Jon was a member of The Heinlein Society and was one of our early Website admins. Interesting note, his full name was Jon Patton Ogden and was related to General George Patton. Jon was an animal lover and adopted diabetic cats that no one else would take care of. Jon developed a reputation as a bit of a curmudgeon, mostly because he was in pain himself. He passed away in 2016 and we still miss him. This is a beautiful story he wrote. I hope you enjoy it.
The Christmas Bridge By Jon P. Ogden on Tuesday, December 16, 2014 at 9:06 PM
I suppose the night’s first miracle was that I was alive to see it. They say that cats have nine lives and if that’s true, then I was working on my ninth, and it didn’t have a lot left to go, either. But the barn was warm, and full of hay, and as my mother used to tell me, “Where’s there’s hay; there’s dinner.”
Sneaking into a barn was quite a comedown for me whose great great great g’father had been worshiped as a miracle worker back in Egypt. But one of his descendants had showed what would have been poor judgment in hisher choice of humans, if a cat was capable of poor judgment which we all know is impossible, and joined up with the folks who were planning on crossing the red sea and getting back to their homeland.
The Tribes of Israel, my ancestors learned when it was too late, most emphatically did not worship cats, but simply entered into partnerships with them. Oh well.
On that night, I was dying and I think I knew it. My eyes were having trouble seeing anything. I was hungry all the time, and thirsty – oh so thirsty – no matter how much I drank. And, embarrassingly, my hind end had started to give me trouble. I could not walk on my toes anymore and had to put my whole foot down on the ground. It is impossible to catch any decent-sized rat if you can’t run the way you always have.
I should have been feeling sorry for myself since it seemed likely I would never again feel the joy of sinking my few remaining teeth a nice young plump rat. Instead I was too tired to feel much of anything. Oh well.
I did find a beautiful puddle of melted snow near one of the stalls that had been out of reach of the cow inside it and I cleaned off the surface with my paw and drank until it was gone. For the moment, it was almost enough to slake my thirst. Then I found a nice bed of hay in a corner and curled up in it. I only had to re-curl myself about four times to get comfortable. I was almost asleep when they came in.
“Look,” one of the humans said, “This isn't good enough for you and yours, I know, but I can’t kick any of my paying customers out, either. It wouldn't be right. I’d give you my bed, but I already rented it out, too.”
“We are grateful for this,” said another one – the female. “Yes,” said the other. He was the oldest of the three and had a nice voice. “I hadn't realized my home town would have so many sons and daughters who would need to return this week.”
“Stinkingromans,” said the first human, and spat on the ground. “Stinkingromans,” agreed the other male. He spit, too.
They made some more talking-noises at each other, but it was clear that they were no threat, and that they weren’t likely to have any food either. I went back to sleep. I wasn’t sure I would ever wake up, but that was alright, too. I was so tired I wanted to sleep forever. At least, I wouldn't be hungry any more and I'd stop being frustrated by a body that was betraying me.
I was awakened by a cry. Is there anything more irritating than a human baby’s wail? I knew a cry like that meant the humans nearby wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything except that shrieking until it had been fed. I wished I could make that sound – then maybe there’d been milk for me, too. The older male and the very young female had taken over a corner of the barn, evicting a couple of eatable hens and a stringy old rooster who would have been tough chewing even when I still had my teeth. The human girl was lying down and her luxuriant black hair was plastered to her forehead and shiny with sweat. Wow! She smelled like she’d just worked really hard. That's when I figured it out: she’d just popped the human kitten out. From what I can tell, they have a harder time with birth than do cats. Oh well.
The man carried the shrieker over to her and she held it to her breast. The noise-making stopped. Glorious silence descended upon us again. Three cheers for her watchamacallits, even though she only had two of them.
Curious, I crept closer. All right, not curious. I was hypnotized by the faint odor of milk. I knew there was no chance of being offered any, but hunger is the mother of hope. I mean they were in the mood to feed creatures smaller than themselves, right?
“Look, Yussif.” “Does he bother you, Miriamne? Shall I put him outside?”
Hey! I was here first!!!
“The poor creature is sick, Yussif. Look at the way he is almost crawling”
The man crouched down beside me. He had a harsh, lined face, heavy eyebrows, hair turning gray, and gentle eyes.
“I have seen this before, Miriamne. It is a disease of cats and people, both. Something goes wrong inside and no matter how much they eat, they cannot still their hunger. They waste away to skin and bones like this one, and then they starve to death no matter how much food they’re given.”
“How terrible! Give him something to eat.” “Did you not hear me, my sweet? No matter how much – “
She didn't raise her voice even a little bit, but he stopped speaking the moment she began again. “Yussif, give the cat some food.” “Yes, my love.”
I was fed. Let me repeat that. I was fed!!! By a human. Just like when I was young and had a human to call my own!!! Oh joy, oh day, oh miau and double miau! I purred as I hadn’t in years. The human kitten was fed. I was fed. The man and the woman smiled as we ate. Hey, if it made them happy, I would gladly eat for them all night - and from the lip smacks I heard, the human kitten was ready to chow down until morning, too.
