The Black Cat.

It was a fine, Monday morning, and Elena was busy getting breakfast ready for her little one year old, Andy.

Andy walked around exploring treasure zones, peeking into cabinets, and rustling out all the colourful packages from the cabinets.

These were her favourite things, and as soon as her day began, she enthusiastically, tried climbing off her bed, remembering her favourite things.

Her mother looked at her cute little bundle, with mixed feelings.

She was cute, and spritely as well as naughty and a handful.

Elena looked at her in awe, however the awe turned into exasperation, when she saw Andy run out and ruin the shelf she had just recently tidied.

Andy was a handful indeed, but then, wasn’t that why she was so cute?,

Was it too much to pay for cuteness? She smiled as she wondered what was in store for her today.

As Elena bent to scoop up Andy and put her on her royal high chair, for breakfast, her eyes wandered towards the glass door, which opened into the back yard.

She was taken aback, at what she saw.

For perched on the parapet, she saw a pair of wild blue eyes looked right into her.

The eyes were frighteningly bold, and as she looked at the frame in which the eyes were set, Elena turned cold.

There seemed to be something very blood curdling about this creature.

It was a huge black cat, and it seemed to be menacingly gauging her.

Tired and weary as she was, she realised it was just the start of the day, and there could be lot more in store.

She was home alone since a year, and the prospect of stepping into the back yard with her little daughter, now seemed far fetched with the menacing cat in sight.

She wondered as to its gender, and as if to quell her curiosity, the cat stretched itself out too its maximum, revealing to her that he was male.

Her curiosity satisfied, she went on doing her daily work.

However Andy had other plans. She looked at the black flesh of mass, settle itself on the ledge outside, with its tail curled under it.

She went as close as she could, and would have loved to touch him, but then the glass door restricted her.

Elena heaved a sigh of relief, as she did not even want to think of Andy touching him.

Then suddenly something very strange took place.

The black cat got up, and came right up to where the baby was standing.

She lifted up her paw to hold Andy’s hand trying to shake hands with her.

The two were separated by the glass door, but suddenly it just did not seem to matter.

They looked at each other, and slowly Andy began to babble away in her own sweet language, the cat meowed in unison, and then continued a string of baby blabber and meows.

Elena was amazed as she watched, and it suddenly struck her, that all was not as it appeared to be.

A while ago she had thought

“How could a cat come in and create a nuisance, in her already very chaotic schedule? Did she not have enough on her hands already?

Why oh why was the cat here?

Her mind raced on and on, and before she could know it had crossed all bounds.”

She remembered all disasters which had befallen her, and felt, she was wronged enough.

Then suddenly as she stood still watching Andy and the cat exchange sweet nothings, her whole world changed.

Things didn’t seem bleak after all.

What was this? She asked herself, and then she realised that this was order.

An order she didn’t quite really understand.

For wasn’t it the orderly universe, to have all of nature encompassed within , a place and provision for everyone.

Was not the black cat, Elena and Andy all together in it? Then what was it that she was shying away from?

Oh yes, once upon a time, a few years ago, there lived an Elena, who happened to go on a wild trip, with a few wild friends.

The friends were as wild as the trip was, and the wildness in them was depicted in their behaviour.

They tried to chase a black wild cat, and hurled stones at her.

Well she was wild enough too, she unexpectedly turned around and sprang up at Gerald, the lead bully, and scratched him so badly nearly pulling off his eyes.

Elena was horrified, and that memory stayed on, as she had carried it along with her, and brought it here to where it did not belong.

Today everything was in order, but Elena brought in disorder to order.

Today, had this black blue eyed cat, and Andy admiring each other, as they were.

What caused disorder to the order was Elena’s memory of the happenings of yester years.

Fear gripped her, making her insecure, and she just wanted the cat to go away.

Well, well right now the cat was busy playing with Andy and had no intention to leave.

Elena went about her daily chores, preoccupied with fearful thoughts, that she did not notice, Andy trying to open the door separating her from her friend.

Fortunately for Andy, the door was not firmly locked, and she managed to push it open.

She went into the back yard and towards her black friend who took a few steps towards her.

This was when Elena noticed Andy cooing away, stroking the cat and the cat in turn sat close to her purring in delight.

Oh what a sight!

Everything just vanished away, Elena’s fear, her insecurity, and the cold shudders.

Instead as she stood watching both of them interacting, she decided to let be.

Just as the glass door opened up, so did the barrier between the cat and Elena vanish.

Elena looked at the friends with love and compassion, for now she truly wanted them to be friends.

She just wanted Andy to enjoy and explore the world for what it is, and not through tainted eyes.

Don’t we all have similar stories?

Aren’t we all Elenas, who don’t seem to let go of anything?

Don’t we accumulate, almost everything , which ever happened to us?

Don’t we all live fearful lives, faced with unknown non existing fears?

Does the black cat in our life haunt us forever?

Why can’t we perceive its extended paw of friendship, and move beyond?

Just then Elena knew, she had perceived what is..

She smiled as she picked up Andy, and winked at darky, as she bade him good bye,

For she knew then that tomorrow would be another day,

Where in the backyard, the friends would play,

And she would be a silent spectator, who would look on….

There was a glow of love, all over her, as she suddenly felt a cheer in the air,

The cold dreary despair, had given way to a freedom unknown..