Who stole all the cats? This is the answer we are all still hunting for. Two years on, no sign of their return. One morning — across the world — instantly they vanished.
All of them.
No notes, no rationale.
From the sweetest fluffiest moggy to the king of the jungle. A few hours was all it took for the world to collapse. Wailing owners in the streets, hugging each other. Collars gripped to their chest as they called out in vain, wafting catnip in their wake.
Zoo paddocks with half eaten carcasses, turning in the sun, tiger teeth imprints from a bite not finished. Tourists demanding refunds from impoverished guides.
Dog owners watched bemused at first but the realisation dawned it could have been their pets, their life.
Government statements in parliament, stand-offs at border zones. Economic uncertainty, all balanced on a knife-edge.
A world on the brink of chaos. A memory of cats, of a life before then tossed aside. Tensions that had bubbled under the surface were now laid bare, everyone hunting. Hunting for the cats, for the explanation, for the meaning and somewhere to lay the blame.
It made no difference.
People turned inward, reflecting, no longer accusing. A world adjusting to a new normal where the timid mouse could relax, hunting season had ended. Cats now godlike, worshipped, in open adoration. Dogs growl in muted tones, knowing their feline counterparts had won and the world
now theirs.
Pure and utter brilliance! Well done Jules 😹
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this - a very vivid picture in so few words - brilliant work
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