Home Sweet Home

Golden hills sang sweetly as the sun ascended at dawn. The trees yawned and sighed as the new day began to settle. Each blade of grass swayed softly from side to side, in tandom, as if connected as one.

This was Timothy's favorite time of day, he loved the subltleness of it. He loved rolling around in the grass, among the robins during their worm feast. He dared not catch them as it would disturb his peace, and theirs. He was quite the gentle feline. Tough, yet soft at heart. Timothy, like most cats, loved his life. He loved to go where he wanted, when he wanted. Freedom was all he knew. But he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to have a family. To be loved and cherished by another. "Maybe it's not so bad." he said to himself. "I would have regular meals, a comfortable place to sleep at night, and perhaps milk on occasion."

Yet, these fleeting thoughts left as fast as they came. Life as a cat was somewhat arduous at times, but Tim knew how to get by just fine as long as he stayed in his territory. Until one day, he stumbled across a house in the woods. It was a lovely little cottage, just outside of his usual walking perimeter. It looked rather empty at first but after a while he noticed movement inside. Children chasing one another.

"How odd." He thought. "I thought only animals hunted eachother. Maybe one is for supper."

As he appraoched closer, he could see through the window. An older woman was sitting at the kitchen table, having a cup of tea. "Hmm yes, the Matriarch. Maybe she has a soft place for me to rest my head." His curiousity stirred within his gut. He could feel one of his nine lives slipping through the cracks of fate, as he darted through the window and atop the kitchen counter.

As he sat and observed the stacks of tea cups in the sink, he quickly realized the Matriarch had left. It was suddenly quiet and peaceful, just the way he liked it. He decided this would be a glorious time to snoop. He started in the kitchen, sniffing the ground for anything that smelled appetizing. Cookie crumbs were left on the floor below the chair where the Matriarch sat, but he did not nibble. His nose found something much more interesting. A piece of cheese sat on a mouse trap at the side of the wall, beside the back door. Tim knew not to upset the trap with his paw or his tail, so he dragged an old slipper over and gently placed it on the trap, freeing the cheese simultaniously. What lovely cheese it was! All he wanted now was some nice milk to wash it down.

After his afternoon snack, Tim found a cozy little spot on a cushioned chair in the living room.

"What a perfect place to nap." he said to himself as he did a little spin and settled down.

As Tim slept, he dreamed. He dreamed he was floating in a sea of milk and cheese. How hungry he still was, and how lovely the afternoon had been. He couldn't help but dream of more.

Suddenly, he awoke to the sound of a child. A girl was staring at him with wide, curious eyes. Much like his eyes staring back at her. She seemed overjoyed to see him, like she somehow knew him.

"Hello kitty! Where did you come from? Peter! Come look, there's a kitty on Grans rocking chair!"

Peter was her older brother by four years, and looked just as excited when he saw Tim curled up on the chair.

"Where did he come from, Lily?"

"I'm not sure - he was just here."

Tim looked at both of them back and forth a few times.

"Pardon me, I don't mean to be a bother but this chair looked very comfortable after my snack in the kitchen, so I decided to rest a while."

Bewildered, Peter and Lily looked at one another. Speechless for a what seemed like too long.

"Did he just speak?" asked Peter.

Lily looked at him and nodded her tiny head.

"Did you just speak?" Peter asked Tim.

"Why, yes I did."

"Cats can't talk!" Blurted Lily.

"Well, I am a cat and I assure you, I can. And not just me, all animals can - they just choose not to, espeically to the elders, like your Matriarch."

Peter looked confused. "What is a Matriarch?"

Tim lightly snickered. "It is a female who is the head of a family, specifically in the elephant family. Her aging skin made me think of it. In my ancient pride lands, the lion is King but the lioness hunt. They are leaders in their own right."

Peter and Lily smiled. "Well, we just call her Gran."

Peter, Lily and Tim chatted for hours, while Gran was out gardening. They learned all about Tim's life and how he found the cottage. Tim listened and watched as Lily and Peter performed a puppet show just for him. How fun it was to be apart of such sillyness. Tim realized then, how freeing it must be to be a child. To have no limitation of imagination. He loved that immensely. He loved them, and they loved him equally so. After a while he decided this was home. Even if he had to be careful as to not frighten Gran, there was nowhere else he would rather be.

Every night, after Gran went to bed, Lily, Peter and Tim would climb into bed with a glass of milk each and read stories. Lily especially liked the story of Peter Pan and asked Tim to read it every night. Tim would read until they both fell asleep. Snuggled between them, he purred sweet nothings into the night sky, so grateful to have found this home.