The Spirit of Mau
Life is passing by, faster than a
hummingbird on its search for flowers, but I donÕt notice time passing; IÕm
busy with watching things happen now. A gray bird sings to warn the other
creatures that I am here, a squirrel pauses in itÕs hunt for fallen nuts to
watch me carefully, and the wind blows the branches of the tree above where I
rest. All is calm and I am content in this moment.
My pupils dilate to take in the movements
of a field mouse in the grass. I tense as the mouse creeps ever closer. I can
hear his heart beating rapidly and his breath get more intense as he nears. My
tail twitches every so slightly, too much movement and the mouse will run into
the underbrush. I can see his eyes, dark against his brown fur, searching for
movement that would signal my presence. His attention shifts to the scent of a
seed for just a fraction of a second but thatÕs all I need. With a swift leap,
I push myself off of the ground and land on the mouse before it can race away.
He screeches with surprise and fear but a quick bite to the back and itÕs over[JB1] .
I lick the fresh, wet blood off of my
lips as my adrenaline races. I am a successful huntress, a wild, untamable
beast. Tossing my limp trophy into the air, I swat at it, just for sport. Suddenly, the
wind changes and I can smell the heavy odor of a human.[JB2] The crunch of leaves alerts me to a
presence behind me. Without having to look, I know who it is but instead of
running to greet this person, I clean the blood off of myself. A woman walks to
my side and murmurs quietly to herself upon seeing the mouse. I gaze up to her,
pleased in
my success,[JB3] my purr greeting her loudly.
As she is unable to care for herself, I
have caught her dinner. Humans are like large, deaf kittens; you must show them
how to hunt and groom themselves. [JB4] They are so very stupid, it is sometimes
saddening, but I love my dumb human, so I rub against her legs, leaving my
scent marking all over her. This lets other cats know she is mine and I do not
share.[JB5] She picks me up into her arms and
scratches my face as she walks inside her structure. I am not a fan of being
carried as my
eyes are not used to the height and the movement is too quick to focus.[JB6] I push off of her and land gracefully on
my toes before loping to where I am fed.
I
wait impatiently for her to bring me my dinner, which is never as good as
eating prey from the wild, but I accept it, as it is satisfactory. The loud
click of a container opening makes my mouth chatter with anticipation. She
pushes the food in front of my nose and I hungrily scarf down exactly two bites before I no
longer enjoy this meal and would prefer something new.[JB7] Unfortunately, my human does not
understand the quiet noises I make so I must meow loudly, telling her to offer
me another option. She does not listen, but instead turns to the dogÕs dish to
feed him. I am not a fan of the dog. He chases me, but not the way I wish to be
chased. It must be a fun game where I can hunt him from above, only to deal him
a deadly blow that he never sees coming. I prepare to leave the room, but give the dog a
look of dissatisfaction first, as he is making a mess of his meal.[JB8]
In the space where the human keeps large
objects to perch on, I find a source of water. Normally, I would drink from a
moving body of water, which is fresher and cleaner, but in the humanÕs
structure, she has no such area. Being as na•ve as she is, my human feeds me
next to where she believes I will drink water. It is a foolish concept as I will never
eat and drink in the same area, [JB9] as that is a way to become sick and weak
like prey. I enjoy using my foot to dip in the water. I find it easier to lap
up and it makes the human loud and interesting. She seems to become excited as
I drink or play with an object of my desire and sometimes she will chase me.
Before long, she comes to sit beside me and offers me the warmth on her legs. I
accept but only after taking a moment to think more about this. She shouldnÕt
think too highly of herself, as I am more important.
My human is a decent companion for the
nights when I desire to be out of the cold. She naps while I race around the
surrounding spaces. My eyes adjust well to the darkness and each movement I
notice is clear and detailed. The sounds I hear from behind the clear surfaces
are loud. I can hear small, crunchy bugs chirp, a fat toad croaks as it sloppily hops
through the grass, and a large, flying creature with sharp claws and large eyes
calls out as it searches for prey. [JB10] Tonight,
I am not that prey. I fill my own belly with meat and smile smugly at the
flying creature. Leaping silently down to the floor, I call to my deaf kitten and
hear a noise from her in return. She is under soft surfaces, which is
pleasurable to the touch. A purr comes forth and I begin to knead with
contentment. As the night lightens into day, I prepare to rest before the
important hunt I will take to feed my human.