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General

You look out the window and, not for the first time, thought about how wrong the weather forecast had been. They said it would be sunny skies the next day, but they lied. It was raining, raining really heavily. The one time you actually decide to watch the news and they lie to you.

You had plans today. Very important plans! But it was all a waste as the weather decided to ruin them for you. For the hundredth time, you heave a sad sigh. You wonder if Mindy was sad as well, since the trip to the pool is now cancelled. She really must be as she was the one who invited you. You even spend hours talking on the phone last night of all the fun things you would do. You sigh again, poor Mindy and poor you.

The most frustrating thing of all now that your plans for the day were ruined, is that as a result you are now extremely bored. This was the kind of bored that nothing anyone would do could ever make it go away.  You know this for a fact, as you have done all you could think of and tried just all sorts of things just to make the boredom go away.

You tried to draw, but the pencil broke and your crayons just didn’t have the right color you were trying to go for. And besides, you didn’t even have just a tiny amount of idea on what to draw. Flowers and trees were getting boring. You didn’t have any inspiration to draw from or even motivation just to keep drawing, even without a clear picture in mind.  All you did was draw a straight line, then a circle, and then you just couldn’t go on from there.

               You couldn’t even eat just because you were bored. You tried to find food to eat, but all the apples were gone, as you ate them all yesterday, and your mom even hid all the chocolates and candies and won’t let you have any unless she said you could. This was slowly turning into the saddest day of your life.

               Maybe the worst thing that happened today was that, in your boredom, you decided to do as much twirls as you could do but you got so dizzy that you bumped into a chair. So now your lip was bleeding, you got scolded by your mom, and there still wasn’t anything to do.

               “Mommy, I’m bored,” you whine. “I don’t have anything to do.”

               “Then clean your room.” She replies. You pout. “That’s different, that doesn’t count.”

               “Then at least, keep quiet. I’m still working.” She doesn’t even look up from her laptop, always typing something. You groan again, a bit quietly this time.

               You’ve taken to lying down on the floor this time. Arms and legs spread out like a starfish, staring at the ceiling, trying to count to a thousand or even more than that without making any mistake. You know you keep missing one number though, you just can’t remember what.

 While thinking hard, trying you best to remember that specific number, you hear something tapping on the window. You decide to ignore it at first. It could have just been a branch or a twig being blown by the wind. You continue counting, but there it was again! Thoughts of what it could be aside from a branch of a tree swirl inside your mind. Was it a burglar? Maybe it was a kidnapper trying to lure you outside. Was it a ghost? Can ghosts knock though? Maybe aliens have finally come down to earth and this heavy rain is just a distraction to cover up the sounds of their invasion.

               You crawl to the couch and slowly, slowly peek at the window. Your fears are instantly relieved. It was just a cat. A little black cat, shivering and wet, was meowing and tapping on the window trying to get out of the cold weather outside and into the warm cozy place that is your home. You look around and see that your mom isn’t around anymore. You briefly wonder why you never noticed when she left, but that wasn’t important right now. Carefully, you open the window so as not to spook the little kitty cat waiting outside. You didn’t need to worry about spooking it since as soon as the window was opened; it jumped right in, making muddy prints on the clean floor.

               “Oh no, you mustn’t walk around. Your paws are dirty.” You scold it, scooping it up in your arms. It just stares at you and meows, not even looking the least bit apologetic. “You don’t care if I get in trouble do you?” You planned to carry it to the bathroom sink to get its paws cleaned, yet you were only able to get a few steps in that direction when it leaped out of your arms at lightning speed are ran into the hall and up the stairs. “Kitty! Wait for me!” You exclaim as you ran after it, trying to catch it. You feel the dread as you know your mom will definitely scold you as you see its dirty tracks all over the floor and furniture.

               Running up the stairs, you see it slip in the door to the attic. You don’t see it as soon as you go in. “Kitty? Here kitty, where are you?” You call for it as you look around the slightly dusty attic. Soon enough, you hear it scratching on something. You follow the sound and see it pawing at a little door that you’ve never seen before.

