Libertarian Ice Water

In my Contemporary Literature class, was assigned to write a short narrative about the most romantic story I know. Call me strange, but the most romantic story I know is the tale of my two cats, Sugar Smacks and Shadow. Yes, I'm perfectly aware how weird this makes me seem. Oh well. Anyway, here it is.

Sugar Smacks and Shadow were only kittens when they first met, brought together by a young newlywed couple. Smack was a snow-white female with one blue eye and one gold, and Shadow was a gleaming black male with eyes of striking green. They would play together for hours, running through the house and ricocheting off the walls, before tiring out and napping side-by-side in the sunny spots on the carpet. They were inseparable.

 

Eventually, the two cats entered adulthood. Shadow became a strong, handsome tomcat and Smack grew into a lithe, pretty queen. They flirted, chasing each other through the grass and peeking at one another around corners. Slowly but surely, they fell in love. Smack gave birth to four beautiful kittens, all of whom went to caring homes. (Shadow paced restlessly outside the closet door all through the birth, and couldn’t have been more proud of his offspring.) They still spent all their time together, napping peacefully in windowsills curled around each other and playfully stalking each other in the yard like new mates.

 

Over time, Smack and Shadow grew old. In their later years they were happy to survey their kingdom from the top of the sofa rather than tearing the lights from the Christmas tree and chasing the human children around the house. Still, they remained a loving couple, always there for each other and ready to lend an ear or paw. Smack stuck faithfully by Shadow all through his illness, remaining true even in his last days.

 

After Shadow passed away, Smack wandered the house, searching high and low for her lost love and meowing plaintively in the night. Even after she accepted the truth and began to recover, Smack was never the same without her beloved Shadow. She became grouchy but lovable old woman, keeping the new cats in their places and spending much of her time on the human mother’s lap. But she never forgot Shadow, and two years later, unable to live without him, she died of a broken heart.

 

Sugar Smacks and Shadow are together again, reunited in Cat Heaven. It is likely that most of their time is spent curled into a black and white ball of fluff on that big windowsill in the sky, purring contentedly as they bask in the sun and each other’s love.

They were really good cats, man. I miss them. Join the club.