Misty Dream

I was walking through a city with a group of people that I know. The street that we were walking down appeared to be one like you would see in a European city. A dignified old grandeur interjected with small squares of brightly colored, well-lit modernity. We talked and laughed, and then we parted ways. I headed off to the left and they kept moving straight ahead.

As I was walking alone it became obvious to me that I was finding my way to a more seedy part of town. The signs were flashier, the streets were more dirty, the street lights were not so ever-present. Rain was drizzling as I walked on, without purpose, taking in the sights and sounds which were both dampened and magnified by the humid, foggy air.

I soon found myself in the red light district, and there were sights that you can imagine. I was watching the behavior of everyone around me in a surprisingly detached manner, just taking it all in, logging information in some sort of database in my mind. I finally decided that I would walk into one of the establishments.

As I walked in I asked myself what I was doing. I felt fear that I might succumb to the temptations found within. I was drawn to move forward as if I were in a trance. I felt tension in every muscle. I was fighting and giving in at the same moment.

The place that I had ventured into was as seedy as anything a modern-day Dickens could describe. What I saw I will not relate, but again I was surprised at my lack of interest in even just imagining what it would be like to take part in the debauchery. I thought to myself, "I should be wanting to watch this even closer. I should have some hidden desire to partake of this forbidden fruit. Why am I here? What is my purpose? What am I doing? What do I really want?"

My mind began to fog over. I was no longer in control of the wheel. My body and mind were careening and contorting in a strange undulating motion as I seemed to float to the floor. Hours later, or maybe longer, I began to regain consciousness.

I was lying on a cold cement floor. The area of the building that I had walked into was empty and silent. There were sounds of music and laughter coming from another area of this brothel.

As my vision began to clear I saw that my naked body was covered with blood. There was a gushing of blood that was subsiding from a hole in my chest where my heart should be. Within a few seconds the flow slowed, and then subsided. The hole in my chest began to heal over. That is when I noticed Misty.

Misty, the most mysterious and unknowable of all of my cats. She is the one who lives in a possum hole during the day, hides at the slightest hint of a sound, and usually doesn't want to be petted, until she gets into that mood (about once every 2 months or so) where she just has to be touched. In those moments Misty will purr loudly and incessantly, bopping her head into your leg or your hand until she is getting the attention that she demands... but only for just so long. Then she'll get angry at you for showing her too much love, and she'll hurry away, angry at being bothered.

Misty was standing on my chest, licking up the fresh and drying blood that covered my body.

My chest wound now completely healed, Misty was looking at me intently with her powerful gaze as she continued to lick methodically and without worry. She thought patiently towards me: "You are going to be alright. You will be strong again. You are stronger than you have ever been."

With that, the vision of Misty, and of myself lying on the ground faded. I was standing now, looking out of the entrance of the building into the streets of this area that I had been exploring. I estimated the time to be about 3am. Everything was quiet and still. There were few signs of the excitement that had been forcing itself into my being just a few hours before.

I hesitated for a brief moment, gathered myself with a sigh, and took a sure step... into consciousness.