CHAPTER 1
The Midsummer Nightmares Dream
Dear G-Ma,
Midnight already and time for my nightly e-mail to you. The most horrible thing happened to me today. You could never imagine anything even close to it. It was just awful. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, even if I had an enemy. Well, I could consider the huge rat terrier dog or the sneaky little green lizards to be half enemies. Anyway, there I lay on the family room carpet. My teeth were chattering because I was so cold and disoriented. At first I suspected my warm sunny spot had abandoned me. Sometimes it moves all the way across the room while I am taking long catnaps, and sometimes it even tries to hide under the television set. But then I remembered it had left me many times before during my long catnaps, and I had never gotten this cold. Apparently my warm sunny spot was not the problem. Then I thought, maybe, my long catnap had been way too long and my blood pressure had taken a nosedive.
There was no way to know it at the time, but I was definitely having an awful case of sensory and linear memory. I was almost totally unconscious and there was nothing I could do but lay there and let it all happen.
I was on my back with my four feet up in the air. My back legs were violently twitching and my front paws were madly clawing at nothing. Anyone seeing me would have thought I was either having a seizure or doing some of my fancy exercising. Eventually, even though I was almost totally unconscious and not able to control my body, I finally figured it out. I had been having a midsummer nightmares dream in the daytime. The nightmares part was due to the horrible memories of when I was younger. It didn't take a genius to know that my legs were probably reacting to the memory of my escape from death, or worse, when the big rat terrier dog chased me into the woods. Or that my front paws were reacting to the memory of trying to get up higher into the friendly tree while trying to escape from the scary black ghost; the one who came into the dark woods to murder me.
I tell you, G-Ma, when I thought I was finally awake, my little heart was doing double duty and my throat was dry from all the panting. And then a very strange thing happened. I looked around, but I couldn't see anything in the room. I couldn't see my warm sunny spot or anything that I knew was really real. I knew my eyes were open, but they were not focusing. I thought I was awake, but my vision was only replaying things from my memory bank. I was only seeing myself in former scenes and actions. It was as though I had either been transported back in time, or was watching a television program where I was the main character.
I could clearly see my first family, so long ago, in our big cozy cut-down cardboard box with the old towels in the bottom. I was so happy in our old box by the lady's back door. My pretty Mom and littermates, Gomer and Harold, were with me. I was the smallest of the litter, but my eyes had opened long before theirs, and I seemed to grow and develop faster than they did. I saw scenes of Mom and I having lots of good long talks about everything in the world. She told me all about the trains, and boats, and planes, as we heard them go passing by. And she knew about creatures and the entire outside world. My Mom knew everything about everything and she told it all to me. She even told me things that famous people had said. There were a lot of things she told me to always remember, and I promised I would remember them exactly as she had said them. I hoped all of it would fit somewhere in my little head and be there if I ever needed it.
My legs were still doing their twitching and clawing business as I continued to look around for the real world. My eyes still couldn't see anything but good memories, and I wondered how anyone could be awake and still see things that weren't there. I also wondered why my legs were behaving so crazily when I was only seeing good memory scenes.
I saw Mom as she smiled at me that one day and said, "Why on earth are you always flitting around in here instead of being calm and quiet like Gomer and Harold? You flit from one corner of our box to the other, over and around, and on top and under these old towels. Whatever are you doing all the time?"
I told her, "I'm pretending the wrinkles and bumps in these old towels are huge monsters. I crouch down for a while, and then quickly pounce on them and tussle around until I subdue them. And I pretend the ragged edges, with the loose tangled threads, are creepy crawling creatures. I have to sneak up very carefully and quietly before I pounce. Then I hold them tightly in my paws so they can't get away. Sometimes I practice jumping straight up in the air or try to twist around during a jump."
"I still haven't given you a proper name," Mom said. "I've been trying to find the perfect one for you, and now I think I have found it. I'm going to name you Flitter. You are so busy, and so inventive, and so sweet. But a kitten like you, with any other name, would still be as sweet."
"Another thing that has kept me busy," I said, "is that I need to start a security patrolling schedule here in our cozy cut-down cardboard box. One day, when all of you were taking a long catnap, a little black creature found his way in here."
"That was a new experience for you," Mom said. "What did you do about it?"
I said to him, "Who are you and what are you doing in here?" He said, "I'm a worker ant. I scout for food. That's what I was born to do."
I told him, "I don't think the lady of the house would want you in our box too. Every time she looks in at us she says, 'I'm surely glad there aren't many this time!' Besides, we don't have any food for you in here. Sorry. And I'm not sure I like the idea of someone invading our cozy cut-down cardboard box."
