text: I’m not what you would call the adventurous sort. I have a very logical view of the world. The laws of nature can be described by calculable equations and repeatable experiments. However, I have learned that this way of thinking just doesn’t contain the full story. I was never very superstitious, but once I described the past few days, that’s the only logical conclusion. I could not deny the power of this divine beast. It was just two days ago that I had seen her for the first time. Nudging around the alley trash cans, her coat was jet black, and not filthy at all, the way you would expect a stray to look. I had been on a smoke break at the restaurant I cook at, and my second cigarette had expired already, so I had to go back in. I honestly didn’t think anything of it, because, with a coat that clean, I was sure someone was searching for it. When my shift ended, I wasn’t surprised to see that the cat was gone. I started on my way home which was a few blocks away, and I swear shadowy figures were following me. I told myself it was all in my head, but that didn’t calm the beating of my heart. I was speed walking before I realized, and out of breath soon afterward. I leaned against a streetlight to try and center myself, and admittedly, the light would block the shadows. No, not on this night. Not this time. This time, the figure of a horned creature began to wriggle itself to form under the light. I wanted to run so badly but couldn’t catch my breath. It was like trying to breathe through an IV. Just as the creature was going to reach me, the cat appeared from nowhere and landed directly between the shadow creature and myself, and just as it landed the creature dissipated as if it were vapor. Now I’m hyperventilating and am scratching at the edges of my consciousness trying to explain this phenomenon. The strange thing turned and looked me in the eye as if to show discontent. “Get ahold of yourself, Master!” The sun crept in through the curtain, casting a cone of light on my face. I’m lying in bed, let out a yawn, and sit up. I’m sweaty, so sweaty that I soaked through my pillow and covers and saturated the mattress. Confused, I roll out of bed, and head to the shower, while peeling my shirt off my back, like a banana. I started remembering what had happened and wrote it off as a bad dream. Once I was showered and dressed, I grabbed my work gear and headed out the front door, but when I opened the door, the cat was sitting there in the middle of my welcome mat. I feel this pressure on myself as I get dragged backward, stiff as a redwood, by nothing. The creature walked in, slowly, waving its tail back and forth. The door shut and I was laid gently on the floor. The cat jumped onto its perch on my chest and peered into my soul. “Why does your heartbeat so frantically? Such a being as yourself should never fear magic.” For what seemed like an eternity, I stared blankly into its eyes. They were human eyes, not the slit feline eyes that should be there. As if sensing my thoughts, they transformed immediately. “I understand now. You never knew of your gifts. You never discovered who you are truly meant to be. No matter, we must get you to safety, and then all else will follow.” “How are you speaking to me, you are a cat. How did your eyes change? How are you doing all of this!” The feline paid him no mind though and continued to babble to himself quiet curses about my apparent ignorance. “Let me go! I dema-”, suddenly my mouth was sealed shut by some unseen force. “I really must concentrate; I hadn’t expected you to be void of all knowledge. You were meant to hold the Great Knowledge; you didn’t have any materials I needed for our quick return. Truly, you don’t even remember me?” I had no idea what to say. It just wasn’t logical; it made no sense. The magic cat, the changing eyes, the forces being used on me. But, if all that was real, what about those shadowy things? I wanted to scream, I wanted to run away and hide. This could not be reality. “Well, I know this all must be pretty stressful to take in, but- oh goodness,” at that moment the pressure released off my body. “See, I am not here to hurt you. You really must come with me; I promise I will explain everything just as soon as we are safe. I looked at the door and decided escape was futile. This thing would just pin me down with his magic. I pointed to my mouth to indicate my need to speak. With just a blink, the Cat released my lips as well. “Before we go anywhere, I need to know who you are, and how you came to be. I have a life; I can’t just go hang out with some illusion my mind created.” “Master, surely your closest ally, and student, does not strike you as mere illusory tricks. This must be some kind of spell.” “I have never met you before, much less, experienced anything half so crazy as these last 12 hours.” “Look, I’m sorry, but I insist you come with me.,” with that she spoke a few syllables, and suddenly we were pulled upward in a spiral. I saw the full spectrum of color stretch out and lose pigment. The very fabric of reality was coming apart and flowing back together violently. My stomach felt like we were falling from the top of the roller coaster. I was freezing at one moment, hot the next, and yet this all took place in fractions of a second. The Cat landed on its feet suddenly, too suddenly. I hadn’t expected the floor and came tumbling down hard and rolled a few yards. “Here, in my realm, I can certainly feel the dark energy cast on you. Come with me, hopefully, we can undo this sorcery.” I barely gained my bearings again, but the cat, whose name was Midnight, was quite insistent that we move forward. He seemed uneasy about the source of this spell he was convinced I was under. We traversed a great desert of this odd-smelling sand. It was a dull grey color and rocky. Something was familiar about that, but I couldn’t quite place it, so I tried to forget about it. Midnight directed my attention to the tower, and I stopped in my tracks. There was something far too weird about the way it was designed, and I don’t know what came over me, I pounced on the cat. “What the hell is that tower; where are we!” Midnight began opening her mouth, but all that came out were meows. Everything went black, except Midnight. Midnight was turning a deep crimson red with bright yellow eyes, and she grew to be enormous instantly. She lifted a huge paw with impossibly sharp talons fully exposed and swiped at me, except before she could tear through me, I fell through the ground as if the Earth tore apart under my feet. I began squeezing my fists and my eyes shut tightly and let out a blood-curdling scream. At that moment, I knew I was going to die, and so I continued to scream until blood flowed from my mouth. Once again, I sat up in bed covered in a pool of sweat, only this time my cat, Midnight, was standing atop her scratching tower, where her food tray was bare. I had been in a nightmare. My face fell into my hands, at the edge of tears and I just let reality wash out the taste of the nightmare left on my body. I brushed the blankets aside and swung my feet out to the side of the bed. I chuckled to myself while I considered the absurdity of my dream. With a big grin, I jumped out of bed, and I felt it between my toes. It was cold and crunchy, and I opened my eyes wide, and let out a huge grunt. I jumped right into the used kitty litter, and I wished I returned to the nightmare.