Life

A single light shined down on the alley. The shadows sat motionless on the ground like painted stencils. A black cat moved among the strewn debris, her silhouette mimicking her every move. A sharp bark erupted from a nearby window and the cat sprang forward, distancing herself from the perceived threat. After a few bounds she realized that the dog was not following her and she slowed down to her previous saunter. Reaching the end of the street, she stopped. Looking around, she paused, not wanting to leave the alley. She took a few moments to groom her fur, her ears moving slightly to every sound.

After feeling content with her appearance, she decided to leave the comfort of the dark alley. She quickly maneuvered underneath a parked vehicle and crouched in her new secure place. Cars rushed passed her on the street, but she took no notice. A loud slam was heard above her and the engine started. She darted out from under the car that had quickly turned from a safety blanket to a death trap only to find herself running straight toward a pair of moving legs. Like a fly avoiding a swatting hand, the cat jumped to the side and into an open door.

“Mom! There’s a cat!” came a high pitched voice from the room that the cat had just escaped into. The cat tried to exit quickly again, but a pair of agile hands wrapped themselves around her body and hoisted her up. She wriggled in the arms of her new assailant to no avail. Resorting to self defense, she extracted her claws and scratched. The little girl screamed and dropped the cat, who immediately ran out into the night again, this time running down the street and not entering any more doorways.

As she ran, she noticed a park with a solitary tree in the middle. Making her way to the tree, she climbed up to a solid branch, which became her new safe house. She paused to groom the recently accumulated dirt out of her fur. Unfortunately, she didn't find solace for long. A barrage of chattering was produced by an overprotective mother squirrel. Though the animal posed no immediate threat to the cat, she nevertheless felt it better to leave it be and move on. She scrambled down the tree and left the defensive squirrel to its nest.

It felt good to walk on the soft grass as she made her way across the park. However, the dew had started to settle in and her paws being wet was not a welcome feature. Finding a bench, she hopped up and flicked the water off her feet. Taking time to groom once more, she looked around her in the dark, her eyes easily adjusting to the limited light. Looking at her, it would seem she noticed nothing and everything all at once. She would have stayed on that bench, since she didn't want to walk on the wet grass anymore, but spending a night on a hard park bench was not ideal. She moved to the edge of the bench and shimmied in place, as if waiting any longer would make the grass less wet. Finally deciding to leave, she leapt onto the moist ground and bounded over to the dry sidewalk. Flicking her paws again, she walked down the street.

Suddenly, she heard a familiar sound and a guttural meow instinctively came from her throat. She started off toward the sound, dodging the few cars and people that were still out. The sound stopped and so did she. She stood motionless with her ears twitching, trying desperately to pick up the noise again. Once it started back up, she wasted no time in sprinting to it. Turning a corner, she saw an elderly gentleman on the back porch of a house shaking a can of cat treats. Meowing loudly now, she walked up to the man with eager anticipation.

“Hey, there. You came home,” the man feebly said. “Can’t resist these things, can you?” She meowed in response, still waiting for her morsel. His hands shook as he opened the lid. One would have thought that it took nearly all his effort just to do that. He tried to shake out one treat, but three came instead. He tried as carefully as he could to put the other two back, but one fell on the ground. Seizing the opportunity, she quickly ate the treat and then looked up to him for more, meowing once again. “Oh, why not,” he lovingly replied to her begging, dropping the second treat at the same time. She snatched it up and licked her face, which caused her to start grooming once more.

“Well, I can’t have you sitting there all night,” the old man said. “Come inside.” He shooed the cat inside with his foot and closed the porch door. Once inside, she waited for him to shuffle past her and sit down before jumping up onto his warm lap. Kneading her paws lightly into his legs, she turned around and then settled down and started to purr. His hand stroked her fur and caused her tail to twitch. She could anticipate when his hand would contact her head again and her ears flattened just before. Once again the palm stroked her fur and released. She flattened her ears, waiting for the coming affection, only to be denied. She cooed softly and looked up, rubbing her head into his chest at the same time. However, there was no response. His stomach no longer moved against her with his breath. She nudged her head once again into his chest, but he was no more. She waited for a moment, taking the opportunity to groom herself again, then settled back down into the still warm lap and fell asleep.