A Talk to Remember

Mathilda sneaks out of finishing the dishes and decided to explore her grandparents old barn only to find a talking cat.

Mathilda was staring out the window above the sink at the old barn across the field. It's sun peeled paint and hole riddled roof seemed to scream adventure. But she was stuck doing a kitchen full of dishes. Mathilda was a smart girl but like all children she lacked the patience to wait. The grandparents were watching Wheel of Fortune in the other room. The sound of chimes from the grandfather clock rang throughout the hall. The barn was calling out to her. Carefully she put down the sponge and the pot she was scrubbing and quietly tip toed over to the front door. Turning the nob ever so carefully to avoid detection and opening it just enough to squeeze her slender body through. Shutting the door behind her she turned around cautiously. When she felt the coast was clear she sprinted towards the barn. The old red barn looked like a shipwreck ready to be explored by a deep sea diver. She was ready alright to dive into the the hay and dance about.

She moved cautiously through the tall grass leading up to the red wreck, pretending there were sharks circling its exterior. She bobbed and weaved through the golden grass as it waved in the gentle wind. She was almost there now, she had evaded the sharks and now she was nearly upon the old ruin. The barn doors were busted off their hinges and leaning against the barn walls. She poked her head around the entrance peering inside where she saw piles of hay and old farm tools strewn about. Rays of light were cast down from the holes in the roof as dust from the hay and dirt floated in the air. It had a ominous feel to it and Mathilda was filled with curiosity and fervor to continue exploring. She imagined herself now in an old ruin, abandoned by some ancient civilization she had learned about in school. The ancients had left behind clues to some mystery and she was determined to seek it out. Into the barn she ventured, taking baby steps as she observed her surroundings. Making her way to the old farm tools, which she viewed as ancient weapons. They were covered in cobwebs and rusted but they would do. For who knew what evils lurked in this ancient place. Dusting the cobwebs from a pitchfork she brandished it and readied herself for a danger that lied ahead. She imagined a giant spider slowly lowering itself from its web. Readying the weapons she was about to strike when she thought she heard a voice.

She stopped and listened intently. Again she heard a voice but couldn't make out where it was coming from. The voice became clearer. "Help" it said in a muffled voice. "Someone must be trapped in here some where" she said to herself. Again the voice called out for help and this time she made out where it was coming from. There was a hatch leading to the lower regions of the barn. She turned the wooden handle and with all her strength lifted the heavy hatch door. A black blur darted out of the darkness. Startled she fell back onto the ground. Still in shock of what had happened she laid there for a moment until a black cat jumped onto her chest and down at her. "Thank you kindly madam." She heard. But she didn't see anyone. "Who said that?" She asked. "Myself naturally. Do you see anyone else in here besides the two of us." The voice replied. Completely confused her logic told her that there was someone here in the barn with her but the only other creature was this black feline sitting upon her chest and last time she checked cats didn't speak English well as far as she knew. "Nothing to say eh?" Asked the voice. Mathilda was uncertain what to say. She simply looked up at the cat bewildered. The two simply stared at each other wide eyed and curious. It was starting to dawn on her that it very well might be that this cat was indeed speaking to her, how she didn't know but she didn't know who else it could have been. Unable to rationalize it she finally decided to answer the voice. "Hello?" The cat lifted up its head then rotated it to his side. "Ah, your alive then. Jolly good." Mathilda looked at the cat then replied. "Um yeah I'm still breathing." The voice laughed. "Am I really talking to a cat?" She asked herself.

The cat jumped of her chest as that she could get back up. Mathilda stood up and towered over the cat who looked up at her. "Perhaps you wouldn't mind sitting down to my level?" Asked the voice. Without responding she sat down and crossed her legs. "Thank you so kindly for getting me out of that place. Rather dusty and hard to breathe I'm afraid. I'm sure you understand." Mathilda was uncertain what to say the situation was far beyond anything she had ever encountered. "Um your welcome." The cat licked his paw then sat down. "Ah yes, I'm certain your quite confused right now." He licked his paw and waited for her to respond. "Well..I...I..I've never....heard a cat...talk before." She was having difficulty forming her words. "That's an odd thing to say." Mathilda didn't know to respond so the cat continued. "Cats talk as you say it, all the time. You just need ears to listen." She felt slightly offended then retorted.

"Well cats don't normally speak English." The cat gave a sigh then responded. "Well that's a human response. All things communicate with each other. You're just anthropomorphising the meaning of speech." She gave a puzzled look. "Anthrop...." Again the cat sighed. The cat jumped up onto a haystack and looked her in eyes. "Ever heard of selective hearing?" The cat asked. "Yeah my grammy accuses me of that all the time." The cat licked his paw. "Generally kids can talk to cats and other animals adults not so much."

"Why?" Mathilda asked. The cat continued licking his paw again then replied. "When your born your just animal. Not quite human yet. That's what human parents do. They raise you from an animal to a full grown human. Basically parents try to get rid of the animal in you." Mathilda thought about what the cat said then asked. "Sooooo what about cats then?" The cat sniffed a then looked around. "Well unlike humans it doesn't take years for us to grow up. We as animals take a much shorter period for us to grow up. Our parents teach us at a very young age all that we need know to just be animals. Your adolescence is much different." Mathilda barely understood what the cat said and the cat saw the bewildered look in her eyes. "Regardless were still all part of the same family. Your mammal just like me."

Mathilda's eyes grew wide as she thought about what the cat had implied. "I guess I never thought about it that way." The cat walked a little closer. "It's easy to forget. I laughed a little at that silly look on your face when you figure out I was the one talking." Mathilda felt embraced but chose to laugh. Together they giggled at the silly thought. When the laughter had finally come to an end the cat said "were you playing earlier?"

She nodded her head up and down. "Yeah I'm never really paying attention to anything but my own lil world." The cat titled his head and laughed again. "I play all the time. You...wanna..play?" Mathilda smiled at the prospect then replied. "What shall we play?" The cat quickly turned then jumped into one of the large hay piles then disappeared into the straw. She ran after him then cannonballed after him. A cloud of dust and straw plumes above the pile. Poking their heads our of the hay they exchanged goofy looks the laughed. "Oh yeah my names Hasrabal. What's yours?" The cat asked. "Mathilda. What kind of name is Hasra..."

"Hasrabal. He was a general and brother to Hannibal during the Punic Wars." Mathilda gave a bewildered look and the cat recognized it. "History Mathilda." She was confused. "Why would a cat need to know about history?" Hasrabal shook his head then replied. "I hear kids talk about hating history over on the playground at Monroe Middle School down on 13th. I find that odd. No one really hates history they just hate their own personal history. It's called projection Mathilda."

Again Mathilda was confused this was alot to take in she hardly knew what to say. "It will all make sense when you get older you just have to think about it." The cat shrugged.

Author's Note

I will try to keep this updated.