Author Topic: I missed my one chance to be transported to a Fantastical Land of Magical Things  (Read 1591 times)

Offline Aurora

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Here is a story I told last night in IRC. It is quite true, which you can tell because it'd be more interesting if I'd made it up.


It's dark outside, right? It's dark, and windy. Sadly, it's not stormy, but the lawn is all wet because of our sprinklers. The neighborhood is a little emptier than usual because it's spring break, and my house in particular is pretty empty.

My housemate, the only one who's still here, knocked on my door a little while ago. She told me that a cat had been meowing at the door, talking with our cat, for about half an hour now. And she wasn't sure if it was sick or feral or something.

So I got the light on (motion sensor, had to stick my arm out the door and wave it around while my housemate distracted our cat, who was trying to escape).

We looked at the cat in this light, and saw that it looked a lot like our cat. No big deal: our cat is black all over, non-pedigree, and this cat was a little smaller and younger-looking. Similar collar, too.

It just kept talking, walking around, talking, and we weren't sure what to do. Yes, talking: it replied with meows when I spoke to it, just as it replied to our cat. And it didn't run from us when we came close to the door, as the vast majority of cats do, and it didn't freak out when I stared it in the eyes through the screen. It didn't look sick or injured or hungry.

I remembered a few news stories I'd read recently: cats saving the lives of their families by going out and getting people who could help. I put on my furry leopardprint sandals and squirmed my way out the screen door when our cat wasn't looking.

It walked a few steps, looked back at me, I followed, it took a few more steps, then went under the large tangle of trees and bushes that divides our house from the house next door.

I started walking back to the house, and then turned around, and it had stepped out of the bushes to look at me, to make sure I was following. This happened several times, despite me repeatedly telling it that I couldn't fit under there, even if the ground hadn't been muddy.

I walked back inside the house and told my housemate that the cat was trying to get it to follow us, and maybe it lived next door and its family was hurt or something, and maybe it was trying to take us to the Magical Cat Dimension.

So we walked around the tree-tangle and onto the lawn of our neighbors. Her flashlight, which had been working just fine before, had ceased to function.

There was nobody home, or at least there was no car in the driveway and all the lights were out. We walked around, trying to find the cat. She walked back to our house briefly, trying to find a working flashlight, then came back when I called out to her that I'd seen the cat. She brought a big stick, just in case (well, she'd been using it to get the auto-light in front of our house to switch on earlier, but we joked that it was kinda creepy out and all and maybe something would happen...).

The cat walked around through the bushes some more. Finally, it ducked under one, and then came back out again, staring at us, waiting.

I think I could have fit under there. But I wasn't entirely sure because it was very dark, and I had no clue what the hell the cat wanted. Sure, maybe it was a magic portal. But maybe it was just CAT-CTHULHU.

My housemate and I stood around shrugging, trying to decide what to do and observing exactly how bizarre this all was.

And I looked into the garden of our neighbors, which was visible from where we were standing: they had a low fence, and all. And I saw the words, carved in metal, hanging above the garden: "DREAM."

So yeah, then we left and all. And the cat was sitting at our door when we got back, and made motions expecting us to follow it again, and we grumpled and carried on.

sigh.
Well, there was this doggy. He was a very clever doggy. He said things like...like... "I would feel infinitely more comfortable in your presence if you would agree to treat gravity as a law, rather than one of a number of suggested options."

Offline Andyr

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It was probably for the best.
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Offline jester

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Offline Ghreyfain

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Are you trying to depress me?  In my state?

Edit: Oh, and if anyone is tempted to go check out IRC because of this interesting story; don't!  It's obviously a tricky lure to get you snared so they can exclude you from their clique.  Just look at me; I switched to early mornings at work, and lost track of what was what within a month.

IRC bad.

Forums good.

Use forums.
« Last Edit: March 22, 2005, 08:21:04 PM by Ghreyfain »
Earn Money Sleeping.

Offline Eral

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Aurora: the cat may come back. (There's a song about that.) In that case you definitely must follow it no matter how many boogeymen you feel are lurking in the shadows or how foolish you may feel. The opportunity to enter the fantastical world of magical things or rescue a kitten should never be resisted. Despite the muddiness of the small spaces you are required to climb through. (It is at this point that I must disclose that for a living I dance around a large open space with 6 year old children singing "I'm a flippy floppy scarecrow" and that my judgement of acceptable behaviour for adult persons may be impaired.)

Jester, you're not talking about Michael Jackson, are you?
If you see anything mysterious or unusual, just enjoy it while you can.  - Michael Leunig.

Offline jester

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Nope, more Peter Pan. No comments to MJ and his antics.
People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.

Why spend all your day surfing for porn?




Balance in all things
I haven't had this much fun since... the last time.

Offline ConkerFan

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I don't get it.