Suddenly the barn was invaded by sheep-people. And outside I could hear their sheep. When the humans invented the phrase, “dumb animals,” they were talking about sheep.
The man stepped in front of the woman and her kitten. He was still holding me as he said, “What do you want?” He looked ready to fight for his territory. Humans and dogs are like that.
The sheep-people all knelt at a sign from the one I supposed was in charge (There’s always a human in charge) and he mumbled, “An angel.”
“What? Speak up. What are you talking about?”
“We were in the hills outside of town. We have brought our sheep to Bethlehem to sell for mutton to feed the stinkingromans.” All the sheep-people spat on the ground.
“An angel appeared and told us we would find the Son of David, born this night in a stable as was foretold by the prophets. We have come to swear allegiance to the child who will be our king.”
"An angel?”
Well, he was slow on the uptake, but he had food, so I forgave him. I butted my head against his muscular arm, to let him know he was OK in my book, even if he was a little stupid. Besides, it felt good to be held and to purr. He scratched me behind the ears absently as he listened to the sheep-man go on and on about a king and a kingdom, but did not give me any more food. When I started to flex my claws in his robe he frowned and put me down.
The woman was listening intently to the conversation but she patted the straw beside her and I went over and lay down beside her. She smelled wonderful. I’m not sure why humans like the smell of dead flowers and don’t enjoy the living smells of their own kind. Oh well.
“May we give our gifts to the new king?”
“Miriamne?”
“Yussif, he is sleeping. Put him back to bed” And so it went. The kitten was laid in the manager and I lay by the girl, her wonderfully warm hand on my back, while one by one, each of the sheep-people came up to us and knelt until their foreheads touch the ground and then laid a small tribute in front of us. As befitted my dignity I stared at all of them gravely and with as few blinks as I could manage. I wished the tributes were edible.
Of course there were short breaks in my dignity when I had to go find some more melted snow. I was still very thirsty, but the second miracle of the night had occurred. The warmth I’d felt on my hindquarter where she touched me had spread down my legs and I could walk again. I was very happy with my new humans. Very happy indeed. When I returned, I lay very close to her.
Then barn owner came out to find out what was happening and nothing would do but that he be allowed to give the kitten a present and then his wife came and his son and his daughter-in-law and then his neighbors – humans are a lot like sheep, only a little smarter and have thumbs.
The barn was full-up. I was wondering if we animals might not want to move into the houses nearby to make more room for the humans who had decided to spend the night here in the barn. That would have been helpful, right?
Then the camel-riders showed up. The camels, thank goodness were too big to fit into the tent! And their humans were wonderful to smell. I bet they hadn’t had a bath in weeks! Really yummy! One of them, who wore a crown, said, “We have come as the stars have bidden us. We celebrate the birth of the One Who Will Change The World.” The way he spoke, I could hear those capitals. Of course then the camel people knelt in front of the human kitten, too. And each one laid a fancy wood and metal chest down besides all the other presents. One of those presents was piled high with some kind of junky shiny yellow metal – boring. But there were two others from which wafted the most delightful smells.
My mouth started to water and I slid out from underneath the girl’s hand and stepped forward to stand beside the manger. A couple more steps and I could leap right into one of those tribute-chests and lick up all of whatever it was that smelled so good. I have to admit I was drooling like a dog.
Then I saw it crawl out of the chest I’d been about to leap into. I guess that was a miracle, too, since my eyes were no better than they had been, but the way it skittered and slithered, I knew we had a tail-stinger to deal with.
They are ugly insect creatures. My sister, Willa, had made the mistake of trying to play with one when we were young. That evil dagger-tail they have had hit her in the cheek and it swelled up immediately. She began to cry and stagger and bump into things and then she lay down and shuddered and then she stopped moving even when I licked her face trying to wake her up and then they took her away.
I was very lonely for a while after that and my mommy was, too. I hate those things almost as much as I am afraid of them.
The armor-plated insect headed right for the manager. I waited for one of the humans to see it and snatch the human kitten away. No one did. The tail-stinger crawled up one of the cross-legs of the manger and headed up its side. This would’ve been a good time for another miracle, but there wasn’t one. Oh well. “Kittens first,” mom always said. I guess old, almost blind tomcats come pretty near last in the list of who gets protected...and whoopie-doo, we get to be high up on the list of doing the protector stuff. With my hindquarters operating at almost full strength, I leaped up onto the manager and balanced there on its rim. The human kitten looked up at me and gurgled. I had time to notice that it had its father’s eyes.
"Get off of him!" The man shouted and jumped forward when he saw me leap, but before I could leap down again and let him deal with problem (I would have been very glad to do it), the tail-stinger slithered up over the rim of the manger and began moving quickly down towards the two-legged kitten.
