To Dance With A Fetch

Copyright © 2012
All rights reserved.
Library of Congress, United States Copyright Office

Thick menacing clouds swirl and swell intermingling with thin white wisps as the massive storm drifts off toward the east. It is a dark and dreary morning late in the summer season as powerful winds howl through the large old trees forcing them to twist and groan under Mother Nature's vigorous strength.

Torrential sheets of rain cascade down the thin glass windows of the large old house. The deeply pitched roofline has numerous peaks and angles guiding the rainwater toward the already full gutters as water splashes over the edge and gushes from the downspouts. The yard is completely saturated and begins to form several large pools of water that with daylight approaching, begin to reflect the looming clouds above.

Lyla Harris, a very attractive woman in her mid thirties, is warm and cozy nestled in the crisp white sheets of her comfortable bed. Lying on her side with her shiny smooth brown hair cascading across the pillow, she slowly opens her pale blue eyes. The wind and rain from the storm is so turbulent and strident that she cannot imagine crawling out of bed to start the day.

Slowly she rolls over and glances at the window then looks at the clock sitting beside her on the little wooden table next to the bed. It reads six o'clock. Again, she glances at the window and watches as streaks of rain run and scatter down the pane as if racing to beat the other to the bottom. She closes her eyes and decides to stay right where she is.

The storm has dulled the effects of the rising sun causing Lyla's bedroom to be much darker than is normal for this time of day. She fluffs her thick firm pillow by lightly punching it a couple of times on the sides. Setting the pillow back in its place, she lies back resting her head in the middle of it. Her long chocolate colored hair lies to one side as it softly flows around the curve of her shoulder. With her eyes closed, she gently reaches down and pulls the sheet, along with a sage colored blanket, up to her neck.

Lyla blinks twice very slowly then closes her eyes completely as she begins to drift off to another dream. Her senses are fading as the sounds around her begin to grow softer as if being carried very far away. She can barely hear the wind blowing now as she drifts into that mysterious place between being fully awake and peacefully slumbering. It is as if she is floating to some secretive space in time. With a sluggish numbness overtaking her body, she is almost completely asleep and at peace.

Suddenly a rather large fluffy and stocky cat jumps right in the middle of Lyla's stomach causing her to lurch and immediately sit straight up in a panic!

"Oh Smokey!" groans Lyla as she squints her eyes from the pressure she just felt, her heart pounds wildly from the sudden shock and rude awakening. "Why did you have to do that?"

Smokey is a rather stout and extremely overstuffed gray cat that now has the full attention of her master, which was the whole ploy to begin with. Smokey starts purring loudly and responds to Lyla's complaint with a raspy voiced meow. Lyla cannot help but give her big fluffy cat a hug.

"You know I love you Smokey but I was almost completely asleep," says Lyla as she scratches Smokey behind her right ear. "We really need to work on your timing girl!"

Smokey is a very precious feline with long thick strands of variegated gray hair. She expects a good brushing every morning and is sure to demand this as if saying "now?" until she is satisfied. Cats tend to have interesting eyes but Smokey's are a unique color of yellow and green. To add to the dramatic tint, a thick band of black outlines them perfectly as if drawn by a talented artist. Smokey has scores of animated features for a cat as well as many human like qualities. So much in fact, that Lyla often wonders if this fuzzy feline was once a person in a past life.