Miss Imperial is now a done deal.
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26 October 2006

"Sweet dreams 'til sunbeams find you."

At Home, Toronto, ON, 18-Apr-06

"Birds singing
in the sycamore trees..."

The cat is grunting and kicking his hind legs; I wonder what he's imagining. His head is resting on my ankle and he's draped one of his front paws over my shin. Lately I have been fascinated by his naps, studying his sleep like a mother with a new baby. Now he's twitching.

Five minutes later, sprawled on his back, he looks oddly human. His mouth hangs open and he is actually snoring. It's disconcerting! He wheezes as his eyelids raise but he's not waking up. It's like he's in a trance; I can see the whites of his eyes. Or the yellows. It's difficult to tell in this light.

"Kitty?" I nudge him. His eyeballs dart back and forth; maybe he's about to channel some spirits. I hold my breath.

"Kitty?" I nudge him again, just in case he's trapped in a nightmare. The eyes slowly focus and roll forward; here is the return of the golden green irises, the black-diamond pupils. He stares at me, dazed.

"Sorry," I whisper. He yawns and wiggles, settling his head. I rock my foot back and forth like a cradle, watching him as he slowly closes his eyes.


2 comments:

Johnny said...

What happened to that cat's head? Looks like someone did a gaff on him? Did he piss off the Vanier cops?

Nirmala Basnayake said...

Ah, that's just the flash, making the cat's right ear look strange. As for the paw over the eyes, that's his thing. He does it whether or not the light is bright. It is because he leads such a hard life, what with all that sleeping and sitting still.

(Actually, it's quite adorable when he covers his eyes. He does it while he naps, maybe even unconsciously. His paw often slips off his face, at which point he puts it back over his eyes...and then it slips again, so he puts it back again...and then etc etc.)