I love his tale …..
Chapter 1
Let‘s go back to 1983.
In 1983, Molly adopted a cat and a dog. The cat was black, with several patches of white, spread over his entire body like a picture of the world map over a globe, the white representing countries with no green and brown revealing the curves of the mountains and the firm and sometimes muddy land.
Molly loves the cat, the name she gave him was Arthur, as she had an uncle by that same name. This uncle was a flamboyant lawyer, and has had several wives, totalling an even number.
The first was a lady who loved dancing. She danced with him for a few nights and proposed to him, instead of he to her, the moment she realized that he had decided that it was time to call it quits. He accepted it at once, and she of course, being the one who wanted it, jumped at saying “yes,” subsequently like a cat she submitted to him, so we called her “Meow” or “Mimi” to simplify.
And that was how her name “Meow” was arrived at. “Meow” being the sound verbalized by a cat.
Since we all call his second wife “Mdm. Meow”, this would mean that Arthur is also a cat, by logical definition. Since cats can only marry cats.
Chapter 2
Molly told me: They say that if you see a black cat on the streets after midnight you should avoid her. I used the female gender because I always thought that cats are female as they look soft and they purr and lay quietly unless provoked. But I did not realize that they are fierce and aggressive, especially with their long nails, they scratch at everything that they see. I am a cat, and a cat who derived my ancestry from the snow leopard.
Molly used to say, “I love snow,” and then the snow leopard would jump out from behind the computer screen and come out to join her. For dinner of course. But the real snow leopard would turn his face away from anyone if disturbed. They love the snow and they hide inside the tent 🏕️. But when they are out, they are slow and deliberate. The truth is, that Molly has never brought me to the North Pole region before.
In contrast I never liked polar bears although I once knew a polar bear in an Australian zoo. But for now, I think we skip Australia, it’s too close to New Zealand and too far away from Russia. How the animals got there I had no idea.
Chapter 3
This morning, half asleep, I strayed into a Japanese joint together with Molly. When Molly asked for serviettes, the staff refused to come to our table. Only when I woke up did I realized that Molly had paid only as little as twelve dollars and fifty cents. Molly explained to me later that they wanted to close shop as it was late, since they can’t even spare serviettes. Of course, they had no idea that Molly would feed me quietly on the side. I did hear the lady answered, “you never asked”, and then Molly said, “just bring the piece of paper over, my dear,” afterwards I saw Molly got up from her seat at the table to take it herself, then they informed her that they usually place it at the counter in a round container.
I heard Molly talking to herself, “Why can’t they tell me right from the start?”
In bed, I saw Molly complaining to Leo when he got home that night. I knew straight away what it was. It must have been the shopaholic thing again. And so, I had to pronounce the rule of law for Molly – customer is always right.
This is what I have observed with Molly. The moment she walks into any mall, an alarm would sound, signalling that she has come in. If not immediately then soon after. And then she would want to spend. How they install this urge to spend in her system I do not understand. It must have been me meowing. So, they must know that I am hiding inside her bag.
Leo told Molly not to talk next time before they went to bed that night. I heard.
And then the next morning when I went to have my breakfast at the usual spot, I saw two pieces of fish. “Fish fillet”, I heard Molly said. Wow!
The flesh was soft and thick, with no bones, and plain. A little salty I thought. Perhaps it came directly from the sea.
Then subsequently, I tried to ask for milk. Reluctantly Molly came.
This time the milk was colder than usual, and I got a tummy ache. Afterwards I lie in my little corner in the oval basket with a soft blanket, and I told myself to just sleep it off instead of getting angry. MEOW! I thought to myself.
Chapter 4
Today Molly tried to bring me into a restaurant. I heard her say “Bring me to The Buckmoon Hotel,” to the Grab driver in the car. When we got out of the car, I heard the doorman at the entrance telling the concierge at the front desk to being us to the restaurant. The waiter inside brought us to a corner. This time I could sense that it wasn’t Japanese.
The Sensurround was different and the mood was different. No loud noises, no people walking with heels, and not a sound was made as Molly was putting food into her mouth.
Which means that she was eating alone.
“Is she alone?” I heard the waitress asked.
How would I know? I am inside her basket. How would I know if she is dining with a companion?
Instantly I realized that I had been put into the position of an inspector detective. Reluctantly, I gave out a meow to remind her that I was inside.
“Keep quiet!” Molly said to me.
But someone noticed her talking to me.
“You can’t come in here with this basket,” it was a woman’s voice.
“Huh why can’t I?” “What is wrong with this basket?”
“Err …. It’s too rattan,” she said.
“Too rattan, what’s wrong with rattan?” “I like rattan,” Molly emphasized.
The patch on the rattan is too, too, …. I don’t know …. How shall I say it?” the woman said.
“Hey! You are not …. You are not a waitress,” Molly said.
“Then I ask my manager to come,” I heard, it’s the same woman I could determine.
Stay cool, I told Molly.
After several minutes, nothing happened.
And then I heard the clinking sound of the crockery and plate. Immediately I felt safe.
