the junkyard, and he went to sit on the can that they had set up as a seat for him. They sang about him and his life, and then after he left, Jemima smelled, a familiar scent, Old Deuteronomy smelled it to. She went to him and they sang in unison:
“Skimbleshanks the railway cat!” And after singing about him, Grizabella again tried to join the fun, but Jemima saw someone shoo her away like a fly. Jemima constantly wanted to see her Grandmother, and realized that that was what had been bugging her, she went to Munkustrap, but he was busy, and Jellylorum shooed her away. Macavity returned and kidnapped Deuteronomy. Misto saved him about fifteen minutes later. Munkustrap got hurt though.
All the cats went to gather around Deuteronomy, but she went behind the car on top of some trash cans.
"Sunlight, I must wait for the sunrise, I must think of a new life, and I mustn't give in. When the dawn comes tonight will be a memory to. And a new day will begin." Grizabella sang, and fell to her knees. Jemima stood up and sang another verse:

"Sunlight, through the trees in summer, Endless masquerading, Like a flower as the dawn is breaking, The memory is fading"
"TOUCH ME!!! It's so easy to leave me! All alone with the memory, of my days in the sun, if you touch me, you'll understand what happiness is, Look a new day has begun!" Grizabella responded to her granddaughter. Grizabella turned to leave when she sensed a follower. She reached out a hand, and much to her surprise, someone held it, and rubbed there head on it, a pure white queen was holding Grizabella's hand. Slowly, everyone came up to be petted by Grizabella, including Jemima.
"Up up up past the Russell Hotel, Up up up up to the heaviside layer, Up up up past the Russell Hotel, Up up up up to the heaviside layer, Up up up past the Russell Hotel, Up up up up to the heaviside layer, Up up up past the Russell Hotel
Up up up up to the heaviside layer, Up up up past the Jellicle moon, Up up up up to the heaviside layer, Up up up past the Jellicle moon
Up up up up to the heaviside layer, The mystical divinity of unashamed felinity, Round the cathedral rang 'Vivat', Life to the everlasting cat!" All the cats sang together. Jemima left, she wanted to go gaze at her beloved moon.
After about an hour, Someone joined her. She looked to see Tumblebrutus. He sat down beside her.
"Why is it that you don't like the name Sillabub?" He asked. She looked at him and shrugged at him.
"I'll tell you when I'm ready." She told him. She moved closer and put her head on his shoulder. She looked up at the moon but turned her gaze to Tumblebrutus. "The moon makes your face glow." she said.
The End

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