Happy birthday, Tallinn and Repu!

The kicsik of Szaloncicaország have turned 2 years old. They are celebrating their birthday the best way they know, indulging in general mischief and nurturing their already obvious gömbölyűség. Instead of developing cica consciousness attending the Ország Egyetem they have acquired distinctive personalities, celebrated and feared in the same measure by the inhabitants of the Ország. Cicanéni and Cicabácsi contemplate them everyday in their hardly fought battles against seagull feathers and specially their mortal enemy, the everywhere present carpet. Their scratching abilities have no rival after these two years.

Dispite being siblings, each of them is a distinctive individuality. Princess Repu, gifted with a melodius voice has a tendency to roll over any minute. But probably what she really shines at is her love for the archaeology of the invisible. There is no corner, void, hole, unattended space in the Ország that she would not explore in search of the invisible presence that must have been filling it for decades, years or just minutes. She returns from these scientific expeditions with the air in her trembling whiskers that a big discovery has been made (anti-matter perhaps, an echo of a lost symphony, or the spirit of a melancholic mouse, long ago eaten by previous feline hunters?). Nobody knows. Her most risky expeditions are those involving climbing to impossible places; sometimes she stands on top of ladders, bookshelves or wardrobes, looking up, projecting her whiskers to invisible heights, probably more tempting. Or she may be considering adding to her scientific career that of the astronomer of ceilings.

Fekete Tallinn is not such a big lover of verticality, he prefers horizontality, as he proves running after her sister. In this two years he has developed an impressive body: this is the reason why Cicanéni insists on calling him Párduc Tallinn. Every morning he is the first to salute the new day, even when the sun is still not shining out there. Much to Cicanéni and Cicabácsi chagrin, Tallinnn insists on communicating his happiness about the new day, like if he was surprised that a new day has been granted to the world. He also takes the opportunity of demanding the first meal of the day and some comforting caresses. His early antics, akin to those of a dilligent cock, made Cicabácsi insist on the gazda origins of Tallinn. But this is a matter of a controversy between Cicanéni and Cicabácsi that cannot be discussed now.

Evenings are for short and intense dialogues between Cicabácsi and Fekete Tallinn. It must be said that it is in this exchanges that Párduc Tallinn manifests clearly his stoicism and sober vision of the world (in contrast with his exuberant and talkative sister); indeed, Tallinn always replies with very concise words, precise like some aphorism from Wittgenstein. Usually it is just a single, sharp word. Be. Meg. Sometimes even “még”. Have you finished scratching the carpet? “Be”, replies Párduc Tallinn. Why are you trying to run up the curtain? Have you become crazy? “Meg”, replies Tallinn (and Cicabácsi would swear there is an ironic grin on Tallinn´s face). Are you going to stop scratching the carpet? “Még”, replies Tallinn, while he shakes his head, replacing an unuttered “nem”. Cicabácsi surrenders himself, finally, with equal stoicism, if you want: “Azért szeretlek, Tallinn”.