'Hi Tommy! Legos again? This room’s a mess. Well, you won’t have to play with those ol’ things anymore, because Mommy’s got something for you. Surprise, it’s a kitty!'
Five minutes later, Thomas J Reynolds puffed out his red-blotched cheeks and wore a scowl that made his chubby chin look like an island. It was unfair. Not only had his Legos been taken from him but now he sat alone in the living room with only this strange, foreign thing for company. He got up to inspect it. Was it a toy of some kind? His eyes brightened a bit. It couldn’t possibly replace Legos, but maybe it was worth a look. His arms stretched out and sifted through the black-and-white striped fur for some kind of button or movable piece to start the object or take it apart. It twitched. Thomas shot back alarmedly. Was it his imagination? No, all bets were off. This was no toy. The thing was moving completely by its own accord. The eyes blinked. The tail swished. The whiskers twitched. Soon, however, Thomas’ nervous trepidation faded into disappointment as the thing settled back into an unmoving state. He narrowed his eyes. Its movement had taken him by surprise but now that he looked at the thing, it was certainly no Legos. It was downright ugly with its black-slit eyes, the imperfectly striped fur, and the tapered, uneven whiskers couldn’t hold a candle to his father’s impressive mane. He turned away from it in disdain. Perhaps he could persuade his mother into returning his Legos if he employed the bubbly lip tactic. It was worth a shot. He made a move to exit the room.
'Meow.'
The feral hunter’s cry sent chills through Thomas’ veins. Something caught in his throat as he tried to move, but the sound had somehow managed to petrify his upper body and render his legs useless jelly. Only his head would budge and it craned towards the sound’s source. What had once seemed like a harmless figure now stared back at him, a vicious creature. Nightmare-green eyes latched and held onto his gaze. The narrow black slits seemed to pierce his soul. A one-sided stare-down commenced, brief and terrifying. The boy gulped, and the animal moved first. As it pawed forward, Thomas tried and failed to recall the art of breathing. He tried again to move. Still jelly. Closer and closer it came with slow, deliberate movements. With every step, the boy’s eyes widened more in panic. Finally, after a thousand slides of slinking cat vs. statue boy, it was upon him. He squeezed shut his eyes. A heart stopped beating. So short was his life that he could not reflect on how short was his life.
A tongue lapped his cheek. He shuddered, opening one eye. What sort of devious murder strategy was this? Again. Tommy giggled. Again. If the cat was trying to kill him by laughter, it was succeeding. As the slippery stream of licks nestled into his pudgy cheeks, a torrent of pure spring laughter bubbled out of him and filled the room, coaxing a wide smile out of his mother.
“See honey, I knew he’d warm up to her. Oh, they look so cute together.”
“I still think he should’ve gotten a dog. Every boy should grow up with a dog. Nobody says cats are man's best friend.”
By now Tommy and his new cat were racing around the living room
“Well, he got a cat. And I think this cat could be this man’s best friend. What do you think Tommy, do you like her?”
Tommy pulled up wearing a flushed smile on his face and stopped for a moment before answering, “cat is friend.”
“Ooh, did you hear that? Did you hear?”
“Yeah, it sounded like he said, ‘I want a dog, mommy.’”
“Gosh I didn’t realize we had two toddlers in the house.”
“Hrmph.”
Tommy and cat zoomed around the living room table until dizziness pulled them onto the floor.
“Oh don’t pout. I know how much you wanted a dog so to make it up to you, I brought us home some nice steaks to celebrate the occasion. Our first pet!”
“Hrm.”
“There’s just one teensy little problem.”
“What’s that?”
“I- I don’t really know how to cook steaks.”
“Heh. It is a man’s job after all. Here, since you went to the trouble of buying them, I guess I’ll grill them for you.”
“My hero!”
She scooped up the cat with one hand and headed into the foyer as her husband went into the kitchen. Tommy followed behind laughing and repeating the words "cat" and "friend." She smiled serenely to herself, to the world. This moment could wash away all the stress in the world, and she let it. In the background a sizzling frying pan intermingled with the cheerful sounds of her son's laughter as the playful cat looked up at her with innocent eyes and purred in her arms. Indeed, she thought, cat is friend.
Clang! Hiss! "OW!"
Sigh. Cat is friend, yes. Life, life is work.
Spoiler
Thomas J Reynolds looked down on his blocky metropolis. A dark shadow cast on his face. The buildings before him now seemed so... lifeless. Yet, he had painstakingly crafted each one by his own hands. The emotions came flooding back and he had to mentally focus to push them back. His partner pawed beside him noiselessly and nudged his legs with her warm nose, bringing him back to the task at hand. He looked at her with fondness knowing that without her support he would never be able to go through it. Solemnly, he adorned his head with a thin long strip of black-striped cloth. Three deft wrap-arounds. It was time.
"RAWRR, Tommy the City-Crusher and Kit the Cat have ARRIVED! Dananananana"
"TOMMY! Don't make such a mess with those Legos, and get your father's tie off your head this instant! Kit, bad kitty, use the litter box, THE LITTER BOX!"
"RAWRR, Tommy the City-Crusher and Kit the Cat have ARRIVED! Dananananana"
"TOMMY! Don't make such a mess with those Legos, and get your father's tie off your head this instant! Kit, bad kitty, use the litter box, THE LITTER BOX!"
