While living on Jackson Street, I noticed there was a large amount of stray cats that roamed the streets and yard. My roommate one day joked about leaving anti freeze out for the cats to drink. Thus inspiration for this short story. Its kind of lame, but just read it.

            I never understood why I was picked to be born to a mother of a stray cat, but I never held a grudge against my mother. Before her passing, she taught me how to survive as a stray. She taught me where I could find the best food to eat: dumpsters, and trashcans. And she taught me where I could find comfortable places to get a good night sleep. My mother gave me the name Milo, and I know she loved me. Although she was my mother, she was also my teacher. She taught me information most stray cats don’t know, such as teaching me riddles.  

            One warm October afternoon, I was doing my normal patrols, when I had a sudden urge to drink, so I figured I would try to find a puddle. I really enjoy milk, but when you’re a stray you don’t have a choice on your drink choices. This isn’t Burger King; you can’t have it your way. I proceeded through a dark alleyway when I spotted a dish near the front of a gray truck. Looking around, I noticed no one around, so I quickly ran to the dish and began lapping it up. After my first two licks, I was amazed at how thick and sweet this blue substance was. It was like syrup, but blue, and did I mention delicious. I kept drinking until the bowl was bare to the bottom. I was enjoying it so much I didn’t notice a man coming from the house until he was a few feet from me.

            I quickly ran off through the empty parking lot hearing the man yelling something. I couldn’t hear him that well, but I did hear him yell something bout freeze or something. The wind was howling so his voice was overpowered by the wind.

            It was about twenty minutes after drinking the substance when I became ill. I became horribly ill. I began throwing up, and my insides burned. The pain was so unbearable I fell over, and closed my eyes.

            The idea of death had always scared me, but as I began to float in the air, I wasn’t really scared. It wasn’t like a horror scene that you might see in the movies, it was actually peaceful. I looked down and noticed everything on the ground getting smaller and smaller. I must have been miles in the sky, when I saw a cat sitting next to a pearly gate, reading a huge leather book. Without looking up, the black cat wearing a white robe says “Milo, welcome to cat Heaven, I’m sorry to inform you but it’s your time to step onto the other side of this pearly gate, where you will live in eternity in happiness.”

            I was speechless, as a million thoughts ran through my head. How could I be dead? I’m too young to be dead! There are so many things I wanted to do, and so many cats I wanted to do.

            “Calm down,” Milo the voice said again. “Just relax, things will be ok. I will make you a deal. If you can answer this riddle I will send your spirit back to earth, and you and your fellow cats will be granted 9 lives. Many cats have tried to answer this riddle, but none have answered it correctly. But before you decide to take this riddle, I have to make you understand should you get it wrong, you won’t be living in heaven, but in hell. Will you take the challenge?”

            I wanted to tell him no, and that I would rather live in heaven, but I knew I was ready since my mother always gave me riddles.

            “A man is found dead in his car from a gunshot wound to his head. His windows are up, and all his doors are locked. There are no bullet holes in the car anywhere. The man in the car didn’t commit suicide, and the suspect wasn’t inside the car. There were no fingerprints of the suspect on the door implying he didn’t open the door then lock the doors when he was done. How did the man get killed?” the cat questioned.

            I began searching my head for answers when I remembered my mother telling me this riddle to me. I blurted out to the cat that the man was killed, because he was in a convertible.

            “That’s correct Milo. Because you got the question right, I am granted you 9 more lives for you and your fellow cats. Because you are the one that got it correctly, I am sending you back down, but you my friend, will be sent to a owner, who is has lots of money, and will buy you anything. You will enjoy your 9 lives in style, and your new life will be like heaven,” the cat says.