The Cat God's Game (5)

The next morning, after hitting her snooze button for an extra five minutes of sleep, Kat forced herself up. She stumbled out of bed, slipping on a magazine she had left lying on the floor.

“I could’ve died!” she yelped, realizing how close she was to slamming her face into her desk when she turned her bedroom light on.

She made a mental note to clean her room later.

After changing into some workout clothes, she quietly crept downstairs so as not to wake her mom up, and walked outside. The early morning air felt refreshing as she did some stretches behind her mom’s shop. It was still cool outside, having yet to get cooked by the sizzling summer sun. The stars were still shining brightly in the sky above as the cicadas and crickets chirped loudly.

Kat put on some 80s workout music to get her in the right state of mind.

“Let’s do this!” she said, jumping into place.

With that, she jogged around the chain of buildings and out onto Mainstreet. There were one or two people up early in town, getting ready to head to the farms for work.

Kat exited the town and went out into the endless roads that cut across the numerous farms in the area. She followed the pathway to the small forest, jogging along the dirt path that led to the creek. Once there, she started doing stretches again to wind down.

Cooling off, she plopped down onto a large rock that sat alongside the creek, where she listened to the sound of the rushing water. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to get lost in the ambiance.

“Coffee?”

Kat yelped as she jumped to her feet. “How long have you been out here?!”

Mr. Keensley poured a cup of coffee into a small reusable cup and handed it to Kat. “Not long before you got here.”

She took the cup from him and thanked him, only to wince at the bitter taste.

Mr. Keensley pulled out a couple sugar packets and handed them to Kat, who tore them open and dumped them into her coffee. The two then sat quietly, listening to the sounds of nature around them.

“Can I ask you something?” Kat asked.

Mr. Keensley grunted an affirmation.

“Suppose you were offered a chance to be immortal, but—”

“No thank you.”

“I wasn’t finished!” Kat yelled in a fluster, but then calmed down. “How come?”

“To live means to eventually die. Removing that, to me, means removing what it means to truly be alive. Knowing that you have a small allotted time in this realm, and using that precious little time to get as much as you want out of it. If you exist forever, then you lose that ability to appreciate life. At least, that’s what I think.”

“But you spend all your time out here by the creek,” Kat said.

Mr. Keensley chuckled. “I’m old, Kat. I’ve done everything I wanted, or at least what I was able to. Now? There’s nothing I like more than to sit here and reflect while fishing. Could argue that I’m simply waiting for my time to run out and to finally die.”

Kat winced from Mr. Keensley’s morbid outlook. “That’s kinda sad.”

He shrugged. “But imagine having to accomplish everything you wanted, but then be forced to keep going. To watch those you love and care for grow old and perish around you. Sure, you might try to start new relationships, but those too will eventually come to a despairing end. Eventually, time moves so fast for you that getting to know someone for decades feels as quick as accidentally bumping into someone at the store. Nothing matters anymore. Existence is meaningless, yet you cannot escape.”

“I see,” Kat said.

“Something on your mind?” he asked.

Kat hesitated for a moment before deciding to tell Mr. Keensley about the challenge with The Cat God, and the risk of becoming an eternal apostle if she were to fail.

She left out the cleaning bit.

Mr. Keensley nodded silently as he listened. “I see,” he said once she finished. “You sure find yourselves in lots of predicaments these days.”

Kat leaned back on the rock, letting out an exasperated sigh. “Tell me about it!”

“If there’s anything I can do to help, you just let me know,” Mr. Keensley said. “I’m sure the others in town would be more than willing as well.”

“Thanks, but I think I’ve gotta do this myself,” Kat responded.

“Is that in the contract?”

“I dunno. Probably?”

Mr. Keensley looked over at the water, which began to twinkle as the first rays of sunshine reflected off the surface. The stars in the sky were washed away with a pale blue hue.

“Aaaaaaand the beeellllll has ruuuuunnnnggggg!!!”

The Cat God dropped down from the treetops behind Kat and Mr. Keensley.

“Day two… has begun,” it bowed. “Has your morning warm-up helped prepare your body and soul?”

Kat stood up. She popped her neck and stretched out her arms. “You bet! I’m totally getting your tail today!”

She leaped at The Cat God, who hopped into the air, bounced off her head, and landed behind her. “We shall see, we shall see. We. Shall. See…” it smirked.

