Vesper Zephyr

“Finally, for God’s sake, a day of toil is over! I gotta take a break!” I parked my bike on the driveway beside the dorm, grasping for breath. The sun, vermillion in color, was slowly fading out of sight. After running from classes to classes all day long, I truly deserved some rest, so I stormed up the porch, ready to enter my dormitory.
    “Meow,” I heard a sound emitted from behind. It was soft and gentle, like silk so smooth.
    “Huh?” I gasped as I quickly turned around. “What was that?”
    “Meow,” that sound repeated, coming from the side of my left foot. It was a cat. Its skin was yellow, with a few sinuous sienna-colored stripes covering it, and its eyes were dimgray, as if they were solid marbles.
    Surprised, and out of a little bit of compassion, I kneeled down, staring at it, “Hi there, little kitty. Where do you come from?”
    “Meow,” the pygmy cat did not answer me directly, as expected. It only cried again, as though having something to say.
    “Ah, you’re so scrawny…” I smiled spontaneously. “Bet you’re hungry, huh?”
    Without second thought, I opened the door and prepared to go upstairs. “Wait a sec. I’ll get you some goodies!”
    Into my room and out of it, I grabbed a handful of packaged barley cookies and returned to the door in a flash.
    “Here you go, little one─” I wanted to finish the sentence, but unfortunately, I could not. The runty cat was gone.

“Drat! I’m gonna be late!”
    The air was lukewarm in the morning, as usual, and the sun was as shiny as ever. The bells were already ringing, as if they were performing a prelude of a bright new day. I was one minute shy of being late, so anxiously, I stepped into the pedals and was about to take off when I heard a familiar sound: “Meow.”
    Turning my head around and spotting that small cat next to the thicket, I was somewhat surprised. But man, this was no time for frivolous matters. I’ve got a class waiting for me!
    “Hey, good to see ya again,” I replied to it in brief, “Gotta go! Catcha later!”

Softly on my face the afternoon sunlight landed as I, with my backpack and a brand new basketball in my hands, headed back to my dwelling, my heart chipper with joy. And then I saw that cute, little cat crouching on the porch like a lazy idler.
    “Hey!” I called to it in a cheerful manner, putting on a big smile. “Have you been waiting for me?”
    “Meow,” the yellow cat replied as it leaped off the steps agilely, it paws landing on the ground without making the tiniest sound.
    As it stood before me, I kneeled down slowly, placing my basketball beside, and I opened my backpack. “Let’s see what I’ve got for you here…”
    Finally taking out of the bag some crisps, I saw that adorable creature putting on a hilarious show. It tried to climb and stand steadily on the basketball, only to find itself falling down over and over again, the orbicular “mountain” rolling to and fro.
    “Whoa!” I laughed hard as I watched the performance of this fuzzy alpinist. “Looks like someone just came out of a circus!”
    Then, to my surprise and far beyond my expectation, it began nudging the ball forward gently, until letting it fall into a nearby hole, half-stuck. With ease and with panache, the nimble animal jumped on to the ball handsomely.
    “Meow!” it cried out loudly and proudly, as though it has just conquered the pinnacle of the whole world.
    Impressed, I handed to it a piece of crisp, much as its prize, and it took a huge bite, chewing contentedly.
    “You’re so smart,” I said whilst watching it finish the meal. Its long, silver whiskers were fluttering as it chewed voraciously. “Hey, I’ll call you Whizkers!”
    Whizkers stared at me, his eyes as wide as the open sea. Did he really understand what I just said? Maybe not, but it didn’t matter. I watched him closely as the dusky sun vanished behind him.

To be continued...