I – V
Ay?e
I – V


“Good night,” she called while covering herself in her thin summer blankets. A dull “Good night,” came from the master bedroom. After only a few minutes, Ay?e’s breathing slowed, and she fell asleep. Her dreams began in a rescue helicopter, sitting on the skid, looking out for the drowning people. The rotor blades blew a strong wind down on her. She was unsecured as the helicopter turned, and tossed her off of the aircraft.

With a jolt and a pounding heart, she woke. “Just a dream,” she whispered to herself, taking a deep breath. She noticed how hot she was, so she laid herself above her sheets. However, her exposed arms and legs made her freeze, so she stood and opened the window, letting in the cool nightly Anatolian air. She traipsed back to her bed and laid herself under her sheets. Within a few minutes, she was dead to the world again... well, not quite; what was that noise? Half asleep, she trotted to the open window, and saw about sixty or so cats howling and hissing at another gray and black cat, who was standing on top of a slight hill. The cat bore an expression of helplessness, as the other five dozen or so cats kept howling at him. “Thank you, Thank you!” said the gray cat. Huh? Did that cat just... say something? “I’m not the new Catmander-in-Chief, you got that!” shouted the gray one before another cat in the audience cheered, “No, but you are the first house cat to ever return!” The crowd roared on. Huh? Ay?e had never seen something like it, and couldn’t believe it. She covered her face with her hands, thinking, I’m going mad. When she opened her eyes again, she saw the cats again. The gray one was saying, “...Apologize for being foolish enough to lick my scratch where Dr. Nil walks every day. But I am up here to tell you all that I am glad to be back, and I’m glad to see you all!” The audience applauded, but not as hefty as last time. “It has been a long day, also for the newly converted cats of the former Central Cankaya, and I know that you are probably thinking, ‘What the heck is going on,’ but relax, you will get used to life with us. I would like every one of the newly converted citizens to come up and introduce themselves to their pride. Welcome home to them, and may the spectators rise and demonstrate respect before the new twenty-four, sorry, twenty-five counting Rikhahn, members of our pride please.” Ay?e brushed her black hair from her face. It scared her slightly to see talking cats, and she closed her blinds and lied back down, but her inquisitiveness couldn’t allow her to miss a beat. She opened the blinds again and heard the gray cat say to a black cat, “Hey Kakiro.”
“Hey Thortac, good speech!”
“I think we need to raise awareness amongst our pride about the human atrocities, you know, declawing and all that.”
“Yes, good idea.” Atrocities?

Next morning, Ay?e jumped out of bed early, although it was saturday. She spent until noon thinking about what she had seen. She had a desire to help the cats, and came up with an idea. “Mom, can I go to Sevgi's house?”
“Sure, but be back by seven, and remember, if something happens, we are just across the park, right here. Have fun!” said mom. Ay?e left the apartment and entered the elevator. She was garbed in summer clothes; light blue shorts, and a light blue T-shirt. When she exited the building, she scanned the park for cats. Eventually, she spotted the gray one, Thortac, under a nice, waterfront hibiscus bush, talking to the black cat, who seemed to be called Kakiro, and walked into the valley towards the two felines.

* * *


“Thortac, we must talk,” said Kakiro. The sun was rising between the tall apartment buildings of Vadi, and the streets turned busier again. I was tired and couldn’t see straight. The welcome party had lasted until just ten minutes ago, and the ground still smelled of rodent scraps. “Kakiro, must this be now? I have not had my eighteen hours of sleep yet, I think you can understand that I am fatigued from staying up all night.”
“I understand, but it is for your own benefit, Thortac, now come to my bush.”
“Yes, chief.”
I walked behind the black cat into his turf around his hibiscus bush. “As you were held captive with humans, I recognize your knowledge on human behavior, that definitely exceeds mine own on the subject. I have also noticed how you are honored in the pride because of it.” Kakiro paused and sniffed the morning air. A Turkish bus drove by on the deathpass, clouding it with a plume of thick, brown fumes. No human could have smelled it so many hundred feet away, but thanks to our fourteen times as sensitive nose, we cats smelled the deathpass, and it stunk even two hundred feet into the park. All living quarters were therefore situated farther back into Vadi. Kakiro continued, “As sorry as I feel that you were trapped, it is now to our own benefit, for now we can create a plan to put an end to human disrespect for our species. If it weren’t for your incarceration, we would have not a clue what they actually do to us!”
“You are right, Kakiro, and I see what you are getting to; you are trying to create a plan to grab human attention, but humans just don’t understand us! We cannot communicate with them. If only that problem were eliminated...”