4 comments

Fantasy

I was sitting in my living room with my voluptuous burgundy cat; Leonardo/Leo. He was purring so much today. Sometimes, I wish that he didn’t lose all his hair when the groomers bathed him, but what can you really do when he has to take pills for his leukemia. I remember the day that he was diagnosed. He was just a little kitten, waiting to be adopted. No one took him because he was a sick kitty. His brothers and sisters were healthy cats, except him. So I decided to take him home with me when I was walking in central park. As I was walking, people would constantly stop me to just give him so much love. I knew he was loving all the attention that he was getting from the public. I was so glad that I took him home. When I finally arrived at my house, I contemplated what I should name him. I wondered if I should put up a poll on Instagram for some name suggestions for my new little guy. Although, I did have some names in my mind already. I thought that Harry or Owen would be cute, but I didn’t think that those names really justified how amazing my cat was. So I tried thinking of some names that were way more prestigious than Harry or Owen. I came up with Jack, Rowland, and Ken. Those names still didn’t seem like they would fit for him. So I went back to my last resort, which was whatever the public thought to name him. Surprisingly, a lot of people answered my poll, I knew he was a crowd pleaser. There it was, after 3 scrolls I saw the perfect name for him; Leonardo. I could even have an even cuter nickname for him; Leo. I was finally gonna have a little partner in crime, for my new apartment that I got in New York City. It was my time to find myself, and explore the new highlights of living in the best city in the world. It's definitely a change from living in a small suburban state back in Pennsylvania. 

It’s been a couple of years and Leo is almost as mature as I am. We eat breakfast and watch reality TV on Thursdays together. I think I have become one of those crazy cat ladies. I even went to the store to purchase kitty ice cream and more fun toys for him. I think that by the time Leo is an adult, I will have a whole collection of toys from over all the years. I think Leonardo is my best friend. I still have other human best friends, but what can I say, he is a hard one to replace. Even though he can’t understand me or talk to me, I can just tell what he needs or wants by his actions. One of the cutest things that he does when he needs a treat, is when he lays on his back and puts his tiny arm on his stomach. You should really see it some time, it is so cute! He is just the most adorable cat in the world!

There was this one day, I think it was a weekday, maybe it was a Wednesday. We were about to eat dinner, and then Leo left me to go to the bathroom. To me, that was strange because his litter was in the basement like it has always been. So I went to go get Leo from the bathroom. He was being a naughty boy today, because for some reason he refused to eat any food or even play with his new toys that I bought for him last week. For some reason, he was up on the counter right near our gray marbled sink. He was shaking, it seemed like he was frightened by something. Maybe he was startled from the mirror, he probably saw his reflection. In that moment I saw a smudge on the mirror. I thought that Leo must have licked it because there was some toothpaste on it. So I grabbed some wipes to wipe it. As I began to wipe the mirror, something weird happened to me, so I stopped. It was almost like I was not in my bathroom, but a different dimension. Startled, I began to wipe my mirror once again. I kept saying to myself that I was just imagining things, I can’t be in another dimension! I finished cleaning my mirror, and I was ready to go back to my kitchen. I took Leo and we went to finish eating our nicely cooked dinner together. 

Once I opened the door, my kitchen had no food on the counter. Our dinner could not be found. It was almost like it vanished. Though, everything else was in place so I just went to go make more food. When I did that, there was no food. I knew I just went to the grocery store on Monday…..

It was like I was in a movie, I think I am in an alternate reality. It was like the upside down of my own home. A second version of my home, and my life. I wandered my own house, and saw pictures of strangers that I was with. I think that one of them was my professor from physiology. I definitely wasn’t very fond of him, he was a bit of a creep. He even asked me out once, that situation was awkward. As these thoughts started to settle in, my heart rate started to pulse. It kept getting faster by the minute. Luckily, Leo was with me. He could tell that I was frantic, so he rubbed up on me and gave me some kisses. It made me feel a little better, but all I wanted to do was go back home. So I went back to the bathroom, brushed my teeth and made sure to get some on the mirror. Then I re-cleaned the “new” mirror and put Leonardo back where he was before on the counter.

Hesitantly, I opened up the door. I could smell the chicken that I made for me and the sardines that I got for Leo. I took a glance around to make sure that this was actually my home and not another dimension of my life or house. It wasn’t. We sat down and both ate our dinner together while the local news was going on in the background. I was so thankful that I was back home, in my actual home. That day I vowed never to get toothpaste on the mirror in my bathroom ever again, and to always keep the bathroom door closed. I didn’t want to teleport to another dimension ever again. Plus, I think the dimension that I live in now, is pretty darn amazing if you asked Leo and I. 

April 19, 2020 20:29

You must sign up or log in to submit a comment.

4 comments

Joy Barton
05:46 Apr 26, 2020

Love it!

Reply

Brianna Solis
00:56 Apr 27, 2020

Thank you so much!!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Margo Harris
20:16 Apr 30, 2020

I like the story, but it feels a bit repetative to me. Maybe you could try adding some dialogue. Although the cat obviously doesn't speak, maybe he could in the other dimension. It's a good start, but it could be expanded into something even better!

Reply

Brianna Solis
06:22 May 01, 2020

I agree with you. Thank you so much for the suggestions!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

Bring your short stories to life

Fuse character, story, and conflict with tools in Reedsy Studio. 100% free.