Reborn

By Jade Grabel

This book is dedicated to my mom, Rae Grabel.

Happy Birthday Mom!

It is also dedicated to my friend Lily Blake, for being my illustrator.

Maple Leaf Writing Project

Brattleboro, Vermont

2018

Chapter 1:The beginning

Once there was a mother tiger. She had five cubs, three girls and two boys. The boy cubs were ZogZog and Zag. The girls were Zig, Zip, and the youngest, Zoagzaug.

One day, the cubs were playing in the den.

“Hey Mom! Can we have some moss?” asked Zag.

“No. Whenever I give you moss, it means that there is less moss for our bedding, and you always make a mess in the den that I have to clean up,” she said.

“Please?”

“I said no and that’s final.”

“Aww.” Zag said.

In another part of the den, the girl cubs were chatting.

“Do you know what reincarnation is?” Zoagzaug asked.

“Ask Mom,” said Zig.

“Hey Mom, do you know what reincarnation is?” asked Zoagzaug.

“It’s when you die, but you are reborn as something else,” she said. “But it’s not real.”

“It is real.” replied Zoagzaug. “I know because I’m going to be reincarnated. So it doesn’t matter if I die, because I’ll be reborn!”

“Don’t speak that way Zoagzaug, no one wants you to die, and you shouldn’t treat yourself as if you were invincible.” their mom said. “Now it is the time that I must hunt. Stay in the den.”

“When will we ever be able to go outside?”asked Zip “Tomorrow,”answered the mother tiger. “If you are good.”

Chapter 2: A Spirit at Last

Zoagzaug had an idea. She wanted to sneak outside.

“It’s too risky!” said Zip.

“No way!” said Zig

“We’re in!” said ZogZog and Zag.

“Then let's go outside!” said Zoagzaug. They went out the opening in their cave. They looked around.

“Wow!” said ZogZog. There was lots of trees and a small pond.

“Let’s go swimming!” said Zoagzaug.

“Wait! Mom hasn’t taught us to swim yet!” said Zag. It was too late.

Zoagzaug splashed into the pond. Zag was right. No one had taught them to swim yet.

“Help!” called Zoagzaug. “Help me!” Their mom heard the noise. She rushed to the pond, but it was too late.

“Help me!” Zoagzaug shouted. She tried to paddle with her paws. She was sinking in the water. Her lungs burned. She sank to the bottom, and everything went black.

Zoagzaug woke up in a strange place. The sky was a dark blue, and there was lots of stars. She looked at her paws. They were her normal black and orange striped paws. She looked up. A young cheetah was standing in front of her.

“Hello,” he said. “Welcome to the spirit lands.”

Chapter 3: An Unstudied-for Test

“What?” asked Zoagzaug. “Where am I?”

“The spirit lands.” said the cheetah, as if it was obvious. “I am Racer. I used to be the fastest in my family. Then, I was killed by a lion.”

“So I’m dead?” asked Zoagzaug. Great, now I can’t learn how to swim at all! She thought.

“Yes,” replied Racer. “Come. We must see if you can join the Good Ones.” Zoagzaug, wanting to ask more, quickly followed.

Soon, they came to a group of big cats. There was a tiger, a lion, a cheetah, a jaguar, a leopard, and a house cat.

“Hello,” said the tiger. “I am Strongfist. Since you are a tiger, I will decide where you will go.” The tiger grabbed a file. “Let’s see who you are first. What’s your name, young one?” he asked.

“Zoagzaug,” Zoagzaug said. Strongfist flipped through the papers in the file.

“Here it is!” he said. “Zoagzaug. Cause of death: drowning. Unable to wait until her mother said she could go outside.” Zoagzaug smiled guiltily. “Final Judgement: Zoagzaug should go to the reincarnation test. If she can be proved worthy of reincarnation, then she will be reborn in the body of a very noble species, humans. If not, she can go to the Good Ones, and remain a tiger.”

Zoagzaug was excited. Now I can prove that reincarnation is real! I have to pass the test. Zoagzaug thought. And if I don’t, I’ll be with the Good Ones, whatever that is.

“Racer, will you please take Zoagzaug to the test preparing building?” Strongfist asked.

“Sure,” Racer said.

“Wait,” said Zoagzaug. “What’s a human?”

“A human is a creature that walks on two legs, has only a little hair on their heads, and grips and grabs things with its strange paws. The adult males have the most hair,” Strongfist said. “Is that enough information for you?”

“I guess,” Zoagzaug replied. She and Racer then headed of to the tests.

Chapter 4: Training

“Have you ever been to the reincarnation tests, Racer?” asked Zoagzaug.

“Yes, actually. I failed. They gave me the job of fetching the new arrivals.” he replied.

“Oh.” said Zoagzaug.

“Hopefully, you won’t fail. The learning before the tests is kind of boring though,” Racer said. “Here we are. This is where you will train to take the tests. They make it a lot like what the humans call school.”

“Bye Racer!” Zoagzaug called as she ran inside. Inside, there were many rooms with many different cats.

