the items needed to make the coffee. “I just have to remind myself not to have
unrealistic expectations.”
Zula raised an eyebrow as she stroked Mabel's fur and then stood up. “What do you mean by unrealistic?”
Embarrassed, Maxwell busied himself by grinding the coffee beans and pouring
cold water into the brewer.
“Maxwell? Talk to me. Please? I could go into your thoughts alone but I'd prefer
not to do that.”
“Sit down,” Maxwell motioned to the chair at the kitchen table. “Please...” his
voice trailed off.
Zula sat and stared directly into Maxwell's eyes. The amber colour seemed to
flicker with the embers of some internal flame that Maxwell had yet to see. He looked
away and the forced himself to look back at her.
“Zula, this is hard for me to explain. I'm a solitary man and have been for many
years. I came out to this part of the province in order too escape the crazy lifestyle of
the city.”
Zula reached forward and unconsciously patted his hand. “I can understand that.”
Maxwell jerked back as if she had set his hand on fire. His pulse raced as he forced
himself to stay calm. It was amazing to him that just a simple touch could set his soul
aflame.
“I am sure in a way you can,” he continued. “I love what I do but my life gets
lonely. When you dropped into my world a few days ago I found you a refreshing
breeze in an otherwise stagnant life. You've intrigued me and I'd love too entertain the
possibilities but there will never be any possibilities with there?” “I see,” It was a simple statement but the sadness was very evident in her eyes and
voice. She knew very well what Maxwell was referring too. “I have met many
humans over the years and never have I wanted a kinship more than I'd like to have
with you. But...”
“But what?”
Zula's eyes filled with tears as she tried to find the words to explain how she was
feeling. It was the first time her emotions were so close to the surface other than in
dealings with her own kind. “There have been some Miu who have shifted
permanently with disastrous consequences and those that have had off and on contact
with humans...well you see the end result with Cleopatra.”
Maxwell had a feeling there was something more. “You don't seem to be the type
of woman to scare easily. You have been in Tryphaenea's service for many years and I
gather she could have been quite a strong personality.”
“True.” Zula agreed. “Our Matriarch was a fierce warrior in her day. She has
grown tired and Cleopatra will be unable to follow her as leader.”
“Why?” Maxwell asked as he rose from the table to prepare their coffee.
“Her ill health for one and she just does not have the same drive or interest to rule
the Miu. In days gone by, the Miu would choose warrior maidens to fight for the
leadership. We no longer adhere to that rule. The modern world has no place for it.”
“I can understand that. I suppose you need to change with the times. So what
happens then? And why do I have the feeling it has to do with you?” Maxwell placed their cups on the table and poured the rich, hot coffee into both, allowing Zula to add
her own cream.
“I do however love that you put this delicious cream in your hot drinks. It makes
this coffee magnificent!” Zula blurted as she poured half the cream jug into her cup
and took a long drawn from it. Maxwell could not help but grin.
“Glad you like it,” he said. “Now, please tell me what is going on with you.”
Zula eyed him over the rim of her cup. Her heart was pounding very fast as she
stared at Maxwell's face. She traced his eyebrows, cheek bones and chin with her
eyes. If only.... she thought. “I will be the matriarch's replacement.”
“Wow,” Maxwell sat back in his chair with a thud. “Is this what you want?”
“At this point it doesn't really matter what I want.” Zula sighed heavily and placed
her cup back down on the table with a thud. “The matriarch believes I am the bridge
between the old and new world. I can help the Miu exist in this world. Besides, I have
no family and no children so my life has always been devoted to the Matriarch. I
know the role like the back of my paw.”
The word “paw” caught Maxwell off guard and then he shook his head. It's hard to
remember what you are sometimes Zula. You seem so...
“Human,” Zulas word caught off his thought. “But I'm not.”
Maxwell shrugged his shoulders in frustration. “You still didn't really answer my
question. Is this the life you want?”
Zula sat back and took a deep breath. “My life is what it is. Unlike you, I can not come and go as I please or change where I live. Being a Miu makes it necessary to
hide and expose my true nature only when necessary.”
The truth in what she said hit Maxwell hard so he tried to distract the frustration
with another question. “You mentioned something about the Miu suffering disastrous
consequences when they shift permanently. What do you mean?”
“You are a doctor so you can well imagine how hard it is to change the structure of
your being; your genetic make up. It is difficult at best and the more often it happens
the harder it is to change back. Some Miu leave our community to try and live
amoung humans. In order to do that they have to stay in human form permanently.”
“I'm sure the damage it causes is irreparable let alone the pain you must feel when
shifting.” Maxwell tried to be sympathetic but he knew he had no clue what it would
be like to strip the essence of yourself to become something else.
