The Magic of Stories | ONC 2024 shortlist

3 - Cat

I stood in the gloomy last aisle of the library, motionless like I'd been struck by lightning, my gaze fixed on the feline lounging on a shelf at eye level. But the cat didn't disappear and the eerie blue glow didn't fade either. Convinced this was the weirdest thing I'd ever seen, I was torn between  screaming or turning and running. In my state of shock, I did neither, and what happened next made me doubt my sanity.

The tabby blinked a pair of huge emerald eyes and opened its mouth in a broad grin, showing off a row of pointy white teeth. "Don't you like blue?"

The cat's voice was hoarse, as if it wasn't used very often, but the words were spoken without an accent. Out of my depth, I bumped into a bookshelf with my back and reached out my arms in search of support. My left hand found the cool metal rim of the shelf and pushed a book aside. I didn't care, but hung onto the stable point like a ship to its anchor in a storm, needing it to keep myself from fainting while I fumbled for words in vain.

The tabby blinked again. "Has the cat got your tongue, if I may use this old saying? It might be quite adequate, under the circumstances." The grin grew broader, as if the cat were pleased with its wordplay. "I asked you a question, young lady."

"Um, what?" Why did my knees no longer support my weight?

"I don't like to repeat myself, but since you're new here, I'll make an exception. Don't you like blue?"

"Um." Not a masterpiece of an answer, not even while stomaching the shock of my life and talking to a cat. A talking, blue, glowing cat. Was I going bonkers? After the last few days, everything seemed possible. However, it wouldn't do to get outwitted by an imaginary cat—or some other odd fickle of my mind. Because that's what this had to be, right? I gulped down some air and tried again. "It—it is a fashionable shade of blue, and I think it suits your unique eye colour quite um—well." There, take that, my imaginary friend.

The cat folded the front paws under its chest, is whiskers quivering in silent laughter. "Ha, this time, Marjorie found us an eloquent one. So, I gather you are going to be the new collaborator in this place?"

I shrugged, my initial shock about the talking tabby fading to leave me in a state of unbelieving wonder. "I guess. This is my first day, though, and I still have to decide if the job suits me—and to prove that I can replace Marjorie."

The cat tilted its head, wrinkled the rosy nose, and scrutinised me from head to toe with its huge, shiny eyes. "I'm sure you'll do. At least you didn't run away screaming when you discovered me, like some others I could mention."

"Should I have?" I wondered if it would have been the sensible thing to do, but knew it was too late for it now.

The mischievous grin was back. "I don't eat librarians, if that's what has you looking so worried. Not even assistant librarians, even if they look as yummy as you."

Was this the feline equivalent of a compliment? Yummy was a first for me, not even Oliver had resorted to this type of endearments in the times our relationship was all pink clouds and fluffy unicorns. "I'm glad to hear, I guess. Tell me, what is a talking blue cat doing in a library?"

"Ha, indeed, a valid question. Let me inform you that I know a nosy human when I see one. But is our new assistant librarian as clever as she is eloquent? What do you think about turning this into a riddle and test if you can find the correct answer on your own?"

Great, on top of a hostile coworker, I was now blessed with a riddle-playing tabby cat. "Isn't the riddle game supposed to be a sphinx's kind of entertainment?"

"Well, a sphinx could be considered a cat too, in essence." I'd never seen a cat look so smug.

"And will I turn into stone if I don't find the answer in a given timeframe, too?" This place—or my imagination—got weirder by the minute.