just follow the cat

Part 7 - How to Know Things Only Cats Know

late Saturday, November 13

through early Sunday, November 14

So it was that 208 and 902 began to learn about each other's lives. One was a street cat and the other a Martian. One was black and the other was green. One had extra toes and the other had lost several toes somewhere during his travels between Mars and Baltimore.

208 wrote first. She asked, "What do you like best about being a Martian? Have you been to any other planets? I would like to go to Pluto, but I haven't been anywhere outside of Baltimore. 208"

The response from 902 shocked 208. It shocked Cassandra as well. And it wasn't because the message on the card was outrageous or appalling or extraordinary. It was the card itself that was shocking. Instead of a hot pink card, 902 wrote his response on a card that was all black. Well, almost all black. The card had a nearly full moon in the upper right corner. And because the card was black, the ink couldn't be the same color. Like any respectable Martian, 902 wrote his response in fluorescent green ink.

To read the card, Cassandra and The Cat Named 208 shut themselves in a closet and let the words glow. 902 had written, "As a Martian you get to experience the best of all possible worlds. In the spring and summer, you disappear when the world is completely green. Then in the fall and winter you reappear when the world is brown again. But because the world is brown and the air is cold, no one pays attention to you anymore. I like that I get to be everywhere and nowhere at different times of the year. As for other planets, I haven't been to any except Mars, but I have been to California. That's kind of the same thing, isn't it? What do you think is faster: a cat's paw or a hummingbird's wings? 902"

208 thought the question about the hummingbird was silly because a cat's paw is clearly the fastest thing on the face of the Earth. And probably even on Mars, though she couldn't say for sure. "Cat's paw. Hands down. (ß Think about it. It's a cat joke.)"

902 realized that this was undoubtedly the right answer, so he followed up by asking, "Well then, what do you think is slower: a sloth climbing a tree or the sunshine creeping across a bedroom floor?"

Again, 208 thought the question had a simple and obvious answer. "I certainly hope it's the sunshine," she wrote. "I want to lay inside that warmth forever."

Aldrin pictured a green cat and a black cat lounging side by side on a sunny spot on the floor. In his mind, he watched them until the sun set. As the light got dimmer, the two cats flowed into each other from head to tail and tail to head like quotations marks for the shortest quote in history. Their colors faded as the sunlight got weaker. Faded and faded until they were exactly the same colorless color.

902 asked, "So tell me, Are all cats gray in the dark?"

208 responded quickly, "Of course not. But all dogs are."

"So which are prettier? Yellow cats or calicos?" Even before Aldrin sent this card under the in-between door, he had already written a follow up question about green cats and black cats. But when he read the response from 208, he changed his mind.

208 had written, "I think all cats know they are beautiful. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, every cat thinks it's the prettiest in the world. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, they think they are even prettier than the prettiest. But on Sundays, they wonder whether it's right to be so pretty or if they should care at all about such things. Actually, I think that last part happens on a Wednesday and I've just forgotten the details. I guess there's too much luxurious living on this side of the door."

Aldrin walked across his small room and leaned into the bathroom to see his reflection in the mirror. It was still Saturday and he wasn't prettier than the prettiest. He was just older than old. He was a phantom of what he remembered himself to be and he wondered how much longer he could stand seeing his wrinkles get longer, deeper, and mate with other wrinkles to give birth to another sad month.