Rock-a-Bye

Now, she feels safe

In this bar on Fairfax

And from the stage I can tell that

She can't let go and she can't relax

And just before

She hangs her head to cry

I sing to her a lullaby, I sing

Shawn Mullins, “Lullaby”

Akito was only three when Kyou was born. She knew something was happening because of the way people were acting that day. They kept whispering and avoiding her, as if what they had to say would fall to deaf ears. She wanted to know what had happened that had the Main House in such a panic, why everyone seemed excited and relieved at the same time.

“The Cat was born, did you hear?”

“It was a boy, I heard the father completely lost it when the mother touched it and it changed.”

“Thank god the Cat was finally born. I can have children and not worry so much anymore.”

“I’m just relieved it was not me.”

“Those poor parents, their baby is a monster.”

She knew that the Cat was the most cursed one of them, the one that was bad. Over and over she had been told that every member of the Zodiac was hers, but she could choose to lock away the Cat if wanted. She could choose to distance herself from him if she wanted. There were whispers in the Main House the day the Cat was born and Akito hid amongst the shadows so she could listen to each and every one. The Cat was bad, the Jyuunishi were cursed--she knew that, but Cat was the most cursed one of them. Not only was he not invited to the banquet and he turned into a cat when he changed, but there was something else that no one would tell her. The Cat did something else that made it so different, something that made him worse than everyone else. She walked through the house and tugged on one of the maids' sleeves.

“Yes Akito-san? What do you need?” she asked, kneeling down to look at her.

“I want to see the Cat.” Akito demanded. She wanted to see what was so scary about the Cat and why everyone hated him so much. The maid looked a little stunned.

“Akito-san, I’ll have to ask your mother,” she replied, turning to find her mommy, but Akito knew the answer already: no. She left her spot and decided that she would go see the Cat on her own. Leaving the house, she made her way across the garden to the house that everyone was talking about. She noticed that there were a few people gathered outside, and among them was a man with his face buried in his hands, people around him murmuring words of comfort. As she got closer, she heard them talking.

“When does it come home?” It was someone she did not recognize, but they seemed to know about the Cat. I want to see him.

“Tomorrow,” the man stated, his voice shaky. “Why did it have to be us?” He sounded sad. She wondered if that was the daddy and if he was sad he had a baby now.

“Akito!” a voice exclaimed behind her. The maid from before rushed over, kneeling down. “Akito-san, you know better than to wander off too far alone.”

“Mommy wouldn’t let me see the Cat, I know she won’t, but he’s mine right? I want to see him,” she replied. The maid gave her a painful smile.

“He’s not home yet, I’ll see if you can see him when he comes home,” the maid said in a soft voice before taking her hand and pulling her away from the house. Akito looked over her shoulder and saw that the daddy was so sad and she wondered if her mommy was so sad when she was born.

Akito waited impatiently for two days for the Cat to get home. She made sure to be extra nice to her mommy so she could get permission to go. She dressed like she was told to dress, she did as she was told, she did everything her mommy said and still she said “no.” The people in the Main House were still whispering about the Cat, but she already knew everything they had to say. She knew that the daddy was so sad and the mommy was scared and worried about her baby and her husband. No one seemed to notice her as she listened, but when the day came that she could finally go and see the Cat she had heard everything everyone had to say.

“Mommy?” Akito asked, watching her mother’s long black hair cover most of her back as she read. She did not turn around when Akito asked arrived in the room.

“What do you want?” she snapped, not turning around.

“I want to go see the Cat,” the little girl asked in a quiet voice. She heard her mommy make a scoffing sound.

“Why do you want to see it?” her mommy asked, sounding bitter.

“Because I want to,” Akito replied simply. Her mommy sighed and waved her off.

“Have someone else take you.” Akito smiled and left her room, going off to find a maid or someone to take her. When she did, they made their way over to the house. The daddy was not sitting outside looking sad anymore, but when she went into the house she saw the mommy. The mommy looked sad, but not the same kind of sad that the daddy looked. She stood when she saw Akito with maid.

“Akito-san... I wasn’t expecting you...” she said, her voice was low and soft.

“I want to see the Cat,” Akito stated, feeling like that was all she had said in the past few days. The mommy seemed to stiffen slightly before nodding.

“Come with me,” she replied, and lead Akito down the hall to a small bedroom. In the middle of the room was a cradle that was rocking slightly from the breeze in the house. The mommy got a chair, placed it next to the crib, and helped Akito stand on it. “His name is Kyou.” Akito looked down at the baby in the cradle and was suddenly confused. He did not look like a monster, he looked like a baby, any normal baby. His fingers were so tiny she thought they might break and she could see a little bit of orange hair on the top of his tiny head. His breathing was soft as he slept so peacefully in the cradle, not noticing or caring that they were watching him. He looked like a normal baby, not a monster, not even a cat, just a baby. And she did not understand. His eyes opened and he looked around the room before they fell on her. His hands moved a little as he woke up, but did not cry. His tiny palm moved to his lips before moving away, as if he was blowing a kiss. “I think he likes you, Akito-san,” the mommy said and it sounded like she wanted to cry.

“But I can’t like him, he’s the Cat and that’s bad,” she replied and the mommy looked even sadder.

“He’s still a person, Akito-san, even if he is the Cat... try to remember that,” the mommy whispered before the maid cleared her throat in the doorway.

“I need to take Akito-san home,” she stated. The mommy nodded and helped Akito off the chair. As the maid led her out of the house, she heard Kyou start to cry. She looked over her shoulder and watched as the mommy rocked the cradle. She saw tiny hands reaching up, wanting the comfort of his mommy, but she made no move to pick him up. Instead she sat in the chair Akito had stood on and rocked the cradle, eyes on the ground. Akito thought she saw the mommy start to cry as they left the building. He looked like a baby, not a cat, not a monster. The mommy said he liked me, but I can’t like him. He’s the Cat and that’s bad, he’s bad.

Everything's gonna be all right

Rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye

Everything's gonna be all right

Rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye

Rock-a-bye

Shawn Mullins “Lullaby”

~05/30/06