"Okay, big shot," he said as he crawled back up the side and out over the top of our box.
"I decided right then and there," I told Mom, "to start a security patrolling business. I will have a rigid routine and will be diligent about keeping us safe from any and all unwanted and uninvited creatures."
Mom smiled sweetly at me and said, "Flitter, there is something special about you. I know what it is, but you are not quite ready to learn about it. When you grow up a little more I will explain it all to you."
G-Ma, my eyes and legs were still betraying me. I tried really hard to stop my legs from doing their twitching and pawing, and I tried extra hard to see the real things in our family room. I knew they were there, but my eyes kept seeing only pleasant memories. The only thing I could figure out, at the time, was that the good memories were going more slowly past my eyes, and my legs were way ahead of them in the memory department. As I see it, my legs were reacting to the bad memories yet to come.
Then, my eyes saw again that unforgettable day when one of my life-changing events happened. The lady of the house came to our box and looked inside. She did not look happy. She walked over to the back door and opened it a tiny bit. Then she walked away. Immediately I could smell new air coming in through the open door. It carried a burst of midsummer Florida's West Coast; balmy with a hint of salt, sea, and rain. This new smelling air was very intriguing.
"Mom," I screamed, "I can smell the outside air you told me about! Can we get out of our box and go out where it is?"
Mom didn't answer me because she was taking a long catnap. I didn't want to disturb her, but I needed to find out about the new smells. She had already told me all about sounds and smells, but I think I forgot it. Besides, I wanted to find out about them for myself. I stretched up as high as I could to look over the edge of our cozy cut- down cardboard box. It was no use.
The box was too high. My curiosity was on overdrive and it demanded that I do something. I was determined to get out of our box and look around outside, but I didn't want to be all alone out there. Gomer and Harold probably wouldn't go with me if I asked them, and Mom definitely wouldn't leave Gomer and Harold alone just to take me outside.
Then a brilliant idea formed in my head. I searched around in the box and found Billy. He is my favorite red, catnip, toy mouse. Billy was still under a mountain of old towels where I had hidden him from my make-believe monsters. I picked him up and threw him out over the top of our box. Then I took a big breath, and with one of my practiced jumps, I too sailed out and over the top. To my amazement, I landed on all four feet.
"Wow!" I whispered to myself, "I have just learned an amazing trick."
It seemed so natural to land like that instead of on my head. I looked around, found Billy, and gently picked him up. The door was still ajar and the new sounds and smells were still coming in from it. Quietly and slowly I crept toward the door while holding Billy securely in my mouth.
As I reached the door, my Mom awakened and called to me in a fearful voice, "Flitter! Get back here! You are too little to go outside! There are many dangers out there, and I haven't told you all about your super-danger whiskers yet!"
I paused a few seconds. It was no good. I could not go back.
Mom continued to shout to me, "Flitter, come back to the safety of our cozy cut-down cardboard box and just let life happen for a while!"
I hesitated for only a second and called back, "I don't want to sit around and let life happen to me. I want to go out and happen to life."
G-Ma, as I see it, when I think back to that incident, I am convinced destiny called to me more forcibly than Mom was calling to me. I felt wide awake, but my eyes were still only seeing scenes from my memories, and my legs continued to do their twitching and were madly clawing at nothing. I knew the horrible scenes were now on their way.
I saw myself standing at the back door and listening to Mom calling for me to come back. I saw myself peeking around the door and seeing clear to the end of the world! It was all so bright and beautiful! There was new stuff everywhere, and the powerful smells were inciting my curiosity. I gingerly put one paw through the small opening and pushed the door open a tiny bit more. Before I knew it, Billy and I were completely outside in Naples' wet midsummer grass.
How exciting! A whole bunch of other new stuff was waiting for me to explore. There was a wonderful warm sun that we never had in our cozy cut-down cardboard box inside the lady's house. How I wished Mom, Gomer, and Harold were there to see it. Maybe the lady would accidentally leave the door ajar again someday, and they could get out too.
I took several steps forward while still carrying Billy. The tall wet grass completely surrounded us. I could still hear Mom making a big fuss. She was saying something about my whiskers, and something about them being super-danger whiskers, and that I should pay close attention to them because they would always alert me to dangers.
Mom was making a huge commotion, and I could hear the lady of the house shouting, "What in the world is going on out here? Sometimes you cats are a big bother. Why are you making such a fuss?"
Right then and there, another of my life-changing events happened! The lady of the house looked out the door, but I don't think she saw us in the tall grass, because she slammed the door shut as she said, "Well, that's one less."
Her comment didn't make any sense to me, so I started to explore my new world.
