He slowly got up from the ground and, stretching his front legs as far as he could, the head hunched against the back, ass up high and tail pointing towards the sky, He opened his mouth showing his sharp fangs and yawned.. It was a common cat. gray hair, crossed by dark stripes, He did not stand out for anything among other specimens of his species. For not having, He hadn't even had the mischief to have been born black., like those other cats that say they give people so much bad luck, which would have granted him a minimum of dignity and respect, even as a precaution. After stretching, He shook his entire body with a strong shake.. Then, started walking.
Slowly, without making the slightest noise, came out of hiding, a pile of abandoned wooden boxes that were in a corner of one of the lots that still remained in the neighborhood. Spring had arrived and the plot was covered with weeds, very high, intense green, crowned by small yellow flowers that gave the landscape an almost country air.. The cat left the lot and, after nonchalantly dodging a woman dragging a shopping cart, walked to the edge of the sidewalk. He looked to the side of the street. Then, looked at the other and, after making sure that no car was coming and without waiting for the traffic light to change color, He crossed to the other end with a light trot. If I had been aware of the situation, the cat would have noticed that there was less traffic than usual, but, ignoring, like all cats do, this data, continued on his way.
More determined as the morning progressed, The cat continued crossing other sidewalks and streets until he reached a black gate that led to the large area of the local church.. Over there, He met with other cats to whom he approached very confidently and with whom he exchanged some gestures of mutual recognition.. a white cat, thin and extremely short hair, She walked up to him and rubbed her back against his.. To the touch with your skin, the cat purred, but since he didn't show any signs of showing more interest in her, the cat walked away, looking for company in another cat. For weeks, the cats gathered at the same point as always, waiting for that short woman with long gray hair to arrive who used to bring them some food in some plastic containers. But for several weeks also, the woman no longer appeared there. If they hadn't been cats, They would have asked each other the reason for this inexplicable absence.. leave like this, without telling us. That is not done, they would have said. But that was one of the many advantages of being a cat., that they didn't worry about anything. Passed the required time, and confirmed once again that the woman did not appear, the group dispersed.
I was hungry, I knew that. I hadn't eaten anything since the day before., so, decided, He continued walking in search of a trail that would put him on the trail of some victim that would satisfy his growing appetite.. He traced lonely and solar alleys, but no luck. If I was desperate, At first glance he gave no signs of it. He kept walking. Suddenly, A familiar sound suddenly caught his attention.. As you pass through a narrow alley, a dog started barking at him from one of the balconies on the first floor of a building. The gray cat stopped, He planted his noble buttocks on the asphalt ground and, with all the calm in the world, he looked up. Seeing that the cat was looking at him, The dog began to bark more insistently., taking out, not without some difficulty, his thick head between the bars of the balcony. Far from showing concern, the cat held, challenging, the look of the mad dog. And the dog that barked even louder. and the cat, who looked at him, He raised one of his front paws and, as if he were making fun of the other animal, he licked his lips. That gesture of defiance drove the dog crazy., while still barking, He started jumping and hitting the bars of the balcony with his huge head., that anyone would have said that he wanted to harm himself. So, A man came out from inside the house and, with a hoarse voice, He scolded the poor dog, shaking his back with his hand while he snapped at him., Do you want to shut up once and for all?! Anyone who had seen the cat in this trance, I could have believed that he was smiling. Maybe tired of attending this sad spectacle, the cat sat up and, after stretching again, continued walking, leaving dog and owner with their things.
His steps took him to a park that was a few blocks away.. The park was closed. The iron gates that established its perimeter were barred., but that was not an impediment for him, That's why he was a cat and he did what he wanted. With the same carelessness, overcome, with an agile jump, the fence, toured the playground. He went under a swing. He climbed to the top of a slide to, like playing, let yourself fall again down its steep and slippery slope. After, He climbed with the same skill to a wooden hut that was on small stairs of the same material.. Thence, He frowned and looked very carefully at the space that opened up under his paws.. In the distance, in the shade of a tall and robust pine, discovered a group of pigeons that were busy pecking the ground. in one jump, He went down the stairs of the booth and headed towards the place. He took extreme care, but a false step made him step on a paper bag and the noise gave him away. The pigeons, who immediately perceived his presence, they flew away. The cat would have been frustrated if he had known that feeling.
Plan ruined, the cat continued to inspect the territory. on your head, the blue sky, and a bright sun that fed the world. Without the cat being aware of it either, Around it the photosynthesis festival was celebrated, which encouraged plants to life.. He was, however, herald of death. He crossed the park almost from end to end, studying with his fine sense of smell and his keen eyesight every inch of the territory. Ignoring the rustle of branches, went through a thick group of bushes, after which, against a wall decorated with the garish colors of already deteriorated graffiti, discovered it. Gnawing through the garbage that some unscrupulous citizen had left there, there was a mouse. The cat was on guard. It was a moderately large mouse., dark gray leather. After studying the scene, He calculated that that mouse was the ideal piece. The sight now set on the dam, the cat took another step. Then, doubted. If you could have asked yourself a question, it would have been said, have you seen me? but the mouse, distracted in his affairs, He didn't realize he was already so close to him.. The cat crept closer. Slowly, he flexed his hind legs. He jumped. In his DNA he had a technique that had survived in his species for millennia.. His victim had no chance and although he tried to struggle in his jaws, He soon discovered that it was a useless effort.. And there, in that corner of the park, while men tried to solve problems that did not concern him, old nature took its course.
Satisfied his appetite, the cat returned to its hiding place in the lot. On the way, He crossed paths with other cats and other people, like him, They moved in different directions. He avoided them all with feline prudence. Hiding among the cars that were parked on both sides of the streets, between trash cans and other containers, avoided bumping into parents who were accompanying their children for their daily walk, with men and women coming and going shopping, with other dogs, tied to leashes by collars that strangled their necks, they went out to the street, desperate to relieve themselves in the first place they found, a sign, a street lamp, a bollard. When turning a corner, met him. The two looked face to face. After the initial surprise, the man, by instinct, took a step forward. So, in a purely instinctive reaction, the cat retreated against the hard wall, the spine forming a perfect arch, the hair all over the body standing up like a porcupine. He showed him his sharp fangs. but the man, I didn't want to do any harm, took another step and moved away. The cat, looked at him for a second, maybe surprised. Then, relaxed the body and, something more confident, He looked towards the open space that the man now offered him.. He made a first feint and, once he verified that nothing was happening, He went like an arrow towards the end of the street. The man watched him walk away, following him with his eyes until he lost him.. Calmer after the first scare, took a deep breath. What was I thinking?, it was said. But he no longer remembered. Was it important? Maybe. Stunned, watching the cat disappear into the weeds of the lot, For a moment he wished he could lead a simpler life and not always be so worried about things he knew couldn't be fixed.. like the cat. And if you think about it, that idea will end up giving meaning to this story, because stories are things about people, like you and like me. And not cats. No, cats don't tell stories. GERADO LEON