“Hello. You must be Zoagzaug,” said a snow leopard from behind Zoagzaug. Her voice startled Zoagzaug. “I’ll show you which room you are in.” She started to walk away, then looked back to make sure Zoagzaug was following. Zoagzaug followed her to a small room. In it, there were cats of different type and gender. They were all the same age. An adult jaguar was telling them something.

“Sorry to interrupt.” said the snow leopard. “Someone new came in.”

“Hello. What’s your name?” asked the Jaguar.

“Zoagzaug.” said Zoagzaug.

“Zoagzaug, can you sit right there in between Mia and Bumble. Everyone is wearing name tags, so you should be able to find them,” the jaguar said. “By the way, I am Ms. Rainforest.” Zoagzaug found where she was supposed to sit. Mia was a lion cub, and Bumble was an orange house cat (technically a kitten).

“Now, we are going to learn the alphabet.” said Ms. Rainforest. She pulled out a chart with some strange symbols on it.

Soon, Zoagzaug became absorbed in the learning. She learned that the symbol with two diagonal lines with a straight line connecting them was called an “A”. A line with two humps was called a “B”. A curve was called a “C”. Can’t we learn something interesting? thought Zoagzaug. She raised her hand.

“Yes Zoagzaug?” asked Ms. Rainforest.

“Is this all we are going to learn?” Zoagzaug asked.

“Not at all. We are going to learn numbers and types of technology as well as the rest of the alphabet. Be patient.” replied Ms. Rainforest. “Good things come to those who wait.”

Now I feel guilty, thought Zoagzaug. I should have waited until tomorrow. Then I would have learned how to swim, and hunt, and climb. I have to complete the test. Then, I can try not to repeat my mistake.

Zoagzaug soon learned the rest of the alphabet. When she was working, she had made friends with Mia and Bumble. A few months later, she knew the alphabet, numbers, and other human and cat knowledge. Now I can pass this test. Thought Zoagzaug. I am prepared.

Chapter 5: The tests

It was the day of the tests. Zoagzaug’s whole class, as the group of cats she learned with was called, was going to be in the tests. They would show cat and human knowledge. There would be a quiz, a wrestling tournament, and an obstacle course.

“Time to go to the tests.” said Ms. Rainforest. They walked out the door and into a large field. There was some tables and an obstacle course in the distance. Zoagzaug saw Racer in a tall tower with a microphone (she had learned about types of technology).

“Everyone, line up for the tests!” he said. Everyone lined up.

“First is the quiz.” Racer said. “The cats in the quiz will try to answer the questions correctly. The cats in the quiz are: Rainbow, Spots, Mia, and Bird. All of those not taking the quiz can find a seat and sit down. You will get to do other parts of the test.

“Good luck Mia. If anyone deserves to be reincarnated, it’s you.” Zoagzaug said.

“Thanks Zoagzaug.” said Mia. The cats stepped up to the table.

“First question: What is the order of the alphabet?” Racer asked. Mia stepped up.

“You can do it Mia!” Zoagzaug called.

Mia looked back at Zoagzaug and mouthed “Thanks” She took a deep breath.

“ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ.” she said.

“Good job Mia!” said Racer. “You get 1 point.”

“Next, in what order are the keys on a computer?” Spots, a young leopard, stepped up. “ QWERTYUIOPASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM.” he said.

“Good,” said Racer. “You get one point.” Racer said.

The quiz went on. Finally, it was time for the final score. “Only the first place winner will be reincarnated. The second and third place winners will win a place with the Good Ones for their effort,” Racer said. “The third place winner is Rainbow. The second place winner is Spots. And now, the first place winner is. . . . .” Everyone did a drumroll in their seats. “Mia!” Racer said. Everyone cheered. “Mia will be reincarnated as a human. You can go find a seat to watch the rest of the tests.” Mia went to sit next to Zoagzaug.

“Great job Mia!” said Zoagzaug.

“Thanks. I can’t believe it! I’m going to be alive again! And I’m going to be a Human!” Mia exclaimed. She sat down in the seat next to Zoagzaug.

“Next, there will be a wrestling contest. The first one to pin down their opponent three times wins. The cats in the wrestling contest are: Bumble, Jasmine, Night, Turtle, Mouse, Claw, Scratch, Rasta, Minty, and Zoagzaug. The cats that get to the finals but don’t win will get to be in the obstacle course. For the first match, lets have Night and Claw!” Night charged at Claw. He ran under him and pinned him down. Next, Claw was defeated again. Then, Claw pinned down Night. Soon, Night had pinned down Claw again and won the match.

“Night wins! Now for the second match, lets have Turtle and Mouse!” Turtle won the second match. Then it was Rasta and Zoagzaug. Zoagzaug won, but Rasta had been fast and hard to beat. Then it was Jasmine and Scratch. Jasmine won. She had leapt into the air, twisted her body, and pinned down Scratch. Then Bumble went against Minty and won. Then it was Zoagzaug against Turtle and a match of three. Zoagzaug had won her match, but Bumble and Night had been beaten by Jasmine. Next, Zoagzaug wrestled Jasmine and lost.

