Unedited Excerpts from Worlds Within Worlds
Meet Merlin.
I do a quick scan of my inbox; no message from Dita. I’m not naive enough to think this is the end of it, but I’m glad he’s not throwing obscenities in my face this morning. I’ve already thought too much about him and I have work to do.
Merlin jumps onto my desk, strides over to my computer and plonks himself on the keyboard. Way to bring me back to this world, cat!
He purrs as if I should be as happy to see him as he is to stop any possibility of me working. I give his silky cream fur a quick stroke and remove him to his cushion on the side of my desk. I manage to get one email dealt with before he comes back and adds his opinion to the email. Xcbjkfnjb. Deep.
He rubs his jaw against mine while I reach around him to answer a second email. A new client wants to know when I can start her edit. The cat’s on the keyboard again. I take him off. He walks back, and this time, places his paw on my cheek and stares into my eyes.
‘Fine,’ I mutter as I slide open my top drawer. The packet of cat-nip mice has one left in it. Merlin has lost, or hidden, the other four already. I throw the little white mouse over my shoulder. ‘Get the mouse, Merlin. Get the mouse!’
He obliges by leaping off my desk and racing after the stuffed toy. I watch him bat the thing around, amazed at the dexterity of his paws as he picks if up, throws it in the air and catches it again. He tumbles over it in a forward roll, holds it with his front paws and kicks at it with his back. I chuckle.
Thanks, Merlin. He banished all thoughts of Dita.
I whip through a few more emails. Merlin returns and begins to bunt me – no, my American friends, I’m not talking about rows of flags – I scratch him behind his ears, enjoying his ever-so-soft fur. He purrs loudly, and when I finally pick him up and plonk him an arm’s length from my personal space, he returns immediately, stares into my eyes and places his cute little paw on my chest.
Merlin cares about my health.
Actually, I suspect he is more selfish than that. He simply requires some attention, but he does remind me stand up and stretch. I lift my arms above my head and arch back My back pops; a good sign.
Merlin throws himself at my legs, pushes off, twists around and goes flying back the other way. He’s a Burmese, they do that kind of thing.
‘Okay, okay, we’ll have a game.’
I wiggle an old fabric belt in front of him and smile while he bats at it, the kicks and gnaws it in rapid succession. His pupils dilate and his eyes take on that manic look. I wonder how he sees the world we share. Does he see beings that humans don’t?
That’s one thing I expect I’ll never know. I wrap the belt around him and, leaving him wrestling with it, return to Kelee’s world.
That’s it for today folks. Any comments?
