Meet Marnie: a one-eyed little orange cat with micropthalmia, anxiety, a fear of ceiling fans and an obsession with fluorescent yellow worm toys.

Marnie is a strange little creature that happens to be quite attached to me (I'm honored, believe me.) Earlier this year, I traveled out of state for my job for two whole weeks, and she was absolutely devastated. She came in my computer room and yelled for me, and then hid under the bed for a couple of days when she couldn't find me.

At least, that's what my wife saw. Below is what actually happened that week, from Marnie's point of view.

-----------------------------------

Downside-Up: 

Marnie’s Bizarre Adventure

-----------------------------------

Chapter 1:  Missing

[Track 1: Marnie's Bizarre Adventure]

Marnie’s favorite human is nowhere to be found. She has looked all around the house for the last week, but he is nowhere to be found. She seeks out the sagacious Izzy, her mentor who trained her in the ways of the huntress. He has no words of wisdom for her today, however. She decides to return to her safe place under the bed to think about what to do next. 

As she nears the bed, she gazes up at the ceiling fan - always there, silently mocking her. Most of the time it looks like a normal ceiling fan, but sometimes it reveals it’s true form as the evil overlord of the Downside-Up. Today, its massive eye stares down at her silently. In its reflection, she sees the face of her human for just a moment. The ceiling fan laughs and disappears, returning to the normal ceiling fan that usually sits above the bed. 

She always feared this day would come. Her human has been taken, and she is the only one that can save him. She curses the dreaded ceiling fan and retreats under the bed to prepare herself - she knows now what must be done.

Chapter 2:  Downside-Up

[Track 2: Under the Bed]

Marnie was always different than the other cats. For as long as she remembered, everyone looked at her like there was something wrong with her. Eventually, she realized it was because of her eye. It had never bothered her that she only had one eye - to be fair, she never knew the difference. So she remained a naive, happy-go-lucky little kitten and enjoyed all the things that kittens do. Running around, getting into mischief, training to be a great huntress… but alas, this peace was short-lived.

She began to see strange things in the dark. At first, they seemed to dance just outside of her vision; like shadows in the corner of her eye. She began to hear whispers, voices calling out to her. She couldn’t understand them at first, but over time they became clearer. They were sometimes angry, sometimes lonely, sometimes sad; a range of adverse emotions that were never positive. She ignored them at first, but soon they started to get louder, more prevalent. It wasn’t long before she started noticing something off about the ceiling fan in the bedroom. She could have sworn it was looking at her and… laughing at her? She shrugged it off the first few times, but… 

Everything changed when the ceiling fan nation attacked.

Its twisted, gnarled blades were covered with spikes, thorns and teeth. It sliced the air all around, leaving in its wake a trail of fire and lightning as it tore through the sky. Flying automatons spewed from the massive eye in its center, causing chaos to everything it could. Horrified, she hid under the bed for safety. For some reason, it couldn’t get her there - it was as if there was a veil all around the bottom of the bed that kept it at bay. Under the bed was a safe place where none of the shadows or voices or ceiling fan’s machinations could reach her. Or so she thought.

“My name is Sophie!”

Startled at first, Marnie turned to face the voice that called from behind her. She saw a cat - but not like any cat that she had seen before. This ethereal being’s ruffled white coat and flame-pointed tail towered over her, but she seemed to radiate a warmth that made Marnie feel welcomed and safe. She quickly realized this voice, this …ghost? It was different from the others. They looked at each other for a moment in silence, before Sophie spoke again:

“Hi! My name is Sophie!” Her declaration was filled with joy. They  began to talk, and Marnie found that Sophie was kind and benevolent. She had a strange way of speaking, often declaring her name whenever the topic of conversation shifted to herself. After awhile, she realized that the chaos outside had subsided. Peeking out slightly from under the bed, she looked up at the ceiling fan. It looked like a completely normal ceiling fan. 

Sophie explained to her that the ceiling fan was actually the evil overseer of the Downside-Up, the dark domain in which it resides. The Downside-Up is a cursed mirror reflection of our own world that traps lost souls on their way to the afterlife. Marnie is special in that she can see and hear the denizens of the Downside-Up because of her reverse right eye. Her eye is a sort of key, and also serves as her own gateway to the Downside-Up. 

