Twinkle

Chapter 1: The vanishing cat

The brown froth kissed my lips as warm coffee made its way down my throat. The sun was getting ready to set up shop and so was Marie.
Another sip injected a pristine warmth in me as a golden orange washed over the walls of the café through a large window beside my table.
The once hueless streets of Paris were now dyed in several shades of colors, and so was Marie.
As I turned away from the light, I was taken aback by the cream of the walls which completed the chocolate of the dark wood furniture. A bicycle rested on the wall, as a poster of Alain Delon from the movie "once a thief" hung on the wall space above it, possible inputs of the two I met earlier.
"excuse me miss, can you help me with the sign at the door?"she said, wiping the top of the counter. I made my way through the tables to the door of the café, "alright".
A little bell hung on a nail supporting the "open" sign resting behind it. I flipped it around, and café Marie was open for business.
I made my way to the kitchen with an empty coffee mug. "merci" I said, making my way to the sink. He reached for the mug. "don't worry about it".
I turned around to leave, " I kept your box in the store, everything is just as you left it". I paused with my gaze still on the door. "I'm not going to ask what happened,but my sister and I are willing to help you in whatever way we can.".
My gaze fell to my feet. "Thank you". My body tightened up as I made my way back to the table.
"cling" "cling", the door swung open, it was a customer. The shades brightened as more people flooded the street.
A slight tug on my trouser averted my gaze from the window. It was a cat. It stroked my feet as I looked around to see if anyone had seen it come in. "excuse m..." it was gone.
My eyes darted around the café to no avail, but just as I was about to give up, there it was, staring at me from across the street. Our eyes locked for a moment, right before it vanished into the crowd.
The words echoed, retrieving me from a trance. "what are you looking at?", I jolted. "n..nothing".

I turned over to a plate. "it's Brioche French Toast with Brown Sugar-Cranberry Sauce". My stomach growled as I turned away . " you've seemed depleted since you got here. You should eat something". My eyes remained outside the window as her steps got quieter and quieter.
I stole another glance at the plate, my eyes glided over the golden yellow, dripping over the crusty sides in murky, reddish brown. "This is playing like some sick movie" I thought to myself. "If I ate this and became unconscious, they could easily turn me over to the police".
My stomach growled again "well, I wasn't this torn about the coffee earlier. If they wanted to drug me, that would've been a much better time".
I picked up the fork. "it's been over a day since I had anything to eat". My body prepared for the worst as I plopped a chunk of toast and cranberry into my mouth.
Smooth cranberry juices flowed down my throat as my muscles loosened up. My tongue kissed the top of my mouth. "It's delicious", I thought to myself as my eyes shot back open.
"your smile tells me we're off to a good start". A chortle escaped through my stuffed mouth. "care for another?". I muffled between gulps "yes...please".
She came over with another plate. "it's a pretty slow day" she dropped the plate, waving off a customer. I went in for another scoop as she sat on the seat directly behind me.
"This is the first time I'm seeing someone lighten up so much over French toast". My head lowered as my grip on the spoon loosened. "Everything today's been a first for me, watching and talking to people, eating at a café, I even saw a cat earlier".
For a moment it seemed all sound had been pulled away from the room.
"So how was your first French toast?" she asked cheerfully toned, ushering sound back into the room. I stuffed my mouth with another healthy scoop. "It was a little unsettling at first but it's delicious". She fell into her seat behind me. "I'm glad to hear that".
Our conversation went on after that, cutting across even movies that we liked. Apparently, she fancied Alain Delan, and went on about him for quite some time.
My sense of foreboding dwindled as the hours went by and I rotated between getting to know the two people that ran the café, even once delivering an order to a customer at their table.
The cream walls, lingering scents of roasted coffee beans and burning caramel quelled my unpleasant concerns about being hurled into a world I was separated from, but alas, the hands of the clock chipped away at my wishful thoughts of

preserving this moment.
He pulled out my box from a cabinet under a shelf of typical café ingredients. "Are you sure? You could stay another night if you need more time to collect yourself". My grip on the box tightened. "Thank you for letting me stay here, but I'll be on my way now".
I made my way through the tables as the sun set on my borrowed time in café chez Marie. Her concerned eyes pierced holes in me as I turned the door knob. "Merci", I thanked, walking out into a Paris draped in orange.
A feeling of uneasiness magnified as I walked further down the unfamiliar concrete paths, sifting through hordes of commuting people with fingers adamant to loosening their grip.
My attention was averted by a pull on my trouser. "it's you" I whispered to the cat as it lunged upwards, landing on my box.
"Did you follow me here?" I jested, stroking it's fur. He sat up on my box and pointed to a road with so little people it would've been difficult to notice.
"Are all cats this smart?" I thought to myself, dropping him on the ground. I turned away, but my attempts to continue walking were foiled.
My feet flailed and stamped but the cat wouldn't scram. "You're impossible". He stared me in my eye, with his paw extended in the direction of the road. I took another look at the road which was now even less populated.
I close my eyes and clenched my fists as I powered through the cat. I let out a sigh of relief after turning and seeing that the cat was gone but as my eyes returned, so did my distress. The cat sat right in front of me, pointing in that same direction.
"Mreeooww!" he protested, angrily throwing his tail toward the road. "Alright Alright!" I unwillingly surrendered.
The cat walked slowly, leading me along the quiet road. He turned occasionally, checking to see if I was still following. My mind was contradicted. "Are all cats like this?"
We continued down the road, as it became more riddled with potholes and patches of grass eventually reaching the very end where we were met with a gate concealed in grass.
The gate creaked, inviting in this nonchalant girl and persistent cat. My eyes dilated as a stiffness overwhelmed my ordinary impulse.

Before my eyes, bricks, roofs, doors and windows emerged, forming on this destitute land like an intricate puzzle. My eyes remained fixed until the last chimney block, gorged with disbelief as a mansion had entirely come to exist where it clearly didn't a few seconds ago.
The cat strolled towards the house, egging me on with it. "Mreow!" "Mreow!" . Inawe, I followed not far behind.