“So. That’s your solution to my ‘Man Problem’, as Ma puts it?”
“It’s one solution.” A pothole in the the road almost made Virika drop her phone.
“I’m shaking my head. Do you believe that?”
“I’m just saying that if out parents believed in arranged marriages, neither of us would be where we are right now. Maybe that works better growing up in a big city.”
“As far as I can tell, nothing works better in a big city.”
In the summer heat, One of Dr. Samantha Carter’s students strapped an expensive looking box to the back of his bike. It was a sample for one of the other labs – probably to spectrum it, he thought. Or maybe he wasn’t thinking much at all as he peddled off – or the sweat and sun got into his eyes – because he suddenly noticed cats nipping a his heels.
The stray cats came from all over to catch the mice that nibbled on university student trash – because they were too good to let pickers come get it. But in summer there were fewer students – so the cats wanted whatever they couldn’t have.
The bike tipped, and the box broke open and that cats were on it in a moment. The sample was gone before the student could shoo the cats away.
The cats fought over the sample, and some tried to chew it, but it was mushy, and some tired to bite it, but it shook. They growled – and it growled back! The purred at it, and it gave a little purr back! Oh no, they thought, it’s a kitten. And many were sad, because the university had spayed them so they couldn’t have kitties. And they decided this was their kitty. And like a kitten, they shared their food, and taught it to scavenge for treats, and taught it to hunt. And the little kitty grew up strange, without much hair, but all the cats were strays and didn’t care much.
As the kitty grew into a cat, she was a very clever cat. And she started remembering strange things, like walking on two legs. In the nights she’d practice – and the other cats would stare, but a strange cat is still a cat.
Biralee remembered things about people. She watched them from the shade for hours, trying to remember. She whispered sounds that a cat is not supposed to make. She got bigger and bigger.
One day, she saw Mouri going into the library – and recognized her. Biralee was not supposed to be a cat – she was supposed to be a girlfriend! Oh no, how had this happened? She had to go to the library to find out.
It was not hard to find clothing at a university – while some used the time to grow up to be fine men and woman, others clung to being children. Biralee gathered clothes, and stretched herself to a human shape – remembering this was a secret. The parts she could not hide completely, her ears and tail, she hid under her new clothes as best as she could. And she went to the library.
It seemed like a magical place. Always cool, with a low rumble. The smell of wood, and a bit of rot. Many places to sit. She came back for many days, trying to find whose secret she was keeping, to put together the missing pieces of the world.
The librarians though she was homeless. And she was, the way humans had homes, but not the way cats did. She knew where to sleep, where to get food. The librarians asked if she needed help to find an apartment… and she realized that if she wanted to be part of the human world she would need to leave the other cats behind and get a job.
The librarians said she could work there part time. Even if Biralee didn’t know everything a human would know, she knew some things, and was clever – and ready to to study, even more than the students. She saved up money, and got her own little apartment. And a bed, and a laptop, and a television.
But, remembering so many things, she wanted to make her own memories. She saved up, and got a guitar. She pawed at it, and started to learn to play it. She even started to figure out what clothes she liked.
She tried to learn a human shower – but she hated it. It was cold, or it was hot, but it always got her soaking everywhere. Instead she cleaned herself. As she had gotten to be a bigger and bigger cat, she had pushed her tongue longer and longer; now, she knew this was part of the secret. She could stretch her tongue so far that she could clean her toes while standing up. Normally, though, she would just stretch it as long as her arm, and would twist around to make sure she got every centimeter clean. She cleaned her laptop screen the same way, licking til it was spotless.
She was pretty good at being a human, she thought. But there was still more to learn.
Until. One day getting food during market, a woman bumped into her – hard. So hard Biralee could feel herself squishing. She looked up, and it was Mouri! Mouri stared at Biralee, surprised – and Biralee smiled at her and, not knowing what to do, gave a little wave – then ran away.
Mouri was supposed to be her girlfriend. But her wasn’t Biralee. She ran back to her apartment and tried to think. Think until her stomach growled. She had to go back and get food before everyone closed up.
On the edge of the market was another person from her old memories. Sophi. Looking around hard for something. Someone. Biralee. Sophi wasn’t her… or was she?
Going through stalls, one seller called out to her… Biralee got good meat from him a lot. Mouri wanted to talk – she had left her phone number. Biralee had never used a phone, but thanked him.
She got her food and carried it back to her apartment. But just as she got it put away, a knock came at her door.
It was Mouri. It was Sophi, nodding to herself. A third person – she didn’t know who it was. And Usha. Usha was her.
Mouri started.
“Just who are you?”
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