Going backwards, I thought to myself, why can’t cats be allowed into a restaurant? We need to eat too! What is there between me and they? Why am I only allowed to live inside this basket in a poor man’s existence? I am a citizen and a customer, in Grab, in a restaurant, and everywhere I go. I have been following Molly everywhere and branding Molly a shopaholic. It is a glorified title, I know. Molly likes to shop because she has the means to buy, at those various entry points. But not now, I think she wants to conserve her energy into just looking after me. She wants to buy clothes for me I think.
I want to see everything that Molly owned before she makes the decision to buy clothes for me.
And then I heard a loud conversation. Someone shouted, “We are trying very hard to stop war from descending on this earth.
Then silence, and I saw Molly picking me up and walked out of the restaurant almost as soon as she called for the bill.
I am sure that Molly has picked up the bill and paid for whatever that she consumed.
Tonight, I was given just some biscuits and milk with no blanket to sleep on. In the middle of the night, I gave out a meow and then jumped straight to bed into Leo’s welcome arms.
Why? What happened today? I heard Leo ask Molly.
…….
Chapter 5
Today Molly tried to teach me some Chinese characters. She wrote on a piece of paper some Chinese characters.
And then she flashed it at me – 酸甜苦乐。I saw.
Ok, I know. They are Chinese characters, totally four in numbers. She thinks that I don’t know how to read Chinese. Very humiliating. I came from a Chinese hemisphere, of course I know Chinese. Cats also have feelings you know.
I came from the rugged, high-altitude mountain ranges of Central and South Asia, not from the Arctic. I derive my ancestry from the snow leopard, not from the polar bears. I love the snows which is my own kind.
But I think half-way in transit I was talking to a polar bear from China, also in the cargo compartment, who was on his way to Australia. As I was packed in a cage, I went into the checkpoint and came out and then whilst resting in the transit area, I heard someone telling the other, “It works both ways.”
“What works both ways? You pay money I give you the goods,” one of the voices. Are they selling drugs? Omg!
Is this what the Chinese calls礼尚往来?
I was perplexed. And very disturbed.
Chapter 6
This late afternoon I was being carried into a nice boutique. I said it was nice because I could smell the lemony and delicious scent, not fragrant because fragrant is a term to describe rice, particularly Thai rice.
Err … you could say that I am a smart cat, I have preconceived notion about some things and I don’t know why.
I saw lots of people walking in and moving about as well to create the impression that there are plenty of buyers, whereas it is usually Molly who buys. It created the 气 atmosphere for Molly to spend more money.
Is Molly rich? I don’t know. But she seems having the urge to buy very often. And I don’t know why. As a cat, I only have the urge to pee.
But I don’t have this urge whenever I am outside with Molly. There is no facility to pee for cats.
In any case, it is highly inconvenient for Molly to help me pee in the toilet. Molly doesn’t know how cats pee. I usually pee in the sand box in the house.
Tonight, as I lay quietly in the arms of Leo, I heard Molly discussing the Bible with Leo, “The Bible describes the “last days” as a period marked by intense global conflict, with Jesus Christ confronting Satan and all his forces, prophesying in that “nation will rise against nation” and “wars and rumours of wars” will occur. These conflicts are considered part of the “birth pains” leading to the final battle of Armageddon where human governments oppose God’s authority …..”
Let me translate this into cat thinking: There is no last day on earth, it only attaches to those Christians who are extremely depressed, human beings are too smart to enter war. The middle east the Gaza war in 2023 started exactly on President Putin’s 71st birthday. They call it the October 7 war. Did he ask for war? To think that would be ludicrous. No one wants war. We only like to demonstrate that we have the power to kill, just like when I see another cat coming into my territory, which is when Molly picks up another cat or say “I love you” to another feline.
Meow is ok whenever this happens.
But no, for someone who does not wish to die, and who wants to be reborn, after departure, they ought to switch to Buddhism as they believe in the theory of reincarnation. No, this is not my advice. It is my own opinion which I am entitled to say to you. I am not a Buddhist either, but I like the Buddha for the moment. He is round and cute, and he has a fat tummy. Nice!
I was always under the notion that cats will be reborn into dogs.
Chapter 7
Molly is treating me well. I lie quietly in the basket without meowing and I watch her stitch. I see her tummy sometimes as she does not do enough exercise. No, I do not accompany her for her regular exercises. I sleep in my little basket in the little corner. Waiting for her to come home.
Then I see Leo pick up several pieces of paper, and I see his mind thinking ….. what shall I do ….. with these vouchers?
I meow to Leo, “throw!”
Leo said, “they are money you know,”
“Don’t you know these tricks?” I meow.
“These are paper money, it’s akin to a situation when ancestors die, the Chinese burn paper money in an incense in a ritual to send money to them, by way of repayment,
“In the business context, you go into a restaurant, you eat, they give you free money, after that because you don’t want to waste, you come back and spend, so that they feel that they have given you back something.”
“But I am not their ancestors,” I heard Leo protest.
“And neither am I their ancestors!”
I know you know that you are not a dead person. I meow.