Marnie doesn’t really understand any of that though, and it sounds really scary, so she lived the next few years just trying to be a normal cat. Old man Izzy taught her how to hunt, and her humans helped her to sharpen her skills. She would still hear and see the Downside-Up, and occasionally it would become too much for her and she would return to her sanctuary under the bed. There, Sophie would offer her friendship and wisdom - much of which was actually useless or made no sense, but Marnie still enjoyed the company. With Sophie’s guidance, Marnie slowly learned how to harness the power of the Downside-Up to cast magic spells. Every once in a while, she would catch a glimpse of the ceiling fan looking at her, like it was taunting her, laughing at her. She trained studiously, fearing its inevitable return

Chapter 3: The Hunt 

[Track 3: Where the Wild Worms Are]

Back in the present, Marnie prepares to travel to the Downside-Up. She knows she will need rations for her journey, so she goes hunting for wiggly worms. These neon-yellow fluorescent creatures could only be caught by the most skilled of huntresses. Such a task was daunting, but she considered herself well-suited for the challenge. She knew that catching one would reward her with enough food to sustain her for weeks. She would have to get some extra for the humans as well, as they always seem ill-equipped to fend for themselves. 

In the midst of her hunting, she is joined by her brutish older brother, Leo, who enthusiastically offers his assistance in the hunt. Though well-intentioned, the massive, bumbling black cat continually thwarts her attempts at catching her quarry with his repeated “helping.” An epic boss battle ensues in which Marnie must evade Leo while fighting the King of the Wiggly Worms.

Chapter 4: Downside-Up

 [Track 4: Whispers in the Dark]

Her preparations completed, Marnie travels under the bed to seek guidance from Sophie. “Hi, my name is Sophie!” her familiar, emphatic greeting as always. She explains that there is a door to the upside down in the closet downstairs. Sophie gives her regards, and tells her to be on the lookout for her best friend, Puff, another cat who could offer her assistance. Marnie thanks her, gathers her supplies and heads out.

In the back of the closet, there is a pathway blocked by a wooden board. Sophie had explained that the path behind the board is something that humans use and wasn’t important; she would need to take the “other” path. Not sure what to expect, Marnie starts to look around for another entrance when suddenly, her right eye begins to feel warm. It shoots a piercing purple light into the wooden board, and a portal appears.

She emerges from the portal into a closet that looks similar to the one she is familiar with, but everything has been twisted and distorted. Amidst the clothing, boxes and other useless human things, she finds a winding path to the next room. Navigating this labyrinth, she encounters various denizens of the Downside-Up. Most are disinterested or indifferent to her, but others attack her on sight. These beasts look similar to the various creatures that inhabit her own world - the same creatures she has been training to hunt for her whole life. Her agility and nimble reflexes make quick work of most of them. 

After some time, she can see the exit from the closet. It sits at the end of a courtyard, blocked by a massive iron gate. A castle sits just to the right, where a cat wearing a crown is perched on her royal pillow throne. As Marnie enters the courtyard and approaches the royal overlook, the large black cat stares down at her silently, seemingly unphased by her presence. Her luxurious, fluffy black coat is flawless. At its end is a gorgeous floofy tail, twitching ever so slightly to show her annoyance. The courtyard has all manner of creatures sparsely distributed through the audience stands, though the center of the courtyard remains empty. The Queen sits in her highrise alone. 

Marnie bows and introduces herself. “I seek passage through these lands, for I am on a righteous quest to rescue my family…” The Queen stares at her as she speaks, unmoved aside from her slowly twitching tail. Her cold gaze seems to chill the air all around her. Marnie finishes her plea and waits for a response. Silence. Marnie looks around nervously, then begins again. She wonders if she said something wrong. Did she remember to introduce herself? She begins again. “Hi, my name is–”

“I heard you the first time.” The Queen briskly interrupts her, her tail twitching slightly faster. Marnie pauses, mouth agape, unsure of what to do. Silence. After a few moments, the Queen sighs and slowly gets up to stretch. "You know you can't just go through here without a fight, right?" Marnie comes back to her senses, readying herself for battle. The Queen rolls her eyes. "Will someone come fight this little girl so we can all move on?" A fiendish beast leaps from the distance into the courtyard, and an epic battle ensues. Afterwards, the Queen stares Marnie down for a few moments before yawning. She unsheathes a single claw and cuts a nearby rope, operating a mechanism that opens the gate to the exit. Marnie awkwardly thanks the Queen and moves on. The Queen sighs and goes back to sleep

Chapter 5: Sanctuary

[Track 5: Her Light's Embrace]

Marnie emerges from the closet and finds herself in the bottom floor of the house. The house is empty; no furniture, no humans, no other living things save for a single building at the base of the stairs, a massive litter box cathedral. Marnie enters to find a familiar face.