I half-jumped, half-fell down on top of the baby; the girl gasped, the man shouted. I put one paw directly into the center of that insect’s back-plate and held it while trying to use my four remaining teeth to stop it once and for all. It stabbed me twice, once in the paw; once in the face. The man grabbed for me and saw the creature, it’s tail still stuck in my cheek and pumping poison. Not worrying about his own safety he grabbed it and threw it on the floor and crushed it beneath the heel of his boot.
It hurt. It hurt. Ithurtithurtithurtohmommieithurt! The man held me in his arms as if I was a human kitten, too, and I stared into his eyes. I wanted to leap down and get away from the pain, but my legs wouldn’t do what I told them any more. It hurt!!!
“Yussif?” The straw rustled as she struggled to her feet.
“Joshua is fine." The man's voice sounded as if he was far away. "This little fellow saved him from a scorpion.”
The crowned camel-rider added, “At the cost of his own life.” He sounded sad. And he sounded far away. “Is there nothing we can do?” Miriamne stood beside her man and clutched his arm for support. He patted her hand. “No, it will be soon now.” One of the camel men said, “It was a miracle the feline creature saw the insect.”
It was getting really dark, now. Oh well.
The girl stood beside her man and gently stroked me. Wherever she touched me, the pain went away. Her hand was the night’s next-to-last miracle. I was getting very sleepy. I couldn't keep my eyes open any more. I started hearing things. . . “Thank you, cat, for my baby.” “Thank you cat, for my son.” “Thank you, cat, for our king.” “Thank you, cat, for the One Who Will Light Up The World.”
This was the night’s last miracle. The last of pain faded away, I stopped feeling sleepy and and I opened my eyes. The sky was bright blue, the grass were the luxuriant green of springtime. Butterflies everywhere -- big fat, easily catchable ones. And beyond the field of butterflies was a gentle river flowing – and then I saw it. It was so big, I had to look at it three times just to see all of it.
A bridge of rainbows, a rainbow bridge arching over the river and into the sky, its far end hidden in the clouds that hid the forested hills miles away. There was a hint of an alabaster wall with an immense gate, but I could not make out the details.
Wait a minute! Wait a stinkingroman minute! How could I see all this? I hadn’t had eyesight this good since I was a kitten. Maybe not even then, come to think of it. And my teeth! I had all my teeth back!!! Watch out butterflies here comes cat!
I will not tell you much about the next hour, except to say that I engaged in some serious munching. But where were all the others? I wanted company. Especially, I wanted my new humans. Maybe they were on the other side of the bridge? Where was the girl, and the man, and my human kitten?
Off towards the rising sun, I saw a young human. He was sitting on a bench and using a tool to scrape a piece of wood smooth. Oh good! I wasn't alone. I scampered towards him as fast as my new legs would carry me.
"Hello, cat."
I sat on my haunches and looked up at him. He reached down and gently scritched me behind the ears. His touch was warm and soothing – it reminded me of the mother-human.
"You are a very special cat"
Well, I knew that, but it was nice to hear him say it. "You are my cat now, you know, and that makes you more special than you can imagine. We will be together forever and ever."
That sounded like a plan I could live with. . The young boy was the kind of human I wanted to to find all of my life. I rubbed my side against his leg in hopes he'd pick me up.
"But we cannot be together quite yet." He stroked me gently down to the sweet spot just above my tail. "You must tarry here in this field among the blowing grasses and take all the butterflies.
Now chasing the butterflies had been lots of good fun, but doing it without any company – that was less good fun.
"I will join you soon enough."
How about now? I have trouble with this 'someday it'll be better' stuff.
"There are tasks I have been given and must complete first, my cat. Things that only I can do. . . ." The kitten’s grown up voice sounded sad for a second. “But in only a short while, hardly more than a few sleeps, you and I shall cross over the bridge together, and we shall dwell in my father’s house forever.”
A short while for him could be a long while for me. After all humans lived much longer than we did. And, rumors to the contrary, I did not walk by myself. I needed company. I stood on my hind legs and placed my paws on his knee and miaued. I wanted him to know that I liked – no, needed -- company.
“Yes, you do”
He heard me??? Wow. I’d found me a real keeper. A human smart enough to understand me!
The boy stood up. “Cat, to honor you, from this day forth, all pets will come here to wait for their masters to join them. They, like you, will be restored to their youth and to their strength. Nothing they can imagine having or eating will be denied them, except – for awhile – the presence of their humans. I will care for all of them while they are parted from their loved ones."
He was going to be pretty busy taking care of all of us. Good thing we were outside. That many litter boxes would be a real pain.
“But there will come a day that will be their re-birth day. And on that day, they will see their human, their one-and-only human walking toward them . They will be reunited, never again to be parted. And together they will join us, my cat, in my Father’s house. And we shall all dwell there in peace, and in love, forever.” And so I began to wait.
I have been waiting for a long time. I hope he gets here soon. I’m getting really curious about what is on the other side of the bridge. But I already have many friends – cats, of course but also barkers, and whinnies waiting with me for their humans. We’re happy now. But we will be even happier when they come for us and we go over the bridge together.
This story is copyright © 2013 by Jon P. Ogden.
