¿ɪꜱ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴀʟʟ ʀᴇᴀʟ? ✰𝔸𝕝𝕖𝕩 𝕋𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕣 𝟙-𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕥𝕤✮

✰. 18

Sculpture

✰

Another perfect day to take a walk. By perfect, Alex meant a cloudy day with no chance of sun peaking through the leaden clouds. His boots hitting the cobble resonated through the street. Despite the time of day, not many people were out. The occasional business man on their way to work, giving him short nods of acknowledgment.

He glanced at every passing store and building with little to no interest. He's been through the street many times, so there's nothing new for him to see. Why don't we get lost for a bit?

His feet take him around the city on autopilot, and he turns various corners. His eyes are solely focused on what is in front of him, almost walking like a puppet on a string. He found a sense of serenity in this walk, especially in this new and unexplored part of the city. No people bugging him about anything.

As he walked down this street, he noticed it was emptier than usual. No cars along the sidewalk. There are no tables outside the small restaurants. No birds planted on the utility poles. The further he walked, he saw nobody in the shops, but the lights were turned on. It was like everyone had disappeared. A ghost town.

He paused his movements as he saw a small flash of black run across his vision. A little startled, he looked around and saw a black cat with icy blue eyes sit on the rocky pavement a couple feet away from him. The cat's slit eyes stared at Alex in a way as if the feline was questioning why there was a man in front of him.

A couple of steps were all it took, and Alex kneeled down to pet the cat. "Are you alone, kitty?" He took his hand and started to pet the cat on its head before moving behind its ears.

The cat tilted its head back in response, and a low purring sound emitted from its throat. His hand went lower to the neck and felt a band around the fur. He moved the collar to try and find any information about this cat.

"Luna..." He read the name and looked at the cat whose light eyes were closed. "That's a perfect name for you, kitty."

Luna meowed once and started to walk away from him down this alley that was filled with broken glass and clay. He stood up and watched her go, but the young mouser turned her head back and meowed again.

"Are you trying to get me to follow you?" He asked, but no answer was given. The cat simply turned back and started walking. He sighed a bit and followed the cat, being careful not to damage his boots with the sharp glass and dusty clay.

They made it to the end of the alley, and he was met with a cul-de-sac type center. The shops again looked abandoned, and he watched Luna sit on the bench for the bus stop. He walked a bit while looking at each shop and sat down on the bench next to the mysterious cat. He put his warm hand on her spine and started to pet her, "Do you know why this place is... so lonely?"

He looked at the cat, sort of expecting an answer, but the cat remained still like a sculpture, just staring off into the distance, or per say one shop.

He followed her line of sight and saw a woman, either about his age or even younger. Most likely in their mid twenties. He watched her through the clear window as she placed her hands on a mound of clay and started carving out holes or adding large pieces of clay to certain parts of the unknown configuration of malleable material.

Despite the early stages of her work, he could already tell what she was about to create. The cat meowed, trying to get him to snap out of his trance, but he didn't hear. His view was suddenly obstructed by the city bus. Why is - oh. Right, he was sitting at a bus stop.

He hesitantly got on and turned behind him to see the cat was already gone. The door closed behind him, and he turned his view to the front. The woman was gone, too.