text: Here is a world where a hooded figure found a cat. The trees were upside down, the sky was orange, the grass was red and the sea was pink. In this world, nothing conformed to the deterministic realities of our world. However, this is a conversation that I will try my best to interpret and relay to the unsuspecting or probably curious reader that found this somewhere. I will go again, this world was not our world, yet this interaction, between a hooded figure and this cat, was a human, natural and emotional exchange of fragmented community. Minding their own business, the cat somehow got himself trapped. That’s what was told to me. Furthermore, this figure was walking around the anonymous world, doing his regular duties as a watcher; e had been to our world numerous times. He found the cat trapped, more so its hind legs had caught a nasty bite from a hidden bear trap, it had crunched its legs tight, the blood slightly dribbling from its right hind leg. The cat in itself was short hair, black fur with emerald green eyes, it contrasted with the general environment making it stand out a lot more. It was angry. The hooded figure walked up to it and started this conversation with a sympathetic tone. “Are you alright?” The figure asked. The cat, obviously in a bad mood, spat on the ground, “Does it look like I’m alright? I’m fine and dandy! Just a regular morning for me! I can walk home at anytime.” The hooded person knew this was the result of the intense frustration of having one’s leg be trapped by a sharp mechanism intent on causing confusion and delay to the victim’s brain, along with crunched bones, so they leant down and got their skeletal hands and prepared to pull the trap wide open so the cat could escape. “You better run once I push this forward. I won’t be able to hold it for much longer.” The cat laughed, “Ha! Oh please don’t, I’ll be fine here.” The figure’s head titled at that response, “Your sarcasm is not helping you, nor is it helping my patience *for* you.” “What?! Can’t take a joke?” “Far from it really, it just seems you’re more than happy being stuck in this bear trap for the rest of your miserable nine lives.” The cat shook its head, yanking the leg further. “If I could I would tear your skin off and eat it.” “Why the hostility cat? I offered to help you.” “That you did, but you’d rather piss about and talk to me rather than get the job done.” The cat spat on the floor once more. “I was warning you and giving you preparations to move. If you’re offended by that, I might as well take my leave.” The hooded figure stood up, preparing to leave, until the cat suddenly had a strike of fear that slithered throughout his spine because as the hooded figure turned around, the cat’s hairs were up and he suddenly looked scared. “Wait! Wait! Stay!” The hooded figure turned around, “What is it now?” “D-don’t go!” “I do not conceive your reasoning here, cat, you’re going back on forth, suffering from mood swings, what do you want me to do?” The cat seemed ashamed of his past behaviour towards the hooded individual and looked down on the crimson-red grass solemnly. “Please do not leave me...I have no one else to help me.” The hooded figure had regained a slight fraction of sympathy for the cat. “What is the matter then?” “I...I have no idea what’s with me.” “I will ask again, what’s the matter, cat?” “How much?” “How much?” “Yes, how much must I pay you so I can get out of this trap.” “You mustn’t give me anything, I was doing it out of the goodwill of my heart.” “Oh no no, you want something don’t you?” “Cat, let me help you.” “It doesn’t feel right!” “Why not?” “Because...because...I take everything from everyone. It only seems fair that I must give you something for wasting your precious seconds on saving me.” “I’ve wasted more than that because of your rudeness. I can see now that you don’t mean that. You were scared, I assume.” The cat did not answer. “Why do you look so glum?” “I know who you are.” responded the cat after a strange silence. “Do you now?” the hooded figure stood up from his crouching position, looking down at the cat. “Yes, you are the one that the Others call “Grimm”, one who sails vigorously to grab the essence of life from ones that are already at your door. You’re the one that I have been running away from.” “I do not seem to understand, why were you running?” “Because I’ve cheated! I’ve cheated everything that I have. I’ve cheated my family, my partner, just put myself inside of her then ran off, left my offspring to starve in this wide land and for what? To die to some carnivorous T-Rex who just sees them as nothing more but a small cell of a snack? You must know that as well, seeing the Others as small things.” The hooded spectre loomed over the cat and released the bear trap without further struggle, the cat leapt a small height before dragging the wounded leg across the grass. “The important question is what do *you* want?” The hooded figure asked. “...I want you to take it.” “Your soul?” “Yes! I cannot live with this infectious guilt anymore. I cannot live with the idea that the poor mistress I ruined is going to have to live without me and-” A hand was raised, and the spectre shook its head. “Come down to where I work. I will mark you as a creature of uncertainty. The Others have made a discussion on whether cats like you bring them destruction or fortune. Think of it as a blessing and a curse. An existence of contradictions.” “You’ll give me another chance while toying with me?” “Yes. I feel sympathetic to your emotions but I hate your actions. This seems to be the only way. Now go.” The cat finished its story to me, when I asked what was the transition, the cat stated that it fell asleep only to wake up in a luscious green field where the sky was blue and the trees were brown. The grass was no longer red. I found the cat while on my many walks, since I live a secluded life, I thought it would be best to have some company. It was confusing when I tried to feed it, groom it, and all the other regular conventions you might assume. When it began talking, I was taken aback, naturally, yet I seemingly accepted it quite quickly than any other normal individual. Despite having characteristics otherworldly, the cat could not help but have wobbly legs. Always flopping in excitement when I brought the canned tuna out. We made good company with each other for five years until he grew old. He stopped eating, tapping my head to wake me up, licking my legs when a trace of tuna somehow got onto me. His hair began to grow grey, and his eyes went pale. He then decided to tell me this story. He died the next day. Thanking me for giving him a pleasant life. I see what the hooded spectre meant by an existence of contradictions. He was fortunate to be given a second chance at life, and now I sit here writing this entire interaction without the company of a friend.