Light in the Woods

I can feel the difference as I walk with the cat. The land seems the same but the feeling is strange. Nothing pulls me, the wind doesn’t call my name, roots trip me and twigs scratch my face. I grumble as we walk farther and farther into the dark. These woods are thicker, scarier than the ones in my dream had been. As we move deeper into the woods I examine the cat more closely. It’s blue with a sandy gray stomach. He has a black muzzle and there are little black lines on the side of his face. There are white circles around its eyes and a small point of hair at the back of its head. He even has small blue, white and black wings folded neatly across his back. All together he reminds me of a blue jay; however, the oddest thing is the glow. Yes the glow. As we walk I realize the cat is its own light source, emitting an eerie blue glow that illuminates the dense trees just enough that I don’t fall and kill myself. We wander through the woods. I reach out my hand and it brushes a cotton wood tree. We turn right.  I watch for the tree the beast had been under but it never comes. We continue walking and I feel lost. The spot where I saw him is nowhere to be seen. It seems like we’ve been moving for ages without getting anywhere and I’m beginning to think it may not have been very smart to follow the cat. For a moment I consider going back and turn to see behind me. There is nothing to see. Everything behind me is dark. There is no going back.

Eventually the woods begin to thin. The spaces between trees become larger and larger until finally the moon is visible again. I sigh in relief to know that it’s still the same night. The moon is full and high in the sky. The trees continue to move farther and farther apart until suddenly the cat halts. “What’s wrong?” I ask coming up behind him. He turns to look at me and smiles. I shudder. The cat chuckles again and I shoot him a firey glare. He leaps away and I give chase. He keeps running, the two feathers that start at the base of his tail flying behind him. After a moment of this game I notice that the trees have completely disappeared. We are in a massive hilly clearing. I watch the cat slip over a hill and as I reach the peak I see it, a castle, well more of a wall actually. The cat waits for me at the base of the hill once again twitching its tails impatiently. When I reach the cat I bop him on the head and he sticks his spotted black and blue tongue out at me. I laugh. He shakes then continues walking towards the wall. I follow close behind.

            When we reach the wall the cat leads me along its side to a small wooden door. It looks old, worn by rain and covered in moss but it’s still very beautiful in a strange way. There are carvings barely visible on its surface and I stare at them closely. Under the moss there are knights, a dragon, two castles and… I can’t quite see the last figure. I am about to raise my hand to brush away the moss when the cat clears his throat. I turn to him and he scratches the door with a strange three-toed paw. I reach out, grasp the door handle and turn the knob. It’s locked. I turn to the cat. “What am I supposed to do?” I shrug my shoulders, “It’s locked.” The cat sits down, looks me in the eyes then looks at the knob then back at me again. His stare says it all. ‘You’re an idiot.’ I can hear him thinking it. “What?!” I shout slightly annoyed. “I am not an idiot!” The cat smiles that smile that could only be his and chuckles. I’m about to hit him again but he disappears. “Damn it.” I curse under my breath. I spin on my heel and face trees. “Get back here and take it like a man you stupid thing!” I shout. No answer. I sigh and turn back to the door. Absentmindedly my hand rises and I fiddle with the string around my neck. “What to do, what to do.” I mumble as I play with the chord. My fingers meet metal. Face palm. I untie the key from my neck. ‘You really are an idiot!’ I take the key and gently slide it into the keyhole just below the knob. I turn it to the right and there is a loud click as pins align. It worked. The door is unlocked.