Mr. O’s Tryst with the Floating Creatures
Mr. O can’t speak human language, but he expresses a great deal to me through his eyes, his meows, and his antics. Through all his methods of communication, I have gathered his story. It’s Mr. O’s narration, but since he can’t write or use a computer, I am writing this on his behalf.
It’s a cold morning today, and it’s one of those days when Daddy doesn’t sit in front of a small box talking to it. I don’t understand what he does. He talks into a small box all day, and at night, he sits in front of a big box that talks to him. It’s strange. But nevertheless, as I was saying, this is one of the days when Daddy doesn’t sit in front of the small box, and he plays with me. I’ve got to say, I look forward to these days. On these days, he lets me spend some time outside in the space he calls the “balcony.” It’s an open space just outside where we live, but there’s a see-through wall that divides us.
When I was smaller and cuter, as Daddy says, I used to go onto the balcony with Daddy. I loved going there. The air feels fresh, and there’s usually an interesting smell on the ground, like that of another creature. I liked sniffing around and then looking out from the gap between the big walls surrounding me. I still do. It feels like there’s a world out there that is so much bigger, brighter, and more interesting than where we live. I see more creatures that look like Daddy, some creatures that look like me, but they are bigger and have oddly shaped faces, so they may not be cats. And there are fascinating things that just float in the air. They look like some of my toys. But I think they are called lookbirds. Whenever they float near us, Daddy would say, “lookbirds!” or are they called “birds”? I don’t fully understand Daddy’s language. Sometimes I feel he is not a cat. He does things differently, he looks different, and he talks differently. Even his food is different, which I am not allowed to eat. But then he also meows like me sometimes and sleeps like me. I will figure this out someday.
As a small kitten, I don’t think Daddy trusted me to be on the balcony by myself. He always stood right beside me and picked me up whenever I tried to bend a little to get a better view outside. So annoying! But as I grew up, he started trusting me to be a good boy and lounge on the balcony. Though he would come by every two minutes to check on me. Ugh… you can imagine how annoying that is. I think he didn’t want me looking outside much and didn’t want me to jump. And off-late I stopped doing so, and I guess that’s why he lets me lounge alone on the balcony. Now that I’ve been a good boy, what’s up with all the surveillance every two minutes?
This morning I was bored. Daddy seems to have had too much of his red drink last night. Whenever he drinks that at night, he holds me tight. I don’t know why he punishes me so. And in the morning, he looks like someone took the life out of him. I just hate it when he drinks that thing. The bored me usually meows a lot and seeks to play with Daddy. He didn’t seem to be in the mood to play, so he opened the glass wall for me. It feels so good when the cold air hits my face. The moment the wall moved, I jumped onto the balcony. It was cold, but it was nice and sunny too. And there were so many of those floating lookbirds around. I perched myself on Daddy’s chair in the balcony and looked at them. They were not as colourful as my toys, but they made beautiful sounds. And I don’t know why, but whenever I see them, there’s this feeling inside me to grab them and eat them. But I don’t think Daddy would like that, so I just watch them with fascination. They float up and down, left and right. Sometimes one of them would come close, make eye contact, and a funny sound before going back.
As I was enjoying my beautiful morning Daddy said, “Be a good boy. I will be back in two minutes.”
“yay yay, I know. You won’t leave me to enjoy my balcony time on my own.” I told myself
Right then, a lookbird came closer and perched on the balcony wall in front of me. My tail twitched, my eyes widened, and something happened to me. I don’t know what it was, but it felt like some sort of energy was taking hold of me. Remember the feeling I was talking about earlier? The feeling of grabbing the lookbird and eating it? That feeling was overtaking me. I was scared but surrendered to that feeling. It completely consumed me. My tail began wagging against my will, I was alert without my consent, and I jumped involuntarily.
Suddenly, I found myself on top of the balcony wall. I could see far far below and far far above. It was scary but exhilarating. The lookbird made a sound and joined its friends. There were hundreds of them, and that dreaded feeling was intensifying. I was suddenly hungry. I had to jump, catch them, play with them, and then eat them. I could feel the saliva forming in my mouth, and I was getting ready for another jump.
“Got you!” I heard my daddy as he grabbed me by my belly.
“Not the belly! Not the belly!” I had told him so many times, but does he listen?
He grabbed me and brought me inside. He closed the glass wall and looked at me with furious eyes. The “feeling” went away. I was scared looking at Daddy, so I ran and hid under the bed. It was only when Daddy called my name and jiggled my favourite toy that I came out. He seemed to have calmed down, but I just don’t understand why he got so upset.
Soon, I got some annoying “cuddles,” as he calls them and a lovely wet treat.
What a morning it was. I felt so many weird things. I don’t fully understand what was happening to me and what was happening to Daddy, but it ended with me having wet treats twice in a day. This is confusing because that happens only when I do something adorable and Daddy is in a good mood. Nothing I did seemed adorable today, and Daddy was rather upset. I am confused and increasingly convinced that Daddy is not a weird-looking cat.