[Awaken. Yawn. Stretch.
Hungry. Food. Go to food.]
“Morning,
sweetie.”
[Ears scratched.
Satisfies itch and feels nice.
Rub against human leg for more.]
“Awwww.” Scratch, scratch, scratch.
[Purrrrrrrr…. Bird!
Must eat bird!]
“Oh
silly, always trying to get outside.”
[Barrier. Foiled
once more by the invisible wall. Must
destroy at some point in the vague future.
Now, need to visit the sand.]
“I was
going to clean that!”
[Prefer fresh sand.
Do not feel clean when sand is dirty.
Toss out some grains to cover up properly and simultaneously express
displeasure.]
“Thanks
for making a mess! You’re lucky I love
you.”
[Stroll through room, inexplicably stumble. Clean leg to disguise shame; sounds of mirth
from the humans suggest they are not fooled.]
“Look, he’s
embarrassed!”
[Dignity wounded. Tired. Must sleep.
Folded cloths are comfy.]
“Get off
the laundry!”
[Shoved off cloths.
Must find a new sleep place.
Heavy cloth on the couch is comfy.
Turn once, and twice, and thrice, curl up, and sleep.]
“Cat’s
sleeping on my coat again!”
[Awaken! Flee! Ooh, a piece of string. Destroy!]
“Don’t
play with garbage, little one.”
[Why do they take away my prey? Thirsty.
Water in bowl is dirty. Stare at
it. Stare at it. Stare at it.]
“Fine, I’ll
change your water! So subtle.”
[Took long enough.
Too cold. Will not drink it.]
“What,
now you don’t want it?”
[Water is now acceptable.
Drink. Must patrol
territory. Several humans, including The
One, are missing from the premises. Stare
at the door to make them arrive. They do
not arrive. Continue rounds.]
“I’m
gonna vacuum the floors.”
[Noise! Monster! Flee!
Hide! Quiet now. Safe to emerge from under the bed. Some smells are now missing – must re-mark
territory.]
“Stop
that – you’re dirtying up the walls every time you rub your head on the corners. And I just cleaned all your fur off the
couch!”
[The human emits a string of nonsensical noises – reply in
kind.]
“Don’t ‘meow’
me. Fresh.”
[There is no pleasing the humans. Under constant threat of loud noises and
forced relocation. Must find
satisfaction elsewhere. Sleep. Awaken.
A paper is now on the floor – must make it sing.]
“He
always walks across the newspaper when I leave it on the floor; I wonder why he
does that?”
[Paper is vanquished, now must lie on top of it. Pushed off by one of the humans. Never can go where desire.]
“Boy, I
tell you, that cat has some life. He
gets to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants.”
[Food. Where is
food? A human is bringing the dish back;
food is inside. Such dependence, no
freedom. Constant worry about food,
water, clean sand, loud noises, strangers, loneliness. The One also still has not returned. So much stress. Better just to sleep; perhaps The One will be
here when next awaken.]
“He looks
so peaceful when he’s asleep.”
“Like I
said, he has some life.”
[For comfort, dream of pillows. Sigh.]
