So, I walk (not run) in my neighborhood. I like it, it gives me a chance to be outside for a bit and to kind of mull things over...that is, when I'm not chatting away like an alien on my bluetooth. :) Huzzah for hands-free!
Anyway, so I was walking along one of my favourite roads, and a cat walks up to me. It's got a white belly, chartreuse eyes, and orange and grey spots. Anyway, today, as I passed it, it got up off the porch and came and walked next to me. It has a small sort of bell thing on it, so you can hear it a little bit, but it's not too annoying.
I said, "hi kitty cat," which was nice of me, since I don't usually deign to talk to cats, though they would have you believe that it is they who refuse to speak to me...and i looked down and thought, oh, a cat. Hmm....and I kept right on walking.
I walked down to the corner...about five houses. Then I crossed the street and turned around to come back, walking along the other side of the street. The cat cautiously looked both ways, and then darted across the street and kept walking in front of me.
We got a few houses down, and the cat started to lag behind. Then it darted up so it could be in front of me again, exactly as if it had been on a leash. But after a few houses, it went up the driveway of one, veering right, and about halfway up the carpark looked at me as if to say, "I bet this is your house, isn't it?" I just shook my head and kept going, thinking, well, maybe that's the cat's house."
But then the cat shook its head and came back, looking at me, jogging ahead. It put its ears back, listening for me, to make sure I was still following. Every once in awhile it would stop in my path just because it wanted me to pay it some attention. I usually stutter-stepped and half-laughed, as it would start going again just before I changed directions to step around it.
I went up into a cul-de-sac. The cat followed me all the way around it. We came around the corner, and a few houses down, the cat left me on the sidewalk and deviated up along a very nice brick path to a house I wouldn't be ashamed to call my own. Not that I would be ashamed of any house, at this point, but still...
It sat for a moment, twitching its tail, impatient with me that I didn't know where 'home' was. I looked it in the eye and then deliberately turned my head, ignoring it. Sure enough, it darted in front of me again. I kept going, and it stopped, looking at me forlornly. However, my next turnaround point was soon, and as I came back toward it it watched me and then crossed the street again, and we did our funny little stop-start again. It had been following me for roughly ten minutes.
I turned the corner for the home stretch, and the cat gave up...I guess another cat's boundaries took over. It sat on the corner and watched me. I kept going, undeterred from my goal of being home with my hummus, but turned around every so often to look back at it. It kept watching me.
I wonder, if I take the same route tomorrow, will it follow me again? Do I have a fan? Stalker!!!!!!! :)
