Chapter 68:

LXVIII | Solitude

The Rowan Tree


I let Rowan go

and regret it instantly.

Now I'm all alone
in this strange place.

What am I supposed to do here?

Sleep?

The luminous white branches
that form the wall of the hollow
are uncomfortable to lean on.

Even with my eyes
closed
white light seeps through from outside

and turns red.

So I open them
and see
a strange creature

sitting across from me.

It looks like a cat
but

it has thick grey scales
instead of fur?

Gross.

It licks its paw,
eying me with
flat
glassy
green
eyes.

'You're kinda foolish, aren't you?'
it says.

I compose myself.
'Who are you?'

The cat yawns and stretches
as if to say, 'booooooring.'

'Are you like the donkey
'or like that parrot?'

Its long tail
is the only part of it
that doesn't have
scales.

Instead, it has
fur

that takes on the colour of its surroundings
(like a chameleon).

The cat curls its tail
above its nose.

'Something like that?'

Some sort of spiritual guide?
Do all christians get one?

'Is your name weird like theirs?'

The creature wrinkles its nose.

'We don't tell you our names.
'What you call me doesn't matter.'

Can I tell this cat
to piss off?

I hate it more than the donkey and the parrot

combined.

The cat seems to know that
but doesn't seem to mind.

'Then I'll call you Mr. Ahmad;
'he's the worst teacher I've never had.'

The cat blinks.

'Do you know what Ahmad means?'

I don't.
'You said what i call you
'doesn't matter.'

The cat flicks
its tail.

'It doesn't change my real name.'

'Can I have a different pet?'

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