Cats

Maria was at the stage of her life where waking up was a pleasure. She woke up at the time was her please and bladder and hunger permitting was not compelled to prematurely abandon her bed sheets. To day had the added benefit of sunlight coming through the window and landing in a square shape around her pillow.

The silence that had reined was usurped by the high pitched wail of the cat, which had spent most of the night sleeping near Maria’s feet. The old animal, which could always be described as bedraggled however long she spent washing herself, walked up Maria’’s body. She came to rest on Maria’s chest, sat on her back legs and start to caterwaul. Maria had spent a long time trying to work out what this particular cry meant. She suspected it simply meant “here I am, pay me attention.”

After a few dozen howls Maria started to pet the cat, paying particular attention to the chin and behind the ears. After a few more meows, Maria sat up a little, looked the cat in the eye and said “meow” in the authority tone of a retired librarian.

Normally this was enough to stop the old beast stop complaining and setting down to a good sleep and pur. But today was different. Maria was staring directly at the animals face when it said “home.”it had to move its mouth in impossible way to make the sound, which was spoken in an obviously female voice and in tones that sounded to deep coming from such a small creature.

Maria stop. She stopped stroking the cat and for a moment stopped breathing. She had to be sensible she thought, she had the impossible.

“Alexa, repeat”

The speakers did nothing. Maria reached out over her own shoulder to reach her phone. It took her a moment or two to find the device as she didn’t turn her head away from the cat at any time.there was nothing on the phone that would explain the house.

The cat started to pur again, and jumped of the bed abs walked out of the room, her tail swishing in the air behind her.

A few hours later Maria was down stairs. She was sat at the wooden table in her kitchen, which some had designed to make sure it looked like and ancient family heirloom. The table had in built draws, one of which was open now, as Maria tried to pick a microphone. The table was spotless and only marred by a single dinner mat which her MAC sat on.

She did not have a busy day today. A little work editing the blog and a little recording. Then she would pick a meal, based more on what she would enjoy cooking rather than eating. Right now any third party watch would see her short thick fingers flying across the keyboard. Her hair was tidied back tightly into a pony tail. Every now again she would stop typing. She would bite her slight chapped lower lip and would use three fingers on hand to turn the ring on the other. She was so caught up in her work that she didn’t notice the cat leaping up on the table, something she was banned from doing. Maria did not notice the approach of the animal, which was old and fat enough to lumber rather than walk. The cat only got really angry though when Maria did not notice that she had slopped her tail over the top of the screen. When this failed to get a response the cat start to cry. A deep bell cry.

“I am sorry lovely” said Maria, tearing her eyes from her screen and petting the animal. The crying stop, the creature jumped on Maria and

“Take me home.”

This time Maria couldn’t she her cats mouth, but there was no doubt in her mind that the words had come from the cat. They had start a moment after she had stoped purring and the sound came from the cats mouth.