The Weather Floracats (forecast)

  You looked out the window and, not for the first time, thought about how wrong the weather forecast had been.

You have never believed them before, so you don't feel let down when you look outside your window. 

They had promised sunny skies and cool breezes, but instead your view is obscured by droplets on the window, and your peace and quiet has been traded for a soft pitter patter. 

You always loved the rain, especially when it's unexpected like the drizzle occurring outside. The plants that surround you must love it even more. It’s quite sad seeing these plants cut off from their would-be natural environment, only observing the weather from behind a glass pane. There are many different kinds of plants trapped in here; violets, daffodils, lilies, chrysanthemum, roses, the list goes on. You also grow herbs, thyme, basil, parsley, rosemary, sage. You name it. 

These plants are your only friends, you care for them always, you even sing to them. The plants won’t judge you, or your voice. You also like to paint them, and you fuss over which ones look happy together, what colors are complimentary, and where they are positioned in the set, even though they always look beautiful.

Today is no day for painting, however, because the rain distracts you and plugs up your creative juices. You look at your plants.

The plants stare back at you. You can't help but to feel bad for them for keeping them inside. You wonder: what could be done?

You decide that they belong outdoors, all of them. They must be freed to enjoy this wild downpour of primordial fluid. You round up all of ‘your’ plants, hundreds of them, and leave them at the door leading to your backyard patio. You decide not to put on your raincoat, nor even your rainhat, which came in handy in the past. You want to soak in this dark and dreary rainfall. The plants agree with you.

One by one, you take them outside. 

You know they must enjoy it because they dance and flop about with the wind, not a worry in the world. You decide to join in their revelry, arms outstretched, catching the rain in your mouth and spinning round and round and round again.

It seems as if Mother Nature has taken notice of your rain dance, because in only a few minutes, the clouds part and the sun shines through. You let out a soft sigh of bittersweet relief. You and the plants are thankful, and you're sure that the weatherman must be thankful too, for he was right after all. You lay down on the still-wet patio floor and stretched out, feeling just like a flower and soaking in the sunlight.

You’ve been laying here for hours now, too content to even move. You hear the plants around you and the birds chirping, and jump when something grabs your arm. You open your eyes to plants growing and reaching out at you, grabbing your other arm and your legs, holding you down on the patio floor. You let out a scream, and then..

You wake up to the sound of rustling. It is getting dark out. You sit up, incredibly fast, and have a look about. You see two eyes stare back at you from inside the mass of potted plants.

A cat! All black with a white stripe going down the center of his face. You reluctantly reach out to him, and he pulls back, retreating into the small forest on your patio. You have an idea. You walk into your kitchen to look for some bait. Perhaps some canned tuna will be a success. You grab it from the cabinet and rush outside, only to realize you have to open the can first. You run back in, open it, and then take it out and put it on a plate. You run fast outside (hopefully he's still there!) You can tell the cat is hungry, because he immediately comes out and starts eating the food.

You reach out, again, and pet him, he doesn't seem to care, as he keeps eating. He finishes the food and lets out a looong stretch, and brushes up against your arm. He purrs and you smile at your new friend. It is now almost nighttime, you decide to leave the plants outside, and you take the cat inside with you. He seems to feel right at home, exploring the new environment and occasionally coming back to get some more pats and scritches. He is a very nice cat, and you are glad to have met him. You call him with you into your bedroom and flop onto your bed, exhausted after a long day of excitement. The cat jumps up with you and lays down next to you. 

You fall asleep.

You wake up to the early morning sunlight glowing through your window and casting a light on your face. You sit up and notice that the cat is no longer in bed with you. You walk out of your room and into your kitchen and you see him, basking in the sunlight from the kitchen window. You can't help but feel like something is missing, and you remember you brought your plants outside. 

You go out your backdoor, and you freeze. 

You fall to your knees, speechless and confused. Your plants were destroyed. All of them, ripped out of their pots and thrown about the patio. You let out a wailing gasp and start to cry, how could this happen!? You shouldn't have left them outside, they would have been safe if you would have just taken them back in. You don't know who or what committed this atrocity. 

You try to think about what you can do to save them, and you decide to re-pot the ones that are salvageable and take them back inside with you. You learned your lesson, your plants are too important to leave them exposed. 

You manage to save almost all of them, and decide that no permanent harm has been done. After you move them all inside, your new friend the cat sniffs and swats at them, having fun and prancing all about. 

You take a deep breath and smile. 

All is well in the world.