The Cassette Tape

Sundown

I heard a rustle come from the alleyway next to the store which got me curious. I went there and near the dumpster I saw a scrawny little cat, It had yellow eyes and black fur covering it's body. Unlike what I had expected the cat simply meowed and sat in front of me with it's expectant eyes. I thought It was hungry, so I went back to the store, bought a can of tuna for the cat and rushed to the alleyway . The cat was right where it was before I left licking it's paws innocently. I kneeled down to it and pet it a little before opening the can for it to eat. I heard faint sounds of footsteps coming towards me getting louder and louder as the shadow on the ground grew bigger and bigger.

"You should drain the food before feeding it" The person said handing me a paper towel. I immediately looked up and although I couldn't recognise them at first due to the lights behind her I knew they seemed familiar, no, their voice sounded familiar. "Oh, okay" I took the towel from their hand and did as they said. The cat started eating it almost immediately after I placed it down. "poor thing, must not have eaten for a while." They sat next to me and looked at the cat eating it's food. I got a closer look at their face and within a jiff I came to the conclusion that she and the woman at the shop are the same person. 'Ah! so that is why she sounded familiar, She was the woman from the shop earlier.' "First time feeding cats?" She asked and I nodded in reply. There was barely any exchange between us. 'I mean I understand her , What would you even talk about with a stranger that you met on a random alleyway?' she slowly turned her head towards me "We keep running into each other huh? First we bumped into each other then I saw you at the pawn shop and now here." "I- you remember me?" l asked her shocked that she would remember me. "Yeah and I've got to say you guys have a lot of things that are my style and that globe I bought looked fantastic." "H- how?" "It was simple, you were holding a duster in your hands" she replied and I quickly realised how stupid my question was and how anyone in that situation would have assumed someone cleaning the shop was an employee. "Oh... yeah, the duster" I mumbled. She was unexpectedly easy-going unlike how cold she looks. The awkwardness slowly retuned back as we turned back towards the cat. A few seconds later the cat had it's final bite of the food. The woman stood, I pet the cat one last time and got up as well. "I- um... I have to go" I said. "Don't worry I will take care of it." she assured me. "Thank you" I waved farewell and started to run home.

This time the sky was a bit darker and the street lights were turned on, some flickering while others were not. The children were walking home while talking to each other carrying footballs and chalks in hand. The sky was covered in many shades of red, orange and yellow with a few blue patches here and there. I stopped for a moment "I... have never seen my street like this" I said out loud, admiring the beauty that surrounded me. A mixture of the cold breeze, sounds of crows flying in the sky and the rustling of leaves was oddly comforting. Worries faded away from my mind and the image of the cat I fed came to my and I was worried for it's safety, after all the idea of leaving an animal in the hands of a random stranger would leave anyone feeling concerned for it's safety ... " Shoot, I forgot ask her name!" I was almost all the way home and the woman must have already left with the cat, there was nothing I could do about it now.