A Simply Extraordinary Encounter

Sometimes it was fun to tease the humans who crossed her path. Her cat-life was very full, but she also appreciated fun and intrigue. It helped keep her comfortable routine interesting. With silent paws she jumped from her perch to escort these two compelling creatures into her curious world. 

Mimi’s feet hurt. From 1000 feet up this valley looked friendly, spreading out in waving fields. There were soft forest edges and a dirt tractor path that played hide and seek through the grass. It beckoned gently to be explored. The placid appearance belied the steep descent from above and the sheer distance from one side to the other. Mimi’s feet complained painfully about it. 

Jason stood next to her, hands on his hips, eyes squinted west down the tractor path. “We could go a little farther I think.” 

“We still have to go back up that hill, remember,” following his eye, Mimi saw more grass and some trees, “It looks like more of the same.” 

Mimi reached down to adjust her boot and gave a startled yelp. She yanked back her hand and hopped backwards, away from the cat that had appeared at her feet. Mimi shivered. She felt like she had stroked a soul.

The cat was unperturbed. She was large, graceful and clearly free. Her fur was a balanced mix of black, brown and white and her eyes glowed with intelligence. She padded casually away from the startled woman with a twitch of her tail. Jason laughed and watched as the cat approached him with her feet and her eyes. Her gaze paused on his eyes. As she passed by, she turned her head to look at the man again, waving her tail slowly. Her look was purposeful and encouraged him to join her. 

“I think we should follow it!” Jason was excited. Mimi still held her hand where she had brushed the furry being. Her eyes flicked longingly up the hill towards their town and their cozy medieval room with the fireplace and wine and comfort. The shadows were starting to creep toward them and she was spooked by the cat's sudden arrival.

 “It’s getting late,” she said. 

 “It’s not that late,” Jason had already started following it. “Where could it be from? Where could it be going? There’s not much around us right now.” Mimi stretched her shoulders and followed. Jason’s curiosity was an elixir for her sore feet and startled mind. This was exactly why they had come. 

The cat was surprisingly fast. They had to keep a steady pace not to lose her. It soon became clear that she was helping them follow her. When the path turned and they lost sight of her, she would be waiting for them round the bend. Eventually they came to the other end of the valley. The path turned into a dirt road flanked by brush and trees. Then cobbles started emerging from the dirt until it looked like they had walked back in time. The cat stopped and sat in the middle of the road and waited for her human entourage. Jason and Mimi slowed and stopped, taking in the entrancing scene. 

The cobbled street flowed gently into a stone village that was both abandoned and inviting. Steep sloping roofs dripped cobwebs into empty flower boxes. Dust swirled in the air as the cat flicked her tail. It drifted around her like a cloak of secrecy. Tall stone walls with slender windows compressed the narrow streets squeezing their view upward. The sky between the eaves was like a gasp of fresh air after holding your breath.   

“Whoa! Look at this place!” Jason excitedly entered the vestigial place with Mimi close behind him. Within the walls of the village, their cat was joined by others. Dozens of cats paced the streets, sat in windows, stretched in doorways and watched them pass. 

“This is eerie,” said Mimi, but she was wide-eyed and smiling as she spoke. Their spontaneous trip to Italy had drawn them to an abandoned stone village occupied solely by cats. Eerie and intriguing indeed. Her feet no longer complained. 

Jason walked slowly towards some of the cats sitting in the doorway. He hunched forward with his hand out, gently encouraging them to approach him. They retreated into the darkness of the doorway aloof and inscrutable. Two of the smaller critters chased each other around Mimi's feet before realizing their proximity and scampering back into protective shadows.

Jason returned to Mimi in the middle of the street. Silently, they contemplated their remarkable situation. The dark windows of the buildings around them were full of eyes. They were benevolent and curious, yet still unsettling. How many visitors did these cats see? This town was not listed in their guidebook. How long had it been abandoned and when did it fill up with a feline colony? 

“This is so cool,” Jason whispered. Just a few weeks before, when Mimi had shared her travel idea, he had leaped at the chance for a break from his repetitive existence. Here was an affordable opportunity to spend a week in a remote Italian village. Now, he felt the brush of every cat’s gaze as if they were gently petting him. Soothing him. Reassuring him that he could still experience wonder. 

The atmosphere hugged the couple until the cats started to rustle, looking for their evening meal. Their soulful guide leaped up to an open window nearby and murmured her farewell with a throaty chirp. 

Back in their hilltop village, Mimi and Jason sat in the basement kitchen of their lodging. A fire burned in the big hearth. Glancing towards her partner, Mimi saw his brown eyes glow like they once did. It was like his thoughts were dancing in the flames for her to see. Throughout the last year, she had watched Jason trudge through his days. The joyful young man he was, eager to embrace new possibilities, was buried under a pile of small burdens and age-appropriate expectations. Now, in the warmth of an old fireplace, he was contemplating their afternoon with childlike wonder. Intelligent cat eyes, dusty buildings and flicking tails rose and fell across his face. He turned to her, and pulled her into the circle of his arm, “Thanks for making this happen,” he murmured, “Who knew a town full of cats could be so profoundly moving?”

Mimi giggled but her reply was sincere, “I think they knew.”

The cat guide nimbly criss-crossed the balconies and window sills until she reached her attic dwelling place. The evening sun had left its warmth on her favorite stone. She assembled her lithe body like a queen sphinx overlooking her realm. Satisfied with her day's adventure, she lifted her face towards the setting sun, eyes closed, blissfully savoring her simple, extraordinary existence.