“The pain can be excruciating,” Zula agreed with a shake of her auburn coloured
hair. “Hence why we only shift when it is absolutely necessary. Like humans, we Miu
have hearts and souls and can fall in love and desire companionship just as humans
do. And if we can not find satisfaction amoung our own kind, some feel we should
have the option to look outside the species. When a Miu shifts permanently we lose
our ability to conceive and eventually our genetic structure breaks down at a
molecular level. Our lives as humans are short and death is assured.” Tears filled
Zula's eyes as she remembered hearing about those who had left to find lives in the
modern world only to die a few years afterward. “When a shifted Miu dies, they revert back to their original condition,” her eyes dropped. “Truth be told, not exactly
normal. The body is horribly mutated. It is not a pleasant sight.”
Maxwell reached over the table and took Zula's hand in his. Her skin was cool to
the touch and she was shaking. “I'm sorry.”
“It's not your fault Maxwell. It's hard too face these memories sometimes but the
reality is what it is.”
Maxwell stroked the soft skin on the back of Zula's hand and then released her.
“How is it I've never heard of these deaths? Someone must be there when they die?
Human nature is drawn to the grotesque unfortunately.”
“The Miu know when they are dying. They go back to their origins and die alone.
They come home and they bury them when they do.” Zula looked down at her hand
and ran her thumb over the spot where Maxwell had touched her. She looked back up
at him and gave him a small smile.
“We all return to whatever we feel is home when
we die.”
“Ashes to ashes,” Maxwell commented.
“What does that mean?” Zula was perplexed at his reference.
“Some humans believe we were created out of the ashes by the hand of God. So
when we die we return to that state until the end of time comes.”
“And then what?” Zula asked.
“And then....well it all depends on whether you believe in God or not I guess.”
Maxwell said as he lifted his cup to his lips and took a deep swallow. He grimaced because his coffee had gotten cold.
Zula's face remained serious. “Do you believe in a god?”
“At times I have,” Maxwell answered. “And at times I haven't.”
“The Miu can trace their lineage back to the great Goddess Gaiea and the God Bast
from ancient times. We still worship them with the rituals in our every day lives and
on special feast days. Does your god get the same praise?”
“Yes,” Maxwell nodded. “Most people that believe in God celebrate and worship
him at certain times of the week and year.”
“So we are more alike in some ways that I thought.” Zula whispered under her
breath.
“Perhaps so,” he smiled. “Zula you keep avoiding my question. Not that I don't
appreciate the distraction. It has given me more time to get to know a bit more about
you.”
Zula breathed out a heavy sigh of frustration. “Ideally I'd love to have kittens and a
mate but it does not seem that is in the Goddesses plan for me. And, the Matriarch has
asked this favour of me. I dare not refuse her.”
“But, Tryphaenea has children,” Maxwell said.
“Yes but no mate.” Zula said. “She only conceived through the spring ritual of
fertility. It was not because she specifically wanted a family.”
“And you?” Maxwell asked again.
Zula crossed her arms and looked across the table at him. “Like I said, I'd love a family but becoming a Matriarch is a very serious matter. My life will have very little
time for romance or finding a proper mate.”
“My life is like that now,” Maxwell sighed as he cleared the table of their coffee
cups.
“What do you mean? You have a wonderful life and you have Mabel.” Zula said.
“I do have a great life. It is a life I have worked very hard for,” Maxwell said. “I'm
successful in my chosen career but...”
“But what?” Zula asked as she raised her eyebrow to emphasis the question.
“But, I am alone. Yes, I have Mabel but it's not the same as female companionship.
I'm getting older and I've been a bachelor for too long.”
Zula sat in quiet contemplation. She too was alone in the world and she knew how
her heart ached to find a mate that would love and support her. “I understand,” she
said quietly.
“I don't know that you do, not really.” Maxwell turned from the kitchen counter
and focused his attention directly on Zula. At first she glance away and then she stared
straight back at him. “We talked about death earlier.”
“Yes,” Zula nodded.
“I don't want to die alone. What is all of this work for if there will be no one to
remember me?” Maxwell asked.
“But, you will be remembered. We will remember you and how you have helped
all the Miu. I'm sure the human owners of all animals you have helped will remember you as well!” Zula smiled.
“Yes, I'm sure for a short time, I will be remembered for being a Doctor, a
Veterinarian. But who will remember me for being a man?”
Zula looked up at Maxwell and a sudden and intense emotion surged through her
heart. The emotions were very sharp and real and Zula could not help but feel caught
off guard.
“Are you alright?” Maxwell asked as he rushed to where Zula sat clutching her
chest.
“Yes,” she gasped. “I'm fine. It's been a long day and my shift was too soon after
the first. Is it possible for me to lay down somewhere for a little while?”
