Tangerine: Maybe Slightly Based on the Time We Lost Our Cat! A Short Story; Part 1

Tangerine: Maybe Slightly Based on the Time We Lost Our Cat! A Short Story; Part 1 ~~~~~~~~~~-~~~~~~~~~~~~-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The day began normally enough. At 7:31 A.M. Cecilia rolled out of bed-literally- when her mother called up, “Cecelia, Melina, time to get up for school!”

Cecilia mumbled something incoherent, stood up, and turned on her light. Then she stuck her head into her younger sister Melina’s room. “Hey, Melina, you awake?”
Aw, it’s time to get up now? Melina thought. Aloud she mumbled, “Thank you. Did Mom wake us up?”

“She woke me up, but your door was closed, so you slept through,” Cecilia chuckled. Melina’s small kitten- a brown Mackerel Tabby named Tangerine darted from the dark room and into the bathroom, where a water bowl was located. She pawed at the bowl, sending its contents splashing. “Mrow, purr, meow!” Tangerine said, “Maybe today I will go exploring!”
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Tangerine’s humans left a little bit later, and “Tangy” went out to wave them off. After the sputtering vehicle carrying the humans left, Tangy scurried up a tree as fast as she could. The older cat, who was a Maine Coon-Tabby and was aptly named Fluffy, rose from her position sunning on the sidewalk and meowed up, “Good morning; do you want to play?”

“Sure!” Tangerine scampered back down and pounced on Fluffy, who growled good naturedly and batted the younger kitten. Tangerine ran a few paces away and her playmate followed, swinging her tail. The former did a feint attack and then darted away, with the other cat close on her heels. The chase was on!
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A few hours later, Tangy was bored. She had tracked 2 butterflies, attacked one of her human’s dogs, munched on her kibble, traumatized her neighbor’s chickens, napped, walked part of the small neighborhood, and now what? She stretched in the driveway, which was warm with the sun. A breeze ruffled her whiskers and brought a scent to her little black nose – baking chicken. Tangerine’s mouth watered and she ran her tongue over her lips. The smell was coming from the neighbors next door- ironically, the same neighbors who kept pet chickens. Tangy scampered quietly over to their yard.

“Boof!” came a voice. Tangerine froze. Aww Mice! She had forgotten about their dogs. The bark came again, and though she knew little dog-ese, Tangerine understood- “Get away! Intruder! Cat!” Fortunately, she heard the dog’s human bark back, “Todo! Be quiet!” Todo tucked his tail and ran inside. Yes! Tangerine purred. She slipped her tiny frame in between the fence slats. Uh-oh- her collar was stuck on the wood! Her shook her neck to free her little ladybug-patterned collar and proceeded into the yard. She darted across, trusting her nose to find the roasting chicken. Ahead was a wavy surface. Tangy hesitantly put a paw down on it, but quickly withdrew it. “Ach, a pool cover!” She flung the few water droplets off her foot then gently pattered over the cover, which jiggled as she walked over. To her delight, the patio’s door was open, and she slid inside. The scent of dog overwhelmed her, and she nearly ran back out. But the aromatic smell of chicken steeled her resolve. Todo was sleeping lightly on a dog bed, his little tan nose flinching. Cautiously, Tangerine entered the kitchen. A young woman was just taking out a plate of poultry from the microwave. The kitten hid behind a chair and waited far the woman to leave. Then she hopped up on the counter, ate a few bites, then hopped back down and went to explore. The young woman, Kathleen, returned to the room and paused, thinking she heard something, like a rustle. She shrugged and closed the patio door. She did not hear the sound again… until that afternoon.

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A Preview for Next Time…….

“Hello?” Kathleen stuck her head into the hallway when she heard the noise from upstairs.  Hearing nothing, she cautiously climbed the stairs, turning on all the lights she could as she went…

She reached her room and quickly flipped on a switch.  To her horror, her lamp had fallen off her nightstand and her window blinds were closed.  To her further fright, she heard to the awful pitter-patter-rustle-rustle she had heard earlier and had blamed on the wind… 

She rushed to pull out her cell phone and then dialed her mother.

“Mom Mom Mom! I think my room is haunted!!”