Ship of Dreams... And Other Short Stories

Angel's Purr

As the sun comes up, I make my way to the open window. I crawl inside so my face scratches up against the screen. I look out at the world I can only dare to live in. I claw at the small holes, trying to set myself free.

Then I see her, the lovely Evangeline. She makes her way up the steps of the back porch, her eyes focused on me and only me. She purrs so elegantly, in a way only angels purr, making my heart beat like an over-obsessive lover.

She struts right up to the window and stares me down. Asks why she's never seen me around town. I tell her I am locked inside, never to come out. I am forced to stay put in this itty bitty house.

She asks my name and I tell her. She turns her head in curiosity and licks her lips. She offers to break me out, to make me a rebel. That's when I start clawing on the screen again, determined to take advantage of her offer.

The window sill becomes too small, and I find myself slipping off of it onto the carpet. I carefully jump back up and there my lovely Evangeline still sits, laughing. She says I'm a coward, can't even balance on a sill. I look down in shame.

She offers to teach me how to be strong, how to roam the world like a real living creature. Before I can answer, I hear a voice from behind me. I turn my head to see Her. She's getting up from her bed, walking over to us.

And it's then where it becomes too late, the offer to change my fate. She walks up to me and takes me in her arms. She looks at my Evangeline and smiles, something I haven't seen her do in a while.

And then the smile turns into a laugh. She turns around, back into the ash. She says I'm too funny, too cute. I ignore her kind words and jump out of her arms.

I travel back to the window, only to find my Evangeline is gone.