Their chase commenced, which resulted in Kat falling into the water numerous times, disturbing the few fish that were in the creek, and ruined the serene atmosphere that Mr. Keensley sought after by coming all the way out there.

He watched the two thrash about, with Kat failing to nab her target time and time again. All the while The Cat God would go “Sorry!” “Not this time!” “Oh! You were so close that time!” “Almost had it!”

“Shut up!” Kat yelled, already sick of hearing its teasing.

After a short while, The Cat God led the chase away from the creek, leaving Mr. Keensley alone at last.

***

The rest of the day played out just as it did at the creek. No matter what Kat tried, she could never manage to grab onto The Cat God’s tail. They would go for hours, taking momentary breaks from time to time for Kat to catch her breath. During these times, Maria’s siblings and Isabella would pop out of the woodwork with snacks and refreshments on behalf of Maria to the joy of The Cat God. Every time their offerings were paid back by receiving the same snacks tenfold, much to the kids’ delight.

It wasn’t long until Marco started bringing pockets stuffed with candy and other junk food to take advantage of the exchange rate, and the others soon followed.

For lunch, The Cat God insisted they go to the diner, where they wanted to try the various other offerings Pops had on the menu.

While its meal was free, Kat had to pay for hers.

In the evening, the chase would once again stray close to Maria’s place, where her siblings and she watched until nightfall.

“Diiiiiing doooooong!” The Cat God yelled the moment the sun had set for the night. “Day two has come to a close.”

Looking over at the siblings and Isabella, The Cat God raised its arms, where it launched a series of fireworks into the sky for their enjoyment.

They were quite ecstatic over the sight.

Kat, on the other hand, had collapsed to the ground, completely exhausted from all the running she had done that day.

“Are you okay?” Maria asked while handing over a water bottle and cold towel that had been sitting ready in an ice-filled cooler.

“I’m okay,” Kat replied after downing the entire bottle in two gulps. She laid the cold towel over her head to cool off. “Thanks.”

Maria sat down next to Kat, watching her siblings and Isabella dance around The Cat God and its theatrics.

“Have you really been at it all day?” she asked.

“Just about, other than the occasional break and lunch,” Kat answered. “Gotta tell ya, it’s a heck of a workout.”

“I can imagine,” Maria commented. “You should definitely try out for track-and-field this year.”

Kat couldn’t help but laugh at the remark. “I wonder if I’ll still be able to go to school if I’m forced to become an apostle.”

Maria frowned when she heard that, and leaned in for a hug.

“H-hey! Don’t hug me! I’m covered in sweat!” Kat mumbled into her shoulder.

“You’re gonna win,” she said sternly. “So don’t say things like that. Okay?”

Kat fell silent for a moment, then nodded. “Right.”

The fireworks ceased.

“Alas, it is time for me to make my rounds and apologize to all whom we have inconvenienced,” The Cat God said to the kids.

Maria’s siblings and Isabella moaned in disappointment.

“Okay!” Maria said, clapping her hands. “School’s starting in less than a week, so you all need to practice going to bed early. Pick up your garbage and head back to the house. Isabella, I’ll walk you home.”

They all whined and argued it wasn’t fair since it was still summer vacation technically, but none could go against Maria’s words. They soon picked up the cooler and litter from their snacks and marched their way back to the house.

The Cat God approached Kat. “Would you like me to take you home before I go?” it asked, extending a paw.

Kat thought for a moment, then shook her head. “Nah. I feel like walking home.”

“If that is what you desire.” It looked over at Maria and Isabella. “You two ladies have a splendid night.” With a flip, it vanished from sight.

“Allll right!” Kat said while getting off from the ground, determined once again to win. “Guess I’ll be off. See ya tomorrow!” She handed the towel back to Maria and got started making her way home.

Maria and Isabella watched Kat leave for a moment before turning toward the Kingdom of Cats, hand in hand.

“Do you think Kat can win?” Isabella asked.

There was a hesitation in Maria’s voice before she answered.

“I believe she will.”

As they made their way up the road on Maria’s property, a pair of headlights shone brightly on the pair.

“Maria!” a deep voice called out.

Maria held up her hand to block out the light, but they were quickly turned off as the old, battered truck’s power was cut.

Stepping out from the driver’s seat was Mr. Keensley.

“Kat mentioned something about a contract. You wouldn’t happen to have it on you, would you?”