Beyond the Whiskers

The elder sat motionless, the aged eyes of his gazed into the darkness of the early morning, beholding its reluctant retreat as the dawn of a new day arrived. He had seen so much in his many years: the intensity of fights, the cheerfulness of youngsters, the pleasantness of the pairings, and the laments of death. The morning air was cold and he felt a shiver run through him as he looked out on the world, seeing hazy morning lights start to sharpen into view.

The old soul reflected on the memories of times past, of the sounds of gaiety, of the warmth of friendship, of the promise of a new day that was always just around the corner. He felt a twinge of sadness as he thought of his beloved friends and family who had passed on and were now just a memory.

He was almost closing his eyes and dozing off for a while when the sun suddenly crested above the dark horizon, bathing the world in a dreamlike pink-orange light. Struck by the beauty of the moment, he locked his gaze on the old barn door, where the light danced like twinkling stars against the weathered wood. The first thing he perceived was not movement. It was a tiny squeak, faint and distant, but it was unmistakable. A mouse had scurried into the open crack of the barn, and he knew it was time to hunt.

The old cat forgot his musings and his sorrows as he focused on the task at hand. His muscles tensed as he crept closer, his senses alert and ready. He had spent a lifetime honing his skills, and they served him well now as he prepared to pounce.

He lunged forward, and the mouse let out a frightened squeak as he clamped his powerful jaws around it. Triumphantly, he made his way back to the porch, his prize held firmly in his mouth. He knew his human friend would be very happy with this gift. It was not time for reflections, but for the joy that comes with a successful hunt.

Then something totally unexpected happened. In the courtyard, just in front of the barn, glimmers of light appeared. Perhaps it was better to call them gashes, as if some invisible feline extremely larger than himself had decided to scratch reality

The old cat crouched under the porch of the farmhouse, his body trembling with anticipation. He had already forgotten about his trophy and was trying to analyze the impossible situation with all his senses. The gashes were moving like electrical filaments, In some places he could sense that there was something on the other side.

The hunter cautiously stepped out from under the porch, scanning the barnyard for any signs of danger. But all was silent. The only sound was the distant hum of bees in the nearby meadow and the sigh of the wind whistling through the golden wheat fields in the distance.

He moved gently over the clumps of grass and pebbles, lowering his body to maintain a low silhouette, and stopped at the edge of the farmyard sniffing.

Just a few feet away from where he stood, the gashes in reality had coalesced into an otherworldly figure: a woman with skin as white as snow and eyes that glowed azure blue. She wore a simple dress of black and silver that seemed impossible to make out in the gloom. The cat sat still, mesmerized by her beauty and her presence; who was she? Was this some kind of spirit? An angel? A goddess?

All questions flashed through his mind as he watched her move with silent grace towards him. She paused inches away from where he sat and looked down at him, her expression unreadable. A chill ran through the old cat's spine - was he dreaming?

The woman in front of him seemed entirely oblivious to his presence, as if she was looking right through him. She paid him no mind at all. As quickly as she had materialized, she vanished into the wisps of air, leaving him perplexed and unsure of how to proceed.

Where a gash had widened enough, he glimpsed a kind of machine framed in bright light. It was an unfamiliar sight, an otherworldly construction, a portion of a strange device hovering in midair. The cat's curiosity was piqued and he tried to investigate further. He approached, his senses enlivened by the possibility of discovering what lay beyond the air ripples that had meanwhile swollen as had the others. He peered inside those cracks as if he were looking through the Venetian blinds of his human's study, and his breathing quickened as he began to realize that the world he was looking at was no longer the one he knew, but something alien and new.

The cat saw what looked to him like a room without walls, just a vast expanse of white. In the center was a bed and an old man asleep. Something seemed profoundly wrong to him and he almost staggered as he felt a sudden dizziness. On the bedside table was a round object that illuminated the elderly man's forehead with green rays. The green beam had shone most brightly when he had experienced the passing sickness.

As the cat watched, the man in the bed stirred, slowly opening his eyes. He looked around confusedly, shifting his gaze from the bed to the silver sphere on the nightstand and then to himself, his brow furrowed in puzzlement.

From the corner of the room, a voice spoke. It was a woman's voice, gentle and reassuring.

"Hello, Graziano," she said. "It's been a while since we last saw each other, at least from my point of view. I'm here to let you know that the operation went well and we were able to wake you up successfully. Your AI-induced sedation actually worked, you are a genius! Operating at the brain level without the need for drugs, you will make a lot of money out of it old man!"

The man feigned a smile, rippling his lips.

"When you've recovered properly though," the female voice added trailing off, "you have to explain to me why the cat..."

At that point there was almost no reality on the other side.

The old man ran a hand over his mustache as the feline who was still staring at him disappeared like shadows in the morning light.