There was once upon a time when a girl worked as a cleaner for an apartment building in the city, her name is Alexandria. On the East side of the apartment there was an open street which was constantly flooded with people. And on the west side of the apartment there was an alley.
One day while Alexandria was cleaning on the west side of the building she looked out the window and spotted a clowder of cats playing in the alley.
The cats jumped around and pranced happily among themselves. For games, they would paw at litter that floated into the alley, they would jump up and onto the sills of apartment windows, and when a rodent would enter they would all storm around and kill it immediately.
Alexandria had never seen such a lively bunch of animals before! The girl sat at the window and watched them all in amusement. But when a resident caught her looking out in the alley with awe, they put an end to it immediately.
“Alexandria! Get back to work!”
And Alexandria stopped watching and returned to her work.
But time and time again Alexandria caught the cats playing in the alley. Eventually she had watched them so much she could identify each one individually and provide an analysis on every cat with their name.
There was a gray one, who could always swatted rubbish the farthest, his name was Carthage. There was an orange one, who always pounced to the tallest perch, and his name was Tripoli. And there was a black one which always delivered the killing blow to the rodents, his name was Algiers. There were several others but none as notable as this trio.
Alexandria always watched the cats and was so enthralled with the clowder she started to take a long time to clean the rooms on the west side and oftentimes left spots dirty on the east side. Much to the chagrin of the residents.
But soon the seasons started to change, there were no more trees with leaves and the sky was always cloudy. The girl when she looked out the window on the East side noticed the world around her began to slow. Pedestrians shuffled and sauntered down the street as the dry scent of winter filled their noses. When she looked outside of the western windows, the clowder would still come together but their movements were hampered as well.
The girl watched the clowder shiver and shake. Alexandria felt sorry for the cats. Hastily she collected a box big enough to fit the whole litter in and put a blanket inside of it to keep the cats warm. Then she went outside of her apartment and walked up to the group of cats.
First she walked up to the gray one.
“Carthage! I see you are freezing out in the cold and I have come to help. You must be the leader of this group of cats because of the strengths in your paws! Let me give you this shelter with a blanket so you may stay warm!”
The gray cat replied,
“My name is not Carthage, it is Bats! Although I have strength in my paws, I am not the leader of this group. The one you look for is farther along. But I would gladly accept your shelter.”
And so Bats climbed into the box and bundled itself into the blanket. Bats was warm and content.
Then Alexandria approached the orange cat.
“Tripoli! I see you are freezing out in the cold and I have come to help. You must be the leader of this group of cats because of the strength in your leaps. Let me give you this shelter with a blanket so you may stay warm!”
The orange cat replied,
“My name is not Tripoli, it is Lats! Although I can jump the highest, I am not the leader of this group. The one you look for is farther along. But I would gladly accept your shelter.”
And so Lats jumped into the box and bundled itself into the blanket. Lats was warm and content.
Then the girl approached the black cat.
“Algiers! I see you are freezing out in the cold and I have come to help. You must be the leader of this group of cats because you are able to deliver the killing blows. Please accept my shelter with a blanket so you may stay warm!”
The black cat replied,
“Although I am the leader of this group my name is not Algiers, it is Smats. And my group will accept your shelter.”
And so Smats called the entire clowder and they all climbed into the box. Then Smats went in last. All the cats were warm and content. The girl set the box down so they could be warm and happy. And the girl went inside to keep up with her work. Now when she worked she would see the box of cats which made her happy.
Time passed and Alexandria continued her work which became increasingly strenuous, during the winter months it was especially gross because of the snow and slush that collected into the building. She had become very exhausted from her work. When she looked out the window her cathartic program was not lively anymore, instead they rested inside of the cardboard box.
Alexandria continued to work but was sullen when she did it, whenever residents would pass her they would say nothing to her. The girl was sad and alone, so she went outside to serve a request to the hibernating cast.
“Bats, Lats, and Smats, and all the other cats!
