Cats are eerie, to begin with, I had a cat named Binx her eyes were so yellow that they glowed in the dark. she never purred she would just sit and stare at me for the longest time. I would feed her then she would go back to starting at me for the rest of the day. One day I was cleaning and getting ready for spring and I left the back door open she walked right out and I never saw her again. Three years later as I was walking past an Antique store there in the window was a black cat with those haunting glowing yellow eyes just staring back at me. I knew in my heart that she had found the right home. Weird right?
What a rich/layered story! Nicely done, Brian. I enjoyed it from start to finish. At times I sensed Ray Bradbury elements.
Hmm...if I could choose any pet, I’d probably go with Brandy, my childhood English setter. She was such a great dog, so good-natured. I’ll never forget the way she habitually walked the perimeter of our house, looking for birds. She never harmed them...she would just point in their direction. Over time a dirt path formed because she did this so often. 😄
Thanks Justin, I appreciate it! Brandy sounds like a wonderful dog. I had a golden retriever growing up named Murphy. I would clone him, but only if I could remove the gene that made him excitedly pee on the floor every time someone came to the door!
Wow Brian, I really liked this. But it feels like there could be a lot more there ... is this a first crack at a longer story? BTW, the “in and out of the room like a tornado” conceit was really good, I liked that a lot.
Thanks Tom! I've got a few stories like that, which could lend themselves to something a little longer. I'm encouraged that you mentioned it because I've been thinking about longer pieces. It might be time to give it a go.
I’ll just say that in this one, it felt like the mother’s relationship to the cat and it’s potential multiple reincarnations felt very ripe for exploration, and I was disappointed when the story just closed on the “simple” emergence of the daughter’s emotion. There may or not be more there for you, but it felt like there was to me.
You're not too far off because that was my original direction. At first it was going to be Mr. Peeps going through several reincarnations that get worse juxtaposed against her daughter's slow decline because of her court case. It would end with Forever Friends going out of business and her daughter losing her job. The mother was going to be the voice of reason in it all. That's easily a 30-40 page story.
Totally! I don’t know if you have a good editor in your life, but if you go this way and want a reader/commenter along the way, hit me up. My wife reads almost everything I do first, and especially on the fiction side she really helps me out. Not saying I’d be as good as her of course ...
Thanks Tom, I really appreciate that. My wife also reads all of my articles before I post them, so it sounds like we're in a similar editorial boat :) For longer pieces, or fiction I'm submitting to contests or publication I would absolutely love feedback from another reader.
Cats are eerie, to begin with, I had a cat named Binx her eyes were so yellow that they glowed in the dark. she never purred she would just sit and stare at me for the longest time. I would feed her then she would go back to starting at me for the rest of the day. One day I was cleaning and getting ready for spring and I left the back door open she walked right out and I never saw her again. Three years later as I was walking past an Antique store there in the window was a black cat with those haunting glowing yellow eyes just staring back at me. I knew in my heart that she had found the right home. Weird right?
That's a whole story in itself waiting to be written! At least Binx found a home where she could stare out at multiple people every day 😁
What a rich/layered story! Nicely done, Brian. I enjoyed it from start to finish. At times I sensed Ray Bradbury elements.
Hmm...if I could choose any pet, I’d probably go with Brandy, my childhood English setter. She was such a great dog, so good-natured. I’ll never forget the way she habitually walked the perimeter of our house, looking for birds. She never harmed them...she would just point in their direction. Over time a dirt path formed because she did this so often. 😄
Thanks Justin, I appreciate it! Brandy sounds like a wonderful dog. I had a golden retriever growing up named Murphy. I would clone him, but only if I could remove the gene that made him excitedly pee on the floor every time someone came to the door!
Haha, too funny, Brandy would do the same thing! I’m with you there. 🤣
Wow Brian, I really liked this. But it feels like there could be a lot more there ... is this a first crack at a longer story? BTW, the “in and out of the room like a tornado” conceit was really good, I liked that a lot.
Thanks Tom! I've got a few stories like that, which could lend themselves to something a little longer. I'm encouraged that you mentioned it because I've been thinking about longer pieces. It might be time to give it a go.
I’ll just say that in this one, it felt like the mother’s relationship to the cat and it’s potential multiple reincarnations felt very ripe for exploration, and I was disappointed when the story just closed on the “simple” emergence of the daughter’s emotion. There may or not be more there for you, but it felt like there was to me.
You're not too far off because that was my original direction. At first it was going to be Mr. Peeps going through several reincarnations that get worse juxtaposed against her daughter's slow decline because of her court case. It would end with Forever Friends going out of business and her daughter losing her job. The mother was going to be the voice of reason in it all. That's easily a 30-40 page story.
Totally! I don’t know if you have a good editor in your life, but if you go this way and want a reader/commenter along the way, hit me up. My wife reads almost everything I do first, and especially on the fiction side she really helps me out. Not saying I’d be as good as her of course ...
Thanks Tom, I really appreciate that. My wife also reads all of my articles before I post them, so it sounds like we're in a similar editorial boat :) For longer pieces, or fiction I'm submitting to contests or publication I would absolutely love feedback from another reader.