The Tale of the Cat Who Stared
The cat stared at me.
Clear light green eyes, all bristling challenge.
The eyes said, shoo now! This is my spot.
I sat safely in my car and stared at the cat.
Please share, cat. It’s really hot!
The cat continued to stare at me, motionless.
I remembered that while eye contact is sought after by humans, in the animal kingdom it’s a sign of aggression. Of challenge.
I’m quite the coward. I had no wish to challenge the cat. But then again, it was so hot. The tree was bountifully bursting with leaves; the shade it gave was a perfect oasis.
I wanted to park there.
But the cat…
I couldn’t open the door to get out because it was sitting right there. Staring me down.
Unmoving, unblinking…
A bird trilled “krooo krooo krooo!” in the background. No doubt it was laughing it’s head off at this great big human, sitting inside a metal monster, scared of a little cat.
The cat doesn’t know it’s little, half my mind reasoned.
It does know that its teeth and claws are sharp. Do not provoke it to defend its territory! The other half of my mind hissed. Cat, stupid! Claws! Teeth! Sharp!!!
I sat in the car, door locked, glass raised, and stared at the cat.
The cat stared right back.
Impasse…
I needed to retrieve my laptop from the boot. That meant getting out, though.
No thank you!
And we stared. The cat and I.
You know what, I won the game.
The cat got up, stretched, gave me another disdainful look, and walked off, slowly. Regally.
I nipped out of my seat, dashed to the boot, got out my laptop, and leaped back inside, slamming the door shut.
Safely in, I peaked out again.
The cat had disappeared.
I sighed and opened the door to let the afternoon breeze into the stifling hot car.
No, this isn’t a horror tale.
No snarl of teeth and claws and bristling fur as the demon cat leaped in… Not at all.
I spent a peaceful afternoon, and wrote the Tale of the Cat Who Stared.
Right now, for you to read!