“Jasmine wins!” said Racer. “Next is the obstacle course. The cats in the obstacle course are: Bumble, Zoagzaug and Night. Who ever gets to the finish line first, wins.”

Zoagzaug could see Night with an evil smile on his face. “Ready, Set, Go!” Racer shouted. They took off. Zoagzaug leapt over a hurdle, ducked under a bridge, and raced ahead of Night. He quickly sped up, zooming past Bumble, who was ahead of Zoagzaug. He thinks he’s going to beat me. Thought Zoagzaug. We’ll see about that.

Zoagzaug saw an opportunity to get ahead of Night, but it was a bad spot. I should wait, She thought. Good things come to those who wait. She ran as fast as she could, jumped over another hurdle, and crashed into a huge wall. Shaking her head, she started to climb the wall. She found spaces where she could get a clawhold. It was hard to climb up the wall. She stood on the top for just a moment, then leapt off the wall. Zoagzaug felt like she was flying. Then she hit the ground and rolled ahead of Night.

“See you at the finish line!” She called to him. That was when Night stuck out his leg, tripped Zoagzaug, and sent her flying…

right to the finish line! (and right as Bumble smashed into a wall.)

“Zoagzaug wins! She gets to be reincarnated,” Racer said “Night came in second, but he tried to stop Zoagzaug from winning. He will go Down Below!” Racer said. A gasp came from the crowd as two cats, a tiger and a lion, came and took Night away. “Bumble came in third place. She gets to be with the Good Ones. Let's congratulate the winners of the Reincarnation tests. Mia, an excellent quiz taker, Jasmine, a strong wrestler, and the last winner, Zoagzaug! She has beaten the toughest part of the Reincarnation tests! Now, each of these cats will be reincarnated as humans. Mia, you will be sisters with a human girl who is very nice. Jasmine, we’ve found you a nice family, and Zoagzaug, you will have a twin sister. Good luck with your new families. If you want, you can make one last visit to your old families if you like.” Racer said. They all went to the dream visit room. Zoagzaug decided to visit her mom.

“Mom?” she called nervously.

“Zoagzaug? Is that you?” she asked.

“Yes. I wanted to visit you before I was reincarnated.”

“Even as a spirit, you speak nonsense.” her mom said.

“Doesn’t me visiting you in a dream seem like nonsense to you?” she asked.

“Looks like you’re still my smart, mischievous little cub. So, are you going to miss me?”

“I still miss you. How are my sisters and brothers?” she asked.

“They’re good. ZogZog caught a frog yesterday. What is your new family like?” her mom asked.

“I have a twin sister.” Zoagzaug replied. “Bye Mom.”

“Bye Zoagzaug. You’ll always be my cub.” her mom said as the dream faded. Zoagzaug then saw another dream appearing.

“Hi!” said a tiger cub in front of her. It was Zag, her brother. “I’m pretty sure I saw a rabbit around here if you’re hungry. Oh wait, I think I ate that.” he said.

“I’m going to be reincarnated.” Zoagzaug said.

“Yay! Who’s your new family?” Zag asked.

“I don’t know yet, but I will have a twin sister.” she replied.

“Honestly, siblings are tough to deal with.” Zag said.

“I know.” said Zoagzaug, a hint of accusation in her voice.

“Hey!” exclaimed Zag.

“I have to go. Bye!” said Zoagzaug.

“Bye! Good luck with your new life!” Zag said to her as the dream faded. Zoagzaug then found herself back in the dream visiting room. Mia, Jasmine and Racer were coming up to her.

“Ready to go?” asked Racer.

“Yes.” said Zoagzaug. They went to the reincarnation room. Mia, Jasmine, and Zoagzaug each stepped into one of the chambers in the room.

“Goodbye, Mia, Jasmine, and Racer.” Zoagzaug said.

“Goodbye.” Mia, Jasmine, and Racer said together.

“Good luck to the three of you.” said Racer.

Zoagzaug closed the door to her chamber. Then there was a bright light, then everything went black.

Chapter 6: Ten Years Later

Jade was packing up the last of her things. She was moving to a new house. Last night, she had a dream of her being a tiger, which she had figured out that she was reincarnated. Must have been nice, Jade thought. being a tiger.

“Jade! Time to go!” her dad called from downstairs. I wonder what happened to the other cats who got reincarnated. Jade thought as she went downstairs. It was near the end of summer vacation, and Jade couldn’t wait to see her friends again.

“Jade! Get down here!” her dad called again.

“I’m coming!” she shouted back.

She raced down the stairs and into the car, next to her little brother, Rowan, who was in the middle seat. Her twin sister, Raven, was in the right seat. Ugh. I hate having to sit next to Rowan. Jade thought. Why can’t Raven sit in the middle?

As the car continued to drive along, Jade thought about how she had changed. She was almost a fifth grader, and she used to be a tiger. I think that’s what that weird dream meant. Now, she knew that she deserved to be given a second chance. Everyone deserves a second chance. Maybe I should be more patient. Ms. Rainforest said ‘Good things come to those who wait.’ She thought. Jade thought about how her past family had thought that she wasn’t going to be reincarnated.

“I told you so!” she whispered, as the car pulled into the new driveway.