My Summer break had finally arrived, and was filled with many joys. One of the great thrills it held was a very energetic and lovable kitten, who I enjoyed playing with immensely. Unfortunately, the kitten wasn't mine, and instead he belonged to my roommate, or ex-roommate I should say. He was the one who had offered me a place to stay after the College dorms had kicked all the students out at Spring Semester's end. His name was Hobbes and he was 9 months old, although I wouldn't have known at first glance that this monstrous cat was only a mere 8 months in age when I first moved in. He had white fur all over with auburn patches that swirled around, and black, innocent babbles for eyes with a curious and dazzled expression on his face. It felt just like there was a small child in the apartment, and when I'd pet him or he'd follow me around, his gaze and body movements resembled a young child's playfulness and shy uncertainty of the world. He hung to my coat tails to be guided, supported, fed, and cared for.
His rightful owner, Andrew, now lived with his girlfriend but Hobbes remained behind. I questioned this move, but each time I pressed my room mate he simply replied, "I'm sorry, I simply have no where else to put him" and that was the most I could get out of his reasoning. I even recommended that Andrew look into finding some alternative if any existed, like in loving company of other family members that lived far away so that the option of Hobbes remaining at the apartment could be a last resort. Don't get me wrong, I am very attached to Hobbes as he is to me, but as I've mentioned I am not the rightful owner. But alas Hobbes remained behind, and I evidently had been granted full custody.
The end of the month arrived and once again it was time to collect my roommate Luis' money so that rent could be paid. There was an ATM where I could deposit the money on campus and have it in my account to pay rent by the next morning. The ATM machine was a good 25-30 minute walk from my apartment. With the checks in hand, I gathered my belongings and prepared to make a some what lengthy trek. Hobbes meowed frantically before I could leave the apartment, and ran in usual circles around me. I adored Hobbes, despite the times he had awoken me early in the morning yearning for human affection. He then motioned slowly toward the door and sat with his round, white furry belly bunched up around his hind legs. Hobbes wished to be let outside, which was exactly where I was heading. It was not unusual for me to let the kitten outside for hours at a time, for it was obvious he knew where his home was and never wandered far from the front door, weary of anything else that moved outside the apartment. I cracked the door and the kitten squeezed through, beyond my control to keep him from getting out, not like I wished to restrain such actions. I closed the door behind us and once I had gone more that a few paces beyond the steps, I looked over my shoulder to see the kitten perched by the oak tree, sitting in his usual sturdy, upward posture, observing me fall from sight.
I reached the busy street bordering the University and crossed the curvy road on campus through the luring bike path running adjacent to the Arboretum, which was a warming and comforting sight even in the dark of night. I didn't check the time before I had left the apartment though I knew it was evening; the color from the sky had almost completely faded. Beyond the first few fancy lamp posts, I noticed I was walking into complete darkness, and every light beyond it was off; I found this quite odd. I had walked down this bike path countless times before and often times at night, and before tonight it was always perfectly well lit. I will admit the dark makes me a little uneasy but I have no major phobias for it, so I decided to keep walking on this path as normal, temporarily leaving behind the light of civilization.
The bike path arched around for a little while, and eventually when I looked back I found myself surrounded by darkness, but I could still make out the various overgrowth and tall trees leaning over the fence. I still felt a small level of comfort, but the tense feeling of unease was rising inside of me. I began to feel like someone or..something was approaching me, but when I turned around I could only see blackness and no noticeable movement. A few more paces toward my destination..I heard it, but it was very faint. The sound seemed far away but was certainly coming from behind me. I froze, and without turning around I heard it again; a cat's meow. I felt chills, it was very odd because I had never encountered a single cat on this bike path. Not only that, this particular cat seemed to be following me, coming straight away, and I could not tell for exactly how long it had been doing so. But aside from even that, the main reason I felt so chilled was that it sounded EXACTLY like Hobbes, in that same manner of frantic cry for attention. I heard it again..again.. coming closer towards me.