Finally, Leo gave up.
“By the way, where did she eat?” Leo asked.
“In a restaurant in the Tanglin Mall,” I meow.
“What did she order?”
“Thai food,” Meow.
“So, I don’t eat Thai food from now on?” Leo asked me.
“No, there is nothing wrong with Thai food, by all means,” Meow.
Leo tears. I know that he was very disappointed as he liked the food there. I was also disappointed because this is a new set up.
Molly was just as disappointed when she came home later when Leo told her not to go there anymore. I had been there with them. There was a person by the name of “Mary”, as well as a man who called himself “Jesus”. They must be nicknames.
So that now I am unlikely to go into this restaurant again in the near foreseeable future.
Hey! Molly hasn’t given me a name!!!
Chapter 8
Let me recall.
They had lunch together at the Thai restaurant.
Maybe they saw Molly talking to me in the basket. Again? How could they see me?
During the conversation, I heard the word, “ancestors”. I am beginning to wonder, who am I in relation to Molly? What was my relationship to her? Was I one of her ancestors? And if so? Who was I?
But the truth is, even as a cat, we ought to be kind and gentle, so that we can be reincarnated as a human. Yes, of course, I know that I am a cat. A ハンサム cat.
Ah, I see my food is coming. I saw her carry the bowl, and then she sprays a thin layer of chilli and ginger over the not so white rice. I was happy that she does not feed me with this today.
I could read Molly’s mind now.
She says, “being human is tough. We need to eat, sleep and work at the same time. And if we are unable to do so, we exercise until our bodies lie flat on the floor.
Chapter 9
Just because they give me a few biscuits and some milk they think they own me. I looked at the two pathetic faces, and I gave out a meow in a different pitch, to voice my protest.
Today she has a pair of slippers in purple towel looking like she just came out from the bathroom. I had never followed Molly into the bathroom before.
After that when Molly put me in the basket I knew that she was going to bring me out again. But this time it feels like a different basket. We walked into a pop-up café, a well-supported first class dining area and lots of people walking in to buy cakes and biscuits thus creating the impression that there are shoppers for Molly to spend afterwards. But fact is, that the food is delicious. I was told before I went in. I meow loudly.
Gingerly I followed Molly into the restaurant. And I am afraid to find customers looking into the basket to find out that I am inside.
Shut up! She puts a finger to her lips, whilst looking at the waitress. The waitress was stunned. How could that be? You mean you slept with him last night? This lady was under the impression that Molly was single and unmarried, so that if she puts a ring to her finger she must have been married or at least engaged.
And then the waitress asks her, in front of me, “is this from your grandmother’s collection?”
“Huh? Who told you?” I heard Molly responding. How did she know that this was from my grandmother? My grandmother has been dead a long time ago. The reincarnated form?
Immediately she took her bag and walked out of the restaurant. The basket was moving back and forth, and I shivering. Then after a few steps. She turned back and put me on the chair again. I was quite happy, and I immediately meow, loud enough for all diners to hear.
Chapter 10
Today I saw Molly’s feet with a set of purple furry slipper looking like she just came out from the bathroom. I have never followed her into a bathroom, even though she does not close her door when she enters the bathroom. I am allowed to roam in the entire house. She sleeps eats reads and sits in my presence. The only time she closes her door on me is when she goes into the bathroom. Often I meow and scratch the door.
I sensed that Molly is looking for people to scold this morning. Just because the toast did not pop out of the box on time, she scolded Leo. “Is this a sin in the ten commandments?” I heard Leo respond.
After a while I realized that there is an unspoken rule in the house, like a demarcated line drawn between them.
I saw her carry the plate then she spreads a thin layer of jam and butter over her bread.
I was very happy until I was on the way out again. I regretted it the moment I went into the basket. Before I went in I peeped at the tag and saw that it was a Loewe.
I realized that I was sitting on the first-class seat. Now I think they are sending me back into the mountains, will they convert me back into a snow leopard again?
This time I knew that there is no way back.
“难到你要我见死不就?” I heard Molly said to Leo.
OMG! Chinese again!! I rushed out of the house and went to the nearest shelter to hide.
A man in black asked, “what are you doing here?”
Don’t you know that I am a feline? I can’t understand what you are saying!
“I think she is inside,” the other male voice said.
I dare not make a sound, I tried to pretend that I am a dog this time, I opened my mouth, but I can’t woof, I can only meow.
“Let me go and check in on her,” the other guy said.
I lay quietly at under the table, and I could hear someone coming to clear the smelly food away. And then the sound of the truck faded into the distance.
I waited for what seems to be an eternity.
Molly always had this telepathy with me. The moment I meow she picks me up. And now, I can’t meow anymore.
Desperate, I walked out of my hiding place, and there I see Molly coming.
“Where are you? I thought you had gone far.…” “You are a cat, not the snow leopard …” she shouted.
She picked me up and she carried me in her arms and walked out of the guardhouse.
I am back to eating biscuits and drinking milk again!
I still prefer the basket I am used to, although Loewe would have made a better choice.
leegoldielocks 