“Of course you can. I have a spare room up stairs,” Maxwell answered. He held his
hand out and helped Zula stand. He noticed she was shaking but decided it was best
not to press her. He walked with her up the stairs to a small, sparsely furnished guest
room. The day bed was decorated with colourful pillows and a pale blue coverlet.
Zula sat on the edge of it and looked around the room. “Thank you Maxwell. Don't
worry, I just need a rest and then we can go over the medication needed to help Cleo.”
Maxwell nodded and watched as Zula lay her head down on the pillows, she curled
up on her side and in moments fell fast asleep.
“So human looking, so fragile and yet so strong. It's amazing!” Maxwell
commented quietly. He watched his guest sleep for a few moments and then left the
room to walk back down the stairs. Late afternoon shadows were collecting in the corners of the room as Maxwell
walked into the living room and switched on a lamp. “What the hell is happening
here?” He said to the emptiness.
Mabel walked into the room, looked up at her owner and meowed loudly. Maxwell
bent low and scratched her ears. “Do I just leeave her alone Mabel? Her life is all
planned out and I'm just a human after all.”
The cat rubbed head against his leg and the sat and stared at him with wide eyes.
Mabel tilted her head as if in question.
Maxwell laughed and grabbed the newspaper from the coffee table as he lowered
himself down to sit on the leather sofa nearest the bay window. “I keep forgetting you
are not a Miu, although I'm sure there would have been a place for you amoung them
years ago Mabel. You are a wise old girl.” He shook the newspaper open and placed
it on his lap. Much to Maxwell's surprise, Mable leaped from the floor and landed
square in the middle of the paper.
“Now what is this all about?” he asked.
Mabel butted her head against his chest and then glanced backward and up the
stairs.
“Zula is resting Mabel. Let's leave her be,” he said.
Mabel head butted him again and meowed as Maxwell grabbed her around her
middle and placed her gently on the floor. “Enough Mabel. She will come down when
she is ready.” Mabel made a whining noise and turned toward the staircase. Within seconds she
bounded up the stairs and toward the room where Zula was sleeping.
“Leave her be Mabel!” Maxwell shouted as he shook out his paper and stared
down at it. He tried to distract his thoughts by reading a few articles about world
politics and then the entertainment section but an image of Zula kept appearing in his
mind. Maxwell could still see her delicate face and the curves of her body as she
relaxed into a peaceful slumber. “Maybe it is best I leave her be....forever if
necessary.” A long sigh escaped Maxwell's lips as he refolded the paper and then
stared out into the impending gloom of the late afternoon. He had never come this close to losing his heart to anyone and she wasn't even human.
Nine
Zula woke with a start. She focused into the inky blackness, her feline eyesight
helped her make out where she was. “I'm still here,” she purred happily and stretched
out her limbs. She knew it was late and the nap had refreshed both her body ad mind.
I need to focus on wh
y I'm still here and why I can't get any closer to Maxwell. Zula
thought sadly. Reality sucks!
Very carefully and quietly, Zula sat up to find Mabel laying on the end of the
daybed with her tail twitching. “Blessings Mabel. What's wrong?” she asked. Zula
could sense that the cat was in some kind of distress or worry. “Is Maxwell alright?”
Mabel sat up and made her way into Zula's lap. Zula bent low and allowed the
domestic cat to touch her forehead. A series of pictures and emotions flashed into
Zula's mind. Most of what she could understand had to do with Maxwell and the
overwhelming feeling of desire and attraction. A tear trickled down her cheek as she
raised her head and patted Mable on the head.
“I think I understand but I just don't think it's possible. We are just too different. I
don't want to hurt Maxwell by giving him false hope. There is too much at stake. The
Miu need him more than I do.”
Zula thought back to her own mother. She had been a warrior maiden as well but
she broke the rules of the Miu at that time and mated with an outsider; a Miu that was
not considered “ideal” for her station as a warrior. Zula's younger brothers and sisters
were of that line. Zula herself had been born out of an “acceptable” arranged mating and had to work doubly hard to keep her place at the Matriarch's side once the scandal
had been revealed. Even though she had been born first, it was hard too shake the
damage her mother's dalliance had caused. But, Zula thought. That was so many years
ago. Do we have to adhere to the same rules now?
Zula ran her hand rhythmically over Mabel's fur. Why should a chance meeting
with this human affect me so much? she thought. Gathering her courage, Zula kissed
the cat on the nose and placed her on the floor. She stood up, smoothed the wrinkled
sweatshirt she was wearing and headed to the top of the staircase. For a brief second
she looked down to see Maxwell laying on a couch with his eyes closed. “So
handsome and so human,” she whispered. After taking a deep breath, she walked
down the stairs and took a seat in an overstuffed chair just across from where
Maxwell was sleeping. “Why you? Why now?” she asked.
Maxwell opened one eye and saw Zula staring at him from across the room. “Hey
Miu Page 5
