:..{ there must be [ Freddie ] more to life }..:

If there was one thing I had never expected, it was reincarnation. During my last days as a human I was never sure of what would happen, but I had accepted my ending with a grim nod and a grave smile. There was no use in wallowing in my despair. I had to enjoy it all while it lasted, even if I was eventually too weak to get out of bed, even if I could, at the very end, barely speak. I didn't sing enough, I thought, I should have done more, written more songs. But thankfully I had half-finished quite a few songs, and they could be worked on by the rest of the band when I was no longer there.
I wonder how that went.
But as I was saying, I had never expected to be reincarnated. First, it was a butterfly. The transformation from caterpillar to that beautiful insect was phenomenal, you have no idea. Of course. When I was finally able to spread my wings and fly, there was a great sense of freedom. All the pain of leaving my loved ones in the last life was eased greatly by my time spent in the cuccoon. Mary was the hardest for me to get over. I doubt Jim was too happy that I left more to her than him, but I hope he understood...
My joyful times as a butterfly were very short-lived, and I now realise that I never knew what kind of butterfly I'd become. But it seemed that only minutes after I had left the cuccoon, something was crashing into me, trapping me. A net! A bloody net! If I'd been able to, I'd have sworn and growled and thrashed around. But then I was being drowned in some kind of liquid, and everything was gone - again.
The second life was a cat. I remember being blind, deaf, but able to feel the warmth of my mother and my littermates around me. I remember little more than that until I could actually see and walk around. It was a strange time. There was constant competition between myself and the rest, of course, with all of us squabbling and mewling and scratching. Those little buggers had sharp claws, but so did I.
There came a time, eventually, when I was very much a full-grown cat and had been living in the streets for a long while, where a kindly old woman took me in. I was in no position to be picky about who I lived with; I was dangerously thin and weak, and it reminded me of my former human life far too much. So I let her carry me off home and nurse me back to health. It was difficult to understand the human language, for I'd forgotten most of it, but I learned that her name was Bella. She lived alone, which I found saddening. Why had she never married and had children? But this question was answered after a while; she would speak to me, and one day she told me that her husband had died many years ago and her children had all grown up and moved out. The poor dear, I thought, didn't they ever come to visit her? She was a lovely woman! What wasn't there to like?!
But I of course could never tell her this, and so I was restricted to just curling up on her lap frequently and nuzzling against her. She named me some ridiculous name that I can no longer remember, Tribble or something along those silly lines, but I wasn't going to hate her for it. We spent many years together you know, and I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy my life then. But it was sheer foolishness on my part that seperated us.
I was out searching for voles and mice to bring back to Bella as a 'gift', on the edge of the little park just outside our country home, when I heard her voice call out for me. See, back then, I knew my cat name. I wished she had somehow thought to call me 'Freddie', but ah well. Without thinking I turned and bolted back towards the house, delighted that she seemed to need me for something. The last thing I saw was her expression of pure horror as the car that I hadn't known was coming crashed into me.
My guilt for leaving her all alone remains with me to this day, to this life. I hope she finally found someone, or at least got a new pet. Not that I can be replaced, of course.
I remember wondering as soon as I could think again if my life, or rather, lives, would ever end. I was tired of the pain it was causing me, having such short lives and dying. Dying is not pleasant. It doesn't hurt, but the sudden...nothingness is terrifying for that split-second.
But when I awoke in this place, there was an overwhelming sense of peace, much like that I had once felt in Montreux, in Switzerland. Everything was so...calm, so serene. And beautiful, it's certainly very beautiful here. The temperature was neither warm nor cool, just perfect. The weather was sunny in some places, and not so much in others. Amidst my thoughts of wonder and awe, I realised that I was actually alive again and therefore in another body.
A deer, I thought, when I stood and looked at myself. A deer! Lovely. Graceful, elegant, I could deal with that. And I could feel antlers on my head! Not that I'd need them much. The best thing?
I felt so much younger. And my mind was just the same as it had been when I was human. Strange, no? I thought so too. Was there any kind of reflective surface in this place? Surely there must be water? Why could I only see straight ahead like a human does? Deer eyes were in different places!
In my search for water I discovered a few things. One was that the deer here looked terribly strange. Colourful pelts, strange antlers, and beautifully frightening masks on their faces. It was like I was in my dressing room all over again! How did they manage to look so wonderful? Why did I look so plain?
But then someone found me. I assumed they were male, given that they had antlers, but what do I know? They carried a grey and white pelt, and nothing was covering their humanoid face. Strange. Frightening, almost. But I'd deal. They chewed something off of a tree and then unexpectedly, shone a bright light right into my face! I'd have slapped them if I had hands.
Something felt different when I could see again, however. I looked at myself - and I was black and white! Perfect! So how did it work?
They taught me, without speaking a word, how to change my mask. And then later, I learned how to change my antlers and my fur! What a strange, strange place this is. But beautiful, magical, intriguing.
I have the feeling I'm going to enjoy my stay here.

And what's this I hear about a human world?

Hmmm...