“Hi! My name is Sophie!”

Her friend stands before her in all of her magnificence; no longer the intangible, ethereal being that she was used to seeing. Sophie offers her a place to rest, and teaches her some more advanced magic. Marnie tells Sophie of her adventure up to this point. 

“Oh, you met Puff! She’s kind of mean!” 

Sophie’s tone was always cheerful, sometimes a stark contrast to the context of her words. She wondered how such a seemingly irritable cat would get along with the bundle of positivity that existed within Sophie. Regardless, Marnie thanks Sophie and continues on her journey. As a parting gift, Sophie offers her an enchanted collar that increases her stamina. 

Chapter 6:  Stairway to Somewhere

[Track 6: Her Shadow's Touch]

Marnie begins her arduous climb up the stairs. Above her, they seem to stretch into infinity - twisted, purple clouds block the horizon. She climbs for what seems like days, finally giving up and deciding to stop and take a quick catnap. The stairs have been mostly empty up to this point, save for the occasional encounter with an unfriendly Downside-Up dweller. When she stops and looks around, however, she suddenly notices a castle to her right, not too far from her. Seeing no other recourse, she approaches. 

The massive wooden doors open ominously as she approaches. She finds herself in a grand hall adorned with various treasures and trophies on display on either side of her. A red carpet traverses the center of the room and up a small staircase, leading to a balcony that overlooks the hall. A familiar black cat sits there, greeting her with the same cold, unflinching gaze as before. 

Marnie approaches the balcony and looks up. Before she can say anything, the Queen cuts her off: “I already know your name, you don’t have to say it again.” Marnie blinks a few times and starts again. “I wasn’t going to. I’m trying to get up the stairs, and…” The Queen sighs and rolls her eyes, laying down. She watches Marnie with mild irritation, waiting for her to stop speaking. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of this was summarized for time-saving purposes; I actually lost the original finished script last night because I'm an idiot and hit back on my browser (a life lesson in typing up long documents in a word processor before pasting them into browser text boxes, but I digress)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 7:  The Climb

[Track 7: When I was Younger]

Marnie goes through a journey from a secret door in the castle. Puff's advice rings through her ears: "You have to conquer the enemy in yourself to proceed. I don't know, it was something like that, I wasn't really paying attention." Marnie conquers her anxiety and finds herself back at the stairs, with the top finally in sight.

Chapter 8:  The Top

[Track 8: Minions of the Ceiling Fan]

Marnie reaches the top of the stairs and battles the massive dragon (it kind of looks like Leo, but weirder?) that guards the entrance to the ceiling fan's room.

Chapter 9:  The Bottom

[Track 9: Out of Hiding ]

Finally having reached the top of the stairs, she enters the door to the bedroom. Where the bed should be is a massive hole in the ground. Inside, the sky seems to stretch down forever. She can see the ceiling fan in the distance. She will need to traverse an unsteady pathway made of various smaller chunks of the house to proceed.

After an arduous journey, Marnie finally encounters the ceiling fan. She can see her human being kept in a cage nearby! The ceiling fan taunts her, swallowing the key to the cage with its unworldly eye. Marnie gathers up all of her courage, using all of the skills she learned and things she found along the way.

Epilogue:  Safe & Sound

After an epic battle, she has finally defeated the ceiling fan!

Upon picking up the key, she runs up to the cage and opens it. Her human thanks her and vanishes before her eyes. Confused, she looks around and notices that little tiny pieces of the world around her are slowly starting to fall apart.

Sunlight is pouring into a hole where the ceiling fan once resided, and it is slowly spreading into the rest of the Downside-Up. Puff and Sophie appear, and Sophie explains excitedly that she has broken the curse of the Downside Up, and now those that were trapped within are finally free. Puff rolls her eyes, tail flicking as she walks away, disappearing into the light. "She says thank you and bye!" Sophie adds enthusiastically. Before  Marnie realizes she has to say goodbye to her friend Sophie, she suddenly feels very tired. As she struggles to keep her eyes open, she hears Sophie call out to her. "Don't forget me! My name is Sophie!"

Marnie wakes up groggily and stretches, finding herself quite comfortable in her human’s lap. She looks towards the bedroom ceiling, and the ceiling fan appears to be just a normal ceiling fan. She rolls over and happily goes back to sleep. Was it all just a dream…? Her human looks at her strangely. 

“Since when did you have a collar?"

------------------------------------

The End

------------------------------------

Thanks for listening! I hope you enjoyed the story of my silly little orange lady!