Well, G-Ma, it's now time for me to make another round of my nighttime security patrolling. If all's well on all fronts, I will come back here to the computer to finish telling you about my daytime midsummer nightmares dream. And, the weirdest and scariest scenes are about to come.
Love, Twitter
CHAPTER 2
The Chase
Dear G-Ma,
My security patrol was a short one this time. Everything was absolutely still inside and outside our house. Not a creature was stirring, not even a leaf. It reminded me of the nighttime stillness when my feline Mom thought we were all asleep. She would whisper, "All's quiet on all fronts." But I wasn't asleep. I only pretended to be asleep. If my eyes were asleep, I always kept my ears awake. She would then, somehow, slip outside for a while. When she came back, she brought some interesting new smells with her.
Now I need to finish telling you about the horrible scenes I knew were coming to my eyes, before it is time for the next security check. G-Ma, I tried so hard to open my eyes wider to try to see the real things in our family room. It was no use; the nightmare of past events continued.
I saw myself standing in the wet grass holding Billy in my mouth. "Look Billy," I said, "we can see the whole world out here. And can you smell all those new smells? Mom told me once I was good at smells. She must have known that someday I would be out here smelling all this good stuff."
Then I saw myself carrying Billy as we set off through the grass to see, what I thought at the time, would be a big friendly world filled with wonderful adventures. I made my way around the house to a sidewalk. It looked as though the sidewalk would be much easier to walk on than in the tall wet grass. I looked around and could see the big world in every direction.
It didn't matter which way I chose to go. I just started off down the sidewalk. Everything looked so interesting and inviting. We soon came to a puddle of rain water. I looked down at it and was surprised to see Billy in the water. Right then and there, I remembered my Mom saying, "Flitter, always remember, still waters aren't deep." It was a good thing to know, so I felt safe enough to put one paw in the water to touch Billy. But I couldn't touch him because he got all wavy, and distorted, and my paw got wet. I shook off the water and decided to figure out that mystery sometime later.
I walked and walked and saw all kinds of wonderful things. I recognized a lot of the stuff Mom had described to me. She told me about all the shapes of houses, and cars, and about the beautiful flowers. I was thrilled with all their colors and fragrances. I was especially happy to discover the bright warm Florida sunshine in a lot of places. I loved the sun the first time I saw it and hoped it would always be where I could find it. Something about the sun was troubling though. I couldn't understand why there was so much of it in some places, and in other places it was all lacy and splotchy, or not even there at all. I would have to work on that mystery sometime later too.
It seemed as though we walked forever, and my legs got tired. I decided to sit down, rest for a while, and just take in the new sights, and sounds, and smells. There was movement everywhere; vehicles in the street and things in the air. Leaves and tiny papers were blowing all around us. I explained to Billy it was because of a thing called "wind." It made my fur move a little, and it somehow carried smells. I wished I knew how to carry smells like that.
Billy and I rested and talked about our new adventure. I needed to explain everything to him, because he hadn't had a smart Mom to tell him all about everything in the world.
After a while, I saw what looked like a cat crossing the street, and it was heading in our direction. Its fur was much prettier and longer than mine. The wind made the fur flutter about, and the sun found its way between its long hairs. I was pretty sure it was a cat, but it didn't look anything like Mom, or Gomer, or Harold.
"Hello there," it cheerily said as it trotted up closer to us.
Right then and there, I remembered a social grace Mom told me to never forget. It was something about being assertive, and always putting your favorite foot forward. But all I could do was meekly say, "Hi."
"What's your name?" the pretty creature asked as it smiled sweetly at me.
"I'm, ah, Flitter, and I think this here is Billy," I stuttered. I felt the need to show off Billy for some reason. "He is my only catnip mouse red," I stammered. For some reason my brain and my mouth were not working properly.
"I am so pleased to meet you," the pretty creature said. "My name is Shirl."
I looked very closely at Shirl's lovely face. Her eyes were so pretty. I needed to say something back to Shirl, but what? What had Mom told me to never forget? I knew she told me something about a situation such as this, but my mind was befuddled, and my mouth was dry and tongue-tied. The silence was long and embarrassing. A few thoughts came into my head, and I tried to sort them out. Finally I uttered softly, "Are you the opposite sex, or am I?"
Shirl didn't answer my question. Perhaps she didn't hear me, or she chose to ignore my question. She smiled sweetly at me and said, "You are a young little thing aren't you? And you are very cute. I have to leave now. I'll see you around sometime later; after you grow up a little more. Goodbye for now, Sweetie." She looked back over her pretty shoulder as she walked away and added, "I hope you remember for sure if your red catnip mouse's name is actually Billy."
"Wow! That was a new experience," I said to Billy, "I was really lost for words around her."
