I pulled onto my street, returning home from tonight's open mic at Perk. I had to park a little way down the street, but found a space without too much difficulty for the time of night and walked toward my house. I heard it before I saw anything, a distant tinkling, barely registering as a sound for a few moments. Halfway up the front steps, I really noticed the sound, turned around. Nothing visible at first, but then a movement near the street. A patch of light color, moving in a straight line along the curb several cars down. I observed, decided it was a cat. Just at about the same moment that I made the distinction, its course changed, and the feline moved at top speed toward me. I smiled, started to reach down, and the cat practically leapt toward my hand, desperate for petting. It was a light orange tabby, soft and smooth to the touch, solidly built and obviously well-fed. There was a red ribbon tied around his neck, holding the bell that had alerted me that I was not alone on the block. We bonded for a minute. But I was tired and holding an armload of stuff and needed to get inside. There was mail- I removed it from the mailbox, dropped a postcard. Reaching down to retrieve the card, my hand was again assaulted- the cat wanted to be loved, and was willing to headbutt for the privilege.
Poor kitty. I wanted to bring him inside with me and take care of him always. Alas for the allergic roommate and boyfriend. I hope that he is not lost, merely exploring, and will return home to the people who gave him that ribbon.
