Mad Woman Rambles

Floating through sightless darkness, the flutter of butterflies filling my belly, my only company. This inky blackness surrounded me, engulfed me with no noise, no smell, no taste, nothing but my thoughts. ‘Is this the void everyone talks about?’ I wonder.  

‘I get it now. I could stay here forever. No pain. No stress. It isn’t even cold like I thought…’ My thoughts are interrupted as I am ripped out of the peace of oblivion, slamming hard onto the hardwood floor. All my senses overwhelmed by being reintroduced to life.  Even though landing was hard, I deftly navigated it with all four paws and my swishing tail. Balanced perfectly in this fur body.

‘Well this sucks. Back in this ball of fluff,’ I think with a sigh. Blinking into the sudden brightness, I sit on my hunches and lick my front paw, appreciative of the agility of cats. In my human body I would have been sprawled out over the floor.

As I contemplated what had just happened moments before, I have to dart out of the way as Krystal nearly crashes down on top of me. Her screech brought the wild haired woman from before into the room. Stormi just stands there and wipes the flour from her hands onto her half apron as she assesses us. We are in a house that I assume belongs to them.  

“Good, you made it home. Dinner is almost done. Where’s Misty?” Stormi asks the disheveled lump that is her niece. Krystal untangles herself and jerks her head around as she realizes where we landed.  

“Shut the portal! Shut the portal! Lock it down!” Krystal shouts as she struggles to stand. Stormi doesn’t hesitate. With a circular wave of her hands, she brings them together with a loud clap. The resounding clap reverberated throughout the space causing the swirling hole to blink out of existence allowing Krystal to exhale in relief. Unceremoniously, she picks herself up the rest of way and leans against a nearby patchworked chair.  

“Do you mind telling me what that was all about?” Stormi asks eyeing her niece as the front door opens. Krystal starts, jumping into a half-hearted and clumsy karate stance in an attempt to defend herself against whomever just entered the house.

‘She wouldn’t be able to take on anyone standing that way,’ I surmised continuing to lick my front paw in amusement. Just then Misty and an older woman with a long white braid slung over her shoulder enter the small room to join the commotion.  

Misty raises an eyebrow at her sister. “You wouldn’t be able to take on a sleepy toddler in that stance,” she smirked turning her questioning gaze to her aunt Stormi. Stormi just shrugs and goes back to the other room she had originally come from.  

“Uh, you okay, sis?” Misty asks Krystal who visibly relaxes taking another deep breath.

Growing tired of the drama I meow and purr loudly winding my way through Misty’s legs. The other older woman takes one look at me and picks me up by the scruff of my neck. One minute I am blissfully marking Misty as mine and then neck I am in the most humiliating and vulnerable position I have ever been in. But before I could protest or scratch that old witch’s eyes out with my mini talons, she produces a long sharp pin out of nowhere positioning it way too close to my heart.  Not just any pin but a nebulas pin. Those things aren’t allowed outside of official S.N.O.B channels. How did she get one?

 “Meeeeooooowwww!” I wail as I bat at the pin trying to get it as far from me as possible. The sisters turn towards us as I square off with this old wild woman.  

 “Why don’t we all calm down and come eat. Dinner’s ready,” Stormi says shaking her head and ducking back through the door frame again. Misty carefully approaches me and the old crazy bat who was currently trying to murder me with her eyes.  

“Aunt Flo, why don’t you give me either the pin or the cat,” Misty says placing a hand on her aunt’s arm. I meow and Misty rescues me from the evil wench’s grasp. Petting me to sooth my frazzled nerves as she hands me off to Krystal, who continues with the soothing pets. I think we both needed the reassurance. It had been a long day, and I was not looking forward to any more drama. Maybe a nice pinot and some tuna. Wait… Eww. Maybe not that combination. Damn cat brain.   

“Care to tell me what is going on,” Misty asks Krystal who is steadily stroking my fur pulling a soft purr escapes from me. “I only left you at the store an hour ago. How much trouble could you have gotten into?” she asks.  

“Jona,” Krystal whispers into my fur. I think she didn’t want to say his name too loud in fear he would find us again.  

“Jona?” Misty asks confused. “Care to elaborate?” Misty probes folding her arms waiting for an answer.  

Krystal clears her throat, “A mistake. He was a big mistake, and I really don’t want to talk about it.” She sighs and plops down into the patchwork chair she had leaned against earlier.  

“Okay, I guess we can talk about it later,” Misty comments understanding she wasn’t going to get any further in her questioning with her sister. Misty turns to an irate Aunt Flo who has turned as red as a beet. I could almost make out a faint breeze lifting her fly away hair from around her face.  

“Unacceptable,” Aunt Flo announces, stamping her foot and rounding on us. “Krystal, I don’t know what you have been getting involved in, but please remove that djinn from my house!” Flo shouts pointing her finger at me making my furry eyebrows rise in shock. “She is a foul creature and deserves her current predicament.” Flo finished and leaves the room through the door her sister had exited through earlier.  

 “Wait what?!” Both sisters exclaim as they stand there slack jawed at their aunt’s announcement of me.  

‘How the Hells did that witch know what I am?!’ I think, indignant of being called a foul creature.