Purrl

One bright morning in early spring, cars honked, buses held up traffic, and bicycles whizzed down the street as the city awoke. The neighborhood dogs barked and howled, sounding the alarm that Purrl was slinking down the sidewalk on her way to the park. The usually bustling playground sat empty for now, and that was just the way Purrl liked it. Children often confused her. They were loud, and unpredictable. They could seem nice, but then turn mean without warning.

A wild breeze sent a small green leaf spinning to the ground. Purrl pounced on it, her reflexes quick and sharp. She lifted her paw and watched the tiny leaf blow away.

Purrl bounded up the steps of one of the large climbing structures. In a flash, she pulled herself up, and then crept across the top of the monkey bars. When she reached the middle, she stopped, arched her back, stretched her legs, and lifted her face to the sun. She swished her tail from side to side, enjoying the view of her kingdom from this high perch.

A robin swooped down to the grass from a nearby tree. Purrl thought about chasing the bird, but it flew back to its nest, with a beak full of worm, before she could make up her mind.

Purrl watched as a mini van pulled into the parking lot. A noisy bunch of children spilled out and ran towards the playground. The biggest child ran all the way to the monkey bars.

“Hey, get down from there! I’m going to cross!” he shouted at her.

Purrl ignored him, and began to preen her paws.

“Move!” the boy growled.

Purrl hissed, then leaped down. She bolted across the sand, stopping only when she had reached the pirate ship climber. After a quick glance behind her, she scaled the ladder with graceful, delicate steps. Purrl climbed all the way to the top of the crow’s nest, before once again arching her back, stretching her legs, and settling in to her new perch. 

The sun rose higher in the sky, warming the day. By now, the parking lot was a constant parade of vehicles, all coming or going with loads of children. The playground buzzed with energy, and friends darted every which way. 

3 girls chased each other through the sand, laughing and shrieking. Purrl arched her back and hissed as the girls made their way over to her climber.

“Eww, you’re weird!” cried one of the girls, when she spotted Purrl.

She poked at Purrl with a stick, taunting her. Purrl hissed and swiped at the girl.

“Get away from me!” the girl shouted.

“Get out of here!” her friends echoed.

Purrl scrambled down the ladder and skidded off the slide, landing in the sand with a soft thud. She popped up and zoomed over to the smaller climbing structure. This time, instead of perching high on the equipment, Purrl decided to hide underneath it. She kneaded the sand with her paws, settling in near a shady patch beneath the slide. 

An hour, or maybe more, passed, with Purrl lounging in the shade. The playground slowly began to clear out around lunch time. Most of the youngest children needed to be home to eat lunch and take their naps. It was then that a girl and her brother crawled under the small climber, next to Purrl. The two siblings didn’t notice her, at first. They were busy plotting the best way to dig a giant hole. 

The boy ran over to a woman sitting on a bench and grabbed 2 shovels out of a bag that was sitting at her feet. He crawled back under the climber and handed one of the shovels to his sister. The pair used the shovels to scoop up sand, which they then flung behind them. Purrl was hit in the face with a shovel full of sand. She froze, then cowered against the back of the slide.

“Oh, sorry. Are you okay? I didn’t see you there,” the boy called over to her, once he realized what had just happened.

Purrl hissed, swiped at him, and tucked herself tighter against the slide.

“Wait a minute, are you a cat?” he asked, taking in Purrl’s cat ear headband, and painted on whiskers.

Purrl hissed again. 

“Can you speak?” the boy wondered.

“Meow,” was all that Purrl would say.

“Would you like to play with me and my sister? We’re going to dig an enormous hole,” the boy said.

Purrl meowed and rubbed her head against the boy’s leg. 

“Meow, meow, meow,” she said, as she pretended to groom her paws.

“I’m the dad, she’s the mom, and you can be our kitty cat. We have to dig this hole, because it’s our job,” the boy explained.

“Do you actually think you’re a cat? Or are you just pretending?” the girl wanted to know.

Purrl took off her cat ear headband.

“I just like to pretend,” she said, before slipping the headband back on her head.

“I understand. When I was younger, I used to pretend that I was a dinosaur. It helped me feel strong, and brave,” the boy interrupted. 

“Okay. Here, kitty, kitty. I’ve got a bowl with your food in it,” the girl cooed.

She pushed a bucket of sand in Purrl’s direction. Purrl pretended to take dainty bites from the dish.

“And this is where your cat bed is. Pretend you want to go to sleep now,” the girl said, pointing to the spot beneath the slide.

“Meow,” said Purrl. 

She crawled over to her bed and kneaded the sand. Then she curled up and began to purr herself to sleep.

A gust of wind sent a leaf skittering under the climbing structure. When it tumbled in front of Purrl’s bed, she jumped up and pounced on it.

“Yeah! Good job, kitty! You got that mouse!” the boy cheered.

Purrl’s heart felt like it might burst from happiness. Finally, she’d found someone who understood her. She’d made friends who were willing to let her play, just as she was. She was sure this had to be the best day ever in at least 1 of her 9 lives.