Watch and wait, they said, as she anxiously paced the parquet floor, awaiting news of her cat's veterinary progress after he'd broken into the bathroom (all twelve pounds of him, a large-breed cat), and jumped three-and-a-half feet high to chomp at the silk mask's elastic, swallowing the five-inch string whole.
No metal bits, thank heavens.
A hurried conversation to another later, one who brushed off such concerns with "just let him poop it out!"
But still. Being a newly-indoctrinated pet owner (or owned, depending on whose perspective—hers or the cat's), she couldn't help but worry. After said vet appointment, she had slept near the creature, thinking perhaps she would monitor breathing and any hint of abnormal physiological symptoms.
Calling the veterinarian in the morning, she was instructed to keep doing the same all weekend. And there she sat, cross-legged and utterly sleep-deprived as the feline made himself comfortable inches away on her magenta hibiscus-printed yoga mat.
Anything for you.
He had poked and prodded her all night, one paw then the other, concerned for her well-being, ironically enough. Oh, child...and here she was, vaguely awake and nonfunctional as anything.
Take me to a place much simpler than this...or so the lyrics went, as she drifted off in slumber...
And down, down, and further still she plummeted—
Until, hitting soft soil, she came to her feet, hands brushing against a rough-hewn door as it opened, beckoning forth tropical sunlight, verdant greenery, and a gentle plumeria-scented breeze.
The Azores.
Walking another block, she crossed the street, recognizing the magenta hibiscused stop sign and the plaster-stucco building directly in front of her. Epicenter Pico, in all its glory.
"But I don't have—a key"—she stopped, her fingers brushing against an aged metal object in her purse. Soon enough, she made her way through the entryway, making a beeline for the master bedroom and the sumptuous king-sized bed within, with its plump, fluffed ocean-hued pillows.
Adventures aplenty—but now, all she simply wanted was to sleep—
Perchance, to dream.
YOU ARE READING
The Inside Diaries
Short StoryA fanfic author and her cat welcome escape in her tropical alternate universe, in a series of short chapters.
