Author's Note: This "story" is actually a series of unrelated short skits. Almost all were spawned from an informal writing contest where the only criterion is to write 200 words or less (typically) about a given topic. The versions posted here are sometimes longer forms of the skits I submitted for the contest, but they are still quite short and quite random. As always, feel free to let me know what you think of the selections.

Enjoy!
Ruatha

The Long Sleep

Fresh air, at last!

There were many strange sounds, but the cat recognized them as People noises. She stayed Asleep while the People picked up her Sleeping Body, separating her from her Master.

Her Master, whom she guarded during the Long Sleep. He had loved her since her kittenhood. Now she watched over him as he Slept, since People could not Wake as cats could.

The People noises faded. She Woke and tiptoed daintily around the room, whiskers twitching as she searched for her Master. A Person entered and she hid, then continued her search more cautiously. It would not do for Waking People too see her – that was one of the Rules of the Long Sleep.

There he was! With a twitch of her tail, she acknowledged that his Waking Body looked old – but then, so did hers, when she Slept. No matter.

She weaved back into his arms, diving down into the Long Sleep. He could no longer move in the Waking World, but in the Long Sleep, his hands welcomed her back with a satisfying scratch. She yawned a purr in return, content in their ages-long partnership.

Her ears, always Awake, heard the People sounds: “Hey, Lily? Where’d the cat mummy go?”

Author’s Note: The starting point for this short was an image of an Egyptian mummy (a human) and a pleasant piece of music that struck me as softly haunting.