Tale of the Fairy Tales - Chapter 1

He felt pain in the back of his head. Blinding pain. And his body hurts all over. It felt like a bus just hit him.

"What happened? Where am I?" he croaked under his breath.

He struggled to lift his eyelids, and instantly, a halogen lamp shone right to his eyes. He squeezed his eyes shut and slowly letting them to adjust to the light. Then he realised that he was in some place somewhere else alien. The room was dark except for where the lamp shone. It was small, maybe ten by twelve feet, and the walls are made of cement. No wallpaper, no paint. Just plain, grayish cement that has a century-old sheen. The air was damp and had a strange odour of rotting wood and wet fur. He cleared his throat as his eyes adjusted to the room.

He looked around and realised that he's the only one in the room with an old, lumpy bed (which is too small for him) he is lying on and a tiny book shelf full of what looks like textbooks which pages had yellowed with age right behind. The room was quiet. Deafeningly silent. Not even the buzz of a housefly. He sat up and buried his face in his palms.

"How did I get here in the first place?" he thought.

Suddenly, he heard some movements at the darkest corner of the room. With a reflex action, he jerked right out of the bed and grabbed a stick-like object. His adrenaline pumped and rushed through his veins like boiling hot water. He squinted his eyes to try to figure out the silhouette at the corner of the room, and ready to attack any second.

"Oops, did I scare you? I am sorry. People always say that I walk like a ghost," a wind-chime-like voice said.

Then, he saw a cat walking out of the corner. Its eyes glinting green in the light, staring deep into his eyes. The cat is striped with orange lines on beige or khaki. He couldn't tell. The paws are white, and its tail swinging in the air lazily. Strange was that the cat was not on its four feet, but it was standing on its hind legs. Even stranger was its eyes. They are filled with wisdom, and very humane.

The cat now circles him, looking at him, scrutinizing his every feature from head to toe. He did the same to the cat, but more with curiosity. He had a feeling that the cat was inspecting him, like a little girl with her new barbie. But he is no barbie, he thought. At that instant, he realised something. He didn't even remember who he is! He tried to recall the last thing he remembered and he only see coffee in his mind. Espresso? No. Wait. Cappuccino. Yes, have to be it. Or is it Latte? He couldn't remember a single thing. All was a blur and now his head hurts again. He touched the back of his head and saw there are blood stains all over his clothes. Then, the cat spoke:

"You have been hit at the back of your head and apparently cut in your limbs. I found you in the woods unconscious, lying in a pool of blood. I have licked your wounds clean and stitched some of them. They are quite deep. You are very lucky that none of them are fatal. You could have lost your life. By the way, you can put that baguette down. That's our breakfast."

A million questions entered his mind. He blurted weakly,"Who are you? "

" My name is Ajinomoto, or Ajin for short, but some people call me Puss in the Kinky Boots." And she took out a pair of black leather high heels shaped in the latest fashion with a killer stiletto so sharp that it can pierce through a rock like butter. "Aren't they pretty? They were a major hit this spring. Every supermodel owns a pair. Man, it was tricky to get hold of one of these. They sell like hot cat nips. Had to sneak into Heidi's house to get the right side and Tyra's house to get the other. Let me tell you, the security is tight there!" She purred and licked her paws.

" Err, okay... And where's this place?"

"Oh, this is my house. It's located in Bee-Saix-Ooo-Saix, a remote county in the country of Kaybeeyou."

"I've heard of Iran, Peru, Malaysia and England, but Kaybeeyou? Is it on the Earth? Which continent is it on?"

" The Earth? Continents? What are you talking about? And what are the things you just said?"

"They are countries. Do you even live on the Earth?"

"Again, huh? In Auzzmatt, there are no countries named like that. Not even close!"

Silence drew in once again as they stared at each other with their head tilted slightly.

"So you mean this is not the Earth? And what is Auzzmatt?"

"I have no idea what the Earth is, but I do know that this is Auzzmatt, the fifth planet from the Nus, our light giver."

He gave the reply a deep thought. Everything felt so surreal. First a talking cat, then the weird names. He decided that he must be dreaming and pinched himself hard in the thighs. He yelped like a chihuahua and knocked his head on the ceiling and yelped some more. He looked up and saw that ceiling was only six feet high. Okay, so he is not dreaming. He decided that he must have been sucked into a different world or something.

"How did I get here? And most importantly, who am I? I couldn't remember anything."

"I brought you back from the woods like I said, and I have no idea who you are. I thought that you are dying so I brought you back to my house to heal you. You have been sleeping for one whole week."

"So you mean that...," And he is interrupted by Ajin,

" Look, I know you have lots of questions to ask, but I am hungry. Go get dressed, bring that baguette with you and lets go to Hanibucks and talk this over some warm milk. Hanibucks serves the best milk around here, just in case you don't know, which I think you don't. I know someone who might be able to help you and restore your memory there. She's a frequent customer of Hanibucks and a good friend of mine," she meowed and pointed to a pile of clothes.

"I made the clothes while you were unconscious. God, how big is your body! With your size, I could've made ten of my own!"

"Excuse me, err, Ajin! I am a vegetarian and I am just the right size, thank you!" he argued.

"Whatever," Ajin said while pointing her claw out and bobbed her head clockwise. "Just hurry up. Hanibucks will be full if you don't move faster. It's hard to get a good spot there nowadays. Since you don't know your name, I shall call you Diki. Sounds sexy to me. Is that fine?"

"Fine...," he answered boringly.

He changed his clothes and Ajin put on that pair of leather boots. Minutes later, they headed out into the sun.

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