Like the whisper of a lover’s breath on bare skin, the wind caressed its way across the golden fields of wheat and barley covering a good part of the land that was Tabula Rasa. It swirled and flowed around the empty house, randomly sweeping up stray leaves at random and twirling them around madly in waltzing eddies.

Invisible tendrils of the wind playfully teased the coat of the gray cat slowly padding her way back to the house from the abandoned garden. It had been a day for pure amusement, finding an assortment of creepy crawly things in the garden to examine. Beetles! Caterpillar! Even a lizard! They tasted horrible to delicate feline taste buds, but were fun to play with! As least, until they tried one too many times to crawl away, then the lazy swipe of unsheathed claws ended the game.

Time to turn gray nose to sort the multitude of scents in the wind. Ah, it will rain again, and soon, even though the sky was pale blue and cloudless at the moment. Phish posh, the feathered quackers had not returned to the lake yet, after she almost caught one yesterday. She had her stalking down to very fine precision, but dang it, her pounce needed more work! Gotta firm up those hind leg muscles with more leaps and bounds up and down the stairs of the old house!

Wait, what’s this?!

Pause her forward motion and swivel gray head sharply to catch that new scent again. OOhhhh! Warm flesh and blood! And it is…… over there! Coming towards her!

Her gray furry body dropped behind a thick cluster of tall weeds, hiding in picture perfect stillness. Ears flickering rapidly back and forth, feline radar listening to the slight rustle rustle of the grass and dead leaves marking the progress of her new prey.

Closer and closer, the heady flesh and blood scent becoming stronger and more distinctive. Muscles impercibly shift, gathering feline legs under her body, coiled power. No, no, she cannot let her tail swish! She would only have one shot at this, her pounce had to be absolutely perfect! Patience, patience, its almost here….

POUNCE!

Triumphantly, the still twitching field mouse grasped firmly in her mouth, she carried it to the house. The wind continued on its way.

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© L. Kupfer