Come out of your box and play!
So I have something to watch, as I go about the day!”
And Smats emerged from the box. When he came out he stretched out all his body. His eyes had that of an old bulldog.
“You have woken us up from our great slumber” Smats said, “What is it you could want from us?”
The girl got onto her knees and explained how miserable her work had been since the cats stopped playing. She pleaded that they must return to their fun and games, but the cats did not entertain this request.
“You have given us shelter but now you want us to stop using it to play in the cold for your amusement. How does this seem fair?”
The girl realized this and thought of a quick solution. She would bring the cats inside so they could keep her entertained and they would not freeze! It was the best of both worlds. The cats agreed and so Alexandria picked up the box and brought them inside.
The girl brought them to an area of the complex which was only for her and placed the box out on the ground. The cats one by one climbed out of the box and stretched their legs and yawned deeply. They assessed their new shelter.
The room was pale and filled with cleaning supplies. The girl told them to stay there while she went around and cleaned. But the cats could not stay put and wandered into a residence.
Inside the foreign apartment the walls were wrapped with iridescent green wallpaper and the lights were a dim yellow like the sun of a cold winter morning. The window, which looked out into the alley from had blinds covering the view.
The cats pranced and danced around the room and celebrated the wonderful space they had come across. But the girl did not know what was going on behind closed doors as she cleaned the other apartments.
The cats played their games and had a wonderful time. But then they grew tired and returned to the room to rest. When the girl had finished her work and retreated back to her space she saw that they were all sleeping. It made her happy. The girl took the blanket and gently covered the clowder of cats and they dozed off.
The next day Alexandria returned to work and noticed there were no cats in the storage. Then from down the hall she heard the sound of crashes and bangs. She jumped out of the supply room and stormed into the other room where the noises were coming from and witnessed the ruckus which was taking place. Lats, who could jump the farthest, lept from the lamp to the bookcases. Bats, who could swat the litter the farthest, swept all the belongings on the table onto the floor. And Smats, the leader who could deliver the killing blow, had torn into the wallpaper and exposed the boards of the house. And all the other cats made themselves right at home.
The girl had seen all this and was furious.
“You damn cats!” She said, “I let you in and give you shelter and this is how you repay me? My residents will hang me up by my toes if they see what I have allowed to go on! How could you do such a thing!?”
Then Smats walked up to the girl and said,
“You brought us in to entertain you, yet when we play you chastise us, this is our nature and these games are what keep us happy with the world, no matter where the games are played.”
The girl was deeply frustrated by all this and screamed at them all to get out. She cleaned that room for many hours until it looked orderly and proper, the wallpaper was unable to be saved. While working the girl hoped they would get tired of playing their cat games.
But their amusement never ceased. Everyday the cats would enter a room and cause a great commotion and everyday Alexandria would have to clean up the mess the cats left behind, neglecting all the other rooms. Soon the residents caught on with the untidiness of the building and called her out for the poor job, and this was the feather that broke the camel’s back. While the cats were sleeping she stormed into the supply room and yelled at them all.
“I have given you this space yet you repay me with nothing but chaos and destruction! You have ruined my work and all the residents do is yell at me! You cats have been nothing but a thorn in my side since you moved in!”
Smats walked up to the girl and said.
“The very thing that attracted you to us has driven you mad! We are very thankful for the shelter you provide us and still think it looks beautiful. The apartments are not ruined, they have been cultured.”
The girl was so frustrated that she instantly quit her job and left the residence in the sty that it had become. Currently Alexandria searches for a new job with unappealing outdoor scenery.
Connor Baldwin is a current undergraduate student with majors in Digital Media and Middle East & North African Studies.
Baldwin says about the piece: “I was inspired by the strange short stories of Franz Kafka and the fantasy of Brothers Grimm.” and “I am incredibly thankful for everyone who has helped me get to this point.”
“Flowers- Poppies and Daisies”, Odilon Redon (1867).