Favorite Spot

My favorite spot is gone. The rug feels colder now, the stiff fibers pressing into my fur like tiny needles. Why hasn’t she opened the curtains yet? It’s been a long time. Where is the light? Where is the warmth? Where’s my food?

Every day, she wakes up, crosses the room, and lets that big golden glow spill across the floor. So, what gives?

Leaping up, my paws sink into the plush surface, my eyes scanning over the fabric laid out. A lump forms in the darkness, a gentle rise and fall motion residing at its peak.

“Hello?” I call out. “Are you okay?”

No response. Even though my human can never understand me, my efforts to speak with her remain strong. Maybe one day, she will.

Climbing over a smaller hump, I make my way over to the other side, tilting my head up to see her face. A warm breeze reaches my nostrils, the scent carrying hints of chicken. I sneeze, licking my nose clean. Her eyes remain closed with her mouth stuck open. I reach out, pressing on her arm. She doesn’t budge.

“What’s wrong?” I try again, pushing my head beneath her hand. The arm rises, holding its weight down on top of me. The face twitches, eyelids lifting open, fingers brushing through my hair. I breathe in and out, the muscles vibrating in my throat. Her face brightens, lips curling upward. My eyes close, continuing the deep sounds within me. She speaks to me like I do to her, as if I can translate her words. It’s all foreign to me. Yet somehow, I sense the meaning behind them. She is happy, calm at the sight of me being there. But something changes. Something is wrong. Her face scrunches up, wincing in pain. Her hand slips off of me as she rocks back and forth, her voice crying out.

“Oh no!” I say, “Are you okay? What can I do to help you?”

My head spins around, surveying the room. What should I do? Who should I get for you?

The sound continues, echoing off the walls. Returning to the edge of the mattress, I drop down on the floor, searching for anything that might help. She always likes it when I bring her things. Maybe she wants me to do that. I slip underneath the wooden frame, hoping to find my favorite toy mouse. Where did I leave it? Where is it?

Reaching the far back corner, there’s a sweatshirt laying there that wasn’t there before. I dig my paws into it. C’mon. C’mon. It has to be here! I dig and dig, moving as fast as I can. When finally, I see a bright pink fuzz of hair sticking out from inside the big hole connected to the two strings. I see it! Grabbing it in my mouth, I carry it back out, jumping back onto the bed.

“Here! I got you something!” I say, dropping it next to her hand.

She notices it, but continues to holler and roll around. I hunt down more toys, a fish, a spring, a pipe cleaner. None of them work.

“Isn’t this what you wanted?” I ask. Then, I remember what made her smile last time. My body presses up against her, and I begin my vibrations again.

The woman stops for a second, eyes on me. She smiles, even laughs.

“Oh, so this is what you wanted?” I say.

Again, it’s cut short. Her face contorting, screaming in pain.

The door opens and the light flicks on. Turning my head toward the door, a dark figure appears in the entryway. It startles me. I leap off the bed, finding the hole between the dresser, squeezing my body against the wall. In the tight space, my body contorts, giving me enough leverage to peek out.

Boots hit the ground, wood creaking underneath. I’m left wondering when it’s all going to end. When, it does. There’s absolute silence. Followed by a strange sound that comes, my ears perking up. A low-pitched wail fills the room. It’s so loud, I tuck my ears against my skull to drown out the noise. Through the muffles, I hear some shuffling around. A coat falls to the floor, my back jumping up. I see a boy drop to the floor, knees bent. His body doubles over, sobbing.

After a while, more feet come in, surrounding the bed. They heave the woman up onto a device another rolls in. Strapping her down, they roll her out. Gone as soon as they came. The boy stays there, hunched over on the mattress. I crawl out of my hole, tiptoeing closer to him. Where did he come from? Who is he? Have I met him before? Climbing the bed, I approach his head. He still hasn’t seen me yet. Sitting down, I watch him for a moment. What’s he doing?

“Hey!” I say. “Are you okay?”

He stops, tilting his head up to look at me. His eyes glisten in the light, lips quivering.

Sounds come out of his mouth, but I still don’t understand anything a human says. Tilting my head, staring back at him. Who is this kid?

He reaches out, but I don’t move away. His hand resting on my head. He rubs his fingers through my fur, much like she did. Is he her little one?

I use my talent, vibrating my muscles again. He smiles, the shape matching hers.

“He is hers!” I’m so excited it slips from my mouth.

The boy laughs, stands up, and speaks again. He then heads toward the door, exiting the room.

Where is he going now?

A moment later, he’s already returned with a bowl and a bag of food. My stomach rumbles. With all this commotion, I forgot how hungry I was. He takes a knee, setting it down on the floor. Opening the bag, he pours the food into the bowl. The sound music to my ears. I land on all fours, approaching the dish. My mouth waters. Before I eat, I glance up at the boy, who watches me. He tilts his head to the side, gesturing at the food with his hand. I sit down onto the carpet, bending over to begin my meal. It’s delicious. It’s everything I hoped and dreamed it would be. Fish. My favorite. I could never get tired of it.

