What's With The Cat? Ezra Azra .   © Copyright 2024 by Ezra Azra

Photo courtesy of Pixibay.

Three Greek soldiers, battle-scarred, moving with difficulty, are lying on the ground. Each speaks with difficulty. They slowly look around, and look especially carefully at one another. They struggle to maneuver themselves on the ground.

-Same side?

-Seems so.

-I hope so.

-I suppose. Just us? I don't see anybody else.

-We’ve been abandoned.

-By the enemy, too. That’s good.

-Horses galloping.

-What’s that?

-I hear horses galloping.

-I don’t.

-Horses? I thought cats.

-Cats? Cats do not gallop.

-I hope this blood on me is not my blood.

-We won?

-Why not? We’re the only ones here.

-Captain Klaitus? Where are you? Sir?

-I am not Klaitus.

-Not Klaitus.

-Strange.

-What?

-What's strange?

-I dreamed two Angels were walking by. One stepped over me.

-Walking? Angels do not walk. Angels fly.

-Wings?

-Greek Angels don't need wings.

-Greek Angels are the best.

-I dreamed them, too. Sometimes walked funny. Like Trojans.

-Trojans? Then they were not Angels.

-Right. All Angels are Greek, to me. -They say something?

-I don't remember.

-Were women.

-Of course. An Angel's always a woman. Example of what a wife should be.

-Say that again.

-My wife ran off with two guys, combined ages less than hers. That's why I joined the army. Had to kill somebody.

-The Angels help?

-We are alive.

-Say that again.

-You said that already.

-A red Cat, too.

-Me, too. They stepped over me. The Angels and the Cat.

-Different persons cannot dream the same.

-We did. We are not strangers. We are both Greek.

-Greek soldiers.

-As large as life.

-It was a sign.

-A sign. That's good.

-Of what?

-It is obvious. Red is blood. And blood away from you is someone else's blood. That's good. Means you are on the winning side.

-Yes. That's why that Cat, too, was red. A sign that we won.

-There are no red Cats.

-In dreams anything is possible.

First-ever Cat was black. An evil witch in Hell. Named Hecate. Mother said.

-Makes sense. In the beginning, there was only darkness.

-God was the only light.

-No. God made light. God, too, was darkness.

-Maybe that red Cat was a horse.

-There are no red horses. Jeez!

-Long time ago I dreamed my horse grew feathers.

-A Greek dream-horse with feathers means divine horse, Pegasus.

-Another good sign that we won.

-Now, a Trojan dream-horse with feathers would be just horsefeathers.

-Hey? I am still wearing armor.

-So?

-Yeah. So?

-The both of you, no armor.

-Perhaps I did not have armor, to begin with.

-Me, too.

-Klaitus would not allow it.

-Maybe, Klaitus could have removed it.

-Klaitus thought we were dead. Otherwise, he would not have taken our armor.

-I was as dead as both of you. Why did he not take my armor, too?

-We lost the war. The Trojans took our armor.

-Yeah. The Trojans. Bastards. Thieves. Grave robbers. Degenerates.

-My armor is unusually designed. A thief would not ignore it. Trojan thieves would have taken everyone’s armor.

-Forget it. My head. It hurts.

-This blood on me is dried. I've been here for some time.

-Same here. Whoa! I don't have my sword.

-Me, too.

-I still have mine.

-I remember! Captain Klaitus ordered us to shadow those civilians.

-I remember. Because they moved like soldiers.

-Yes. Like soldiers.

-Must have been Greek civilians.

-And then? What happened? Did we follow them? Those civilians?

-I would have followed them all the way back to Greece. I am tired of this war.

-I don't remember.

-Me, too. What do we tell the Captain?

-Best for me to tell. I have my armor. You two follow me.

-We have to leave here.

-Which way?

-This way. There is a stink from that way. That way must lead to Troy.

Where are we headed?

Anywhere away from here.

Hey! Look. Aren’t those horse saddles on that bush?

Yeah. Okay. Horse saddles. So?

Yeah. So? It’s not as if we can eat them.

Perhaps, somebody ate the horses; and so had no use for the saddles.

Yeah; me, too. I am so hungry, I could eat a horse.

None of the three was in a condition to be able to notice the pride of lions about to pounce on their gyros.

Far, far away, two Trojan civilian young women and a red Cat are slowly making their way through the countryside. Each woman has a basket containing wild fruit and other greens the women have been foraging.

-Am I wrong for feeling sorry for those Greek soldiers?

-Yes, you are. Just remember that they killed our Father and our Brother. And they will not hesitate to do the same to us.

-Had they not already been dead, would we have killed them? For the sake of Dad and Vestrin?

-I do not know. Let's not think about that. We have enough problems trying to find stuff to eat.

-Are we at some time coming back to check on that stash of soldier armors we discovered?

-I don't think so. It would be dangerous.

-It was you who noticed that whoever removed the armor from two, left the third armor on that dead soldier.

-Yes. I remember. Why are you remembering that?

-It surprised you because you said that third armor looked so much more expensive. Why would robbers not take the most expensive?

-Yes. All that happened. I still don't see why you are puzzled. Those robbers might have been interrupted by some happening they did not expect. We are in the middle of a war. Remember?

-Like us showing up, by chance?

-Like us showing up by chance. Why did they not hide to ambush us?

-If that is what happened, you and I have more than invading Greeks to worry about.

-Or, they could have been like us; women too weak from starvation to risk having to run away.

I’m hearing galloping horses, again.

I’m not, again. So just ignore it.

-That red Cat is still with us. Do we have to feed it?

-You think it will eat the wild fruit we found? Just hope it keeps its distance.

-Why does it even bother?

-Be thankful we haven't met up with any other wild animals. That Cat might be the reason.

-It's just a Cat. It wouldn't stand a chance against a wild dog.

-It could distract the dog long enough for us to escape. Where is it?

-It does that now and then. Just disappears.

-Shh! Hear that?

-Yes! Get down!

-What was that?

-Some animal?

-Not horses.

-Or soldiers.

-Soldiers ready to ambush us.

-Quickly, turn here.

-The Cat's back. In front of us.

-Follow it.