               “Do you want to go in?” You ask it, drawing near and crouching down by it. The cat stops its scratching and meows back, which you take as a yes. “I don’t know what this door is for though. Besides, Mom and Dad might scold me if I touch it without their permission.” Still curious despite what you just said, you try to open it just to find it locked. “See? It’s locked. Now, let’s go down and clean up. I have to hide you somewhere. Dad doesn’t like strays. But you’re not a stray anymore since you’re going to be my cat. I’m going to beg them to let me keep you.” You scoop the cat up and hug it to your chest. The dusty air was making your nose itch. “I don’t know why, but they always say no when I ask for a pet. I know I can take care of you.” The cat meows seemingly in agreement to your statement.

               You quickly turn around, the cat in your arms, and as the case with most instances where you turn too quickly, your legs tangle and collide and you trip on them. You clutch the cat tight to your chest, close your eyes and brace for impact. You keep waiting to feel the impact of the hard floor underneath you, but instead you get cushioned by something. Surprised, you open your eyes to darkness. You hear the cat mewling, so you try petting it to calm it down. It was also to calm yourself down. Suddenly it just got brighter out of nowhere and you find that you’ve somehow fallen through the floor and that you are now lying on a bed in the middle of a field full of flowers.

               The strangeness of the situation doesn’t occur to you since as soon as the cat noticed where you both were; it leaped right off the bed and dived into the sea of flowers around you. You follow soon after, chasing after the cat and picking flowers on the way. The only thought in your mind was that finally, you get to play.

               You soon find a stream. You adjust the flower crown you’ve made in the reflection and start looking for pretty stones. There were quite a lot on the stream. They sparkled when the light hit them just right. You pick up a few of your favorites and put them in your pocket. The cat soon joins you, but stays just on the edge away from the water.

               You don’t know how much time has passed. You were enjoying yourself, frolicking around, chasing the cat. Soon you start to grow tired. Looking up, you see the bed in the distance and start to walk towards it. Stifling a yawn, you beckon the cat to follow you back. But when you draw near, instead of the bed, you find a couch and a coffee table beside it filled with all kinds of fruit. You go directly to the couch, falling face first on the soft surface. The last thought on your mind before you fall asleep is to eat the food when you wake up. You are rather famished after all that playing, but sleep came first.  

               You wake up to your mom shaking you. “It’s time for dinner.” She says, and then gets up to set the table. Rubbing the sleep from your eyes, you see that you were sleeping on the couch. It wasn’t the couch were you fell asleep in. It was your couch, the couch you had at home. Confused, you ask your mother about the cat.

               “What cat?” She answers, also confused. You look around and see that its dirty tracks aren’t all over the floor anymore. Maybe she cleaned it? She doesn’t seem to be mad about it though. Your stomach grumbles loudly and all thoughts of trying to make sense of what just happened flees you mind.

               You hear the rocks you collected by the stream bump into each other as you stand up to walk to the dinner table. Your mom cooked one of your favorite foods, and your mouth was watering. You’ll think about what happened later, after you eat. Food came first.

               Up in the attic, a faint mewl went unheard.

June 26, 2020 12:46

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5 comments

Tim Law
11:21 Jul 02, 2020

Clever Clarys. Quite Carolesque... Almost like I was a young girl following a kitten in to Wonderland.

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Clarys J.C.B.
02:55 Jul 11, 2020

Thank you. I did take a bit of inspiration from it.

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Tim Law
04:53 Jul 11, 2020

It certainly came through while keeping the heart of the story uniquely yours. Cannot wait to discover what you write next...

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Crystal Lewis
06:10 Jul 01, 2020

I liked this story. But is the cat okay? Or was there even a real cat... ? Certainly a little bit of mystery there. I can definitely relate to the feeling of boredom and I think you’ve portrayed it quite well. :) Feel free to read my stuff too.

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Clarys J.C.B.
02:53 Jul 11, 2020

Thank you. Yes the cat is okay.

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