Once I finish, I lick my teeth clean. “Thank you,” I say, angling my head back up.

He reaches toward me. I don’t move away. I stay still. His hand falls onto my head, rubbing back and forth. It then moves down my spine, sending a comforting tingling feeling across my entire body. When he reaches my rear, the sensation is strong. It flows into my hind legs, forcing them to stiffen and push up. I vibrate my throat. Loving every minute of this. But then, a bang sound comes. I scurry under the bed. I can hear footsteps coming up the stairs, approaching the door. It opens, and a new tall figure enters. Who is that?

I risk a look from underneath to see it's a man. One I almost forgot about. The man who left a few days ago. The man who hurt her.

He kneels in front of the boy, hugging him, whispering in his ear. The boy yelps, letting out a small cry. It hurts my ears, but I continue to watch. The man’s eyes scan the room until they fall onto me, noticing me there. He smiles, says something, before he begins to crawl over to my location. I let out a small growl at the sight of him, not moving quite yet. When he reaches the bed, he reaches a hand under to grab me. I hiss at him, throwing out my claws. One connects, and he lets out a grunt, backing off. I lick my paw in satisfaction.

Retreating to the boy, the man takes his hand, the boy hesitating. He doesn’t seem like he wants to go. But the man is insistent, dragging the boy. He tries fighting back, his efforts futile. The boy kicks the man in the leg, the man yelping. He’s set free from his grasp, running toward me. I meet him at the edge of the bed, reaching out my paws. His hands connect with mine, but only for a second because the man is back, and pulling away at the boy. I try my best to pull back, but I can't hold on. I don’t have thumbs like a human does. I lose my grip, the boy disappearing. I slip out, sprinting toward the man who now carries the child over his shoulder. As I make it to his ankle, I bring out my claws, digging into his skin. The man screams, throwing his leg around. He doesn’t let go of the boy. I don’t either. He stumbles around, not knowing where to go. His foot hits my food bowl, knocking it over. He tries to stabilize himself by moving his other leg further back. It hits my scratching post, causing him to lose all his balance. He tumbles backwards, the boy kicking out his legs. I release my grip from his ankle. Watching in horror.

The man’s body hits the floor, his skull slamming into the wall with a sickening crunch. The boy slides down below the man’s back.

“Oh no!” I yell, zooming over.

Leaping over the man’s legs, I make my way to the boy. His body is still, like the man’s.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

There’s no response.

My heart skips a beat. Please be okay. Please be okay. I sniff his face, then lick his cheek. His skin is white and cold. Please wake up. Please wake up. The boy doesn’t move.

I take out my claws again. “I’m sorry, but I have to do this.”

Before I talk myself out of it, I scratch his face hard, drawing blood.

The boy screams, waking up. His hands shoot up to his cheek, crying out, gasping for breath. Color returns to his face.

He looks around, looking at me and then the man. He picks me up, a tear falling from his eye, whispering words to me. I vibrate my throat in response, and he smiles.

Setting me down, he gets up, picks up the phone, and dials a number. After a while, blue flickering lights glow from outside, and more people enter the room. They carry the man out of the room, applying first aid to the boy. He gets a bandage on his face, and a woman hands him candy, speaking to him. The boy nods, conversing back before looking at me, pointing to me. The woman smiles, nodding back. The boy walks over, picking me up, cradling me in his arms. I vibrate.

We leave the room together, the woman escorting us outside. Entering a car, we drive away from our home, into the unknown. There are so many other houses. So many colors and sounds. It’s all new to me. I don’t know where we are. The boy massages my back with his free hand; it calms me as we enter a place with even bigger buildings. Looking out the window, there are hundreds of people and cars. Where are we?

Our car stops, the woman gets out, opening the door for us. We go into a bright white building with sliding doors. The air inside is clean with lights bright as the sun. I squint my eyes as we walk through a long corridor until we stop at an open entryway. The woman opens it, allowing us to go inside. The boy creeps in, approaching the bed by the window at the end of the room, where a person lies on a bed. The woman notices, sitting more upright, and smiling at the sight of us.

She speaks. She’s relieved. We’re here. We’re safe.

The boy places me down on the bed next to the woman, who I can sense is my owner. His mother. The boy starts to sob. Mom reassures him. How strong he was. How brave he was.

He climbs onto the bed with us, picking me up, cuddling into his mother’s arms. In this moment, I realize my spot in the rug will never compare to this. This feeling right here. My favorite spot wasn't in the sun or in the old box that wasn't thrown away.

No.

It was right here the whole time.

This is my favorite spot. And I do what I do best.

I purr.