Episode Seven:
Old House, New House
Abigail did not watch Finding Nemo over the next couple days. She watched a few other short TV show episodes, but was mainly busy spending time at school during the day and then spending time with friends in the afternoon. She went to something Mom called a sleepover, which I think meant she went somewhere else to sleep. I looked all around the house but couldn’t find her, so it must have been a good hiding space.
I spent most of my days with Lily, talking with her and getting to know her more. Of course, we talked a little about Finding Nemo, which I know Abigail has seen before - I guess that’s why Abigail wasn’t in a huge hurry to finish watching it again. I just never thought much about Finding Nemo until I met Lily. And Lily and I also talked about a lot of other things.
“You know where I came from.” Lily said one afternoon. “I told you about the place with all the other fish, and how people would walk by and look at us and sometimes take some of us home. But where did you come from?”
“I…” I had to think about that for a minute. I was so tiny when I first came home to live with Mom and Dad and Abigail. But I vaguely remember another house. “I was born in a different house, and there were other cats there, and we were all tiny. I... I don’t remember much, but I do remember the stairs. Yes, I was so small I used to have trouble climbing the stairs!” I say.
“The what?” Lily asked. Of course, how would she know what stairs are?
“They’re things I have to climb. Like this.” I hopped casually from the counter to the floor, and then onto a kitchen chair and back onto the counter. “But they're a lot smaller. Each step is shorter than I am tall now. Even shorter than your fishbowl is tall.”
“Wow, you were smaller than my fishbowl?”
“Yes. I was really tiny. A big furry orange ball of fluff with huge eyes.”
“Awe,” Lily said. “That sounds cute!”
“Yeah, I guess…” I said, feeling my nose burn a little. “I remember I’d try to hop up, and would hit my chest on the steps and then pull myself up with my claws. Sometimes it would work and sometimes I would fall back down and have to try again. But eventually, I made it up and was able to climb the steps! I was so proud.”
“Cool. Good job! So after you learned to climb the steps, you came here?”
“Yep. Pretty soon, I had grown and then my family came to pick me up. And Abigail came and scooped me up in her arms and gave me a big hug. She was younger; she had just turned five. But I was a lot smaller too so she could snuggle me close to her.
“I knew that I was made for Abigail, to be her protector, and that she was my person. She and her parents brought me home and then I started to learn the new places in the new house – this house. I slowly learned where the best place was to lie in the sun. Where the best place was to meow for food at the kitchen table and where the best place was over all – snuggled beside Abigail.”
“That’s really cool.”
“Yeah, I’m really thankful I have such a loving family that takes care of me.”
“Yeah,” Lily agreed, swishing her tail. “So what else have you learned about this place? I’m still new here and really only can see whatever's in my sight from my bowl.”
“Hmm…” Lily was right. The house was big yet she could only see a small portion of it. How could I show her more? I tried to push the fishbowl a little bit with my head. It felt heavy, but I wondered if I could push it off the counter and then roll it around the house to show Lily what all the other rooms looked like.
“Err… Tiger?” Lily said uncomfortably. “What are you doing?”
“Just trying…” I gave the fishbowl another heave. It really was quite heavy. “To move this off the counter so I can show you around.”
“That sounds cool, but won’t all the water spill out…”
I gave the fishbowl another little push and then stepped back, watching the water slosh by the top of the bowl.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right… That wouldn’t be good! There probably wouldn’t be enough water to cover the floor and then you wouldn’t be able to breathe right? Because you filter oxygen by water that’s flowing through your gills.”
“Yep, it’s a fish’s specialty! Tiny amounts of oxygen dissolve in water, and unlike humans and cats, fish have special tools to use that oxygen to breathe!”
“That’s amazing… But then…” And then I had an amazing idea. “Wait right here” I said, which was kind of a moot point because Lily could only swim around her fishbowl.
I ran from the kitchen to the living room and then up the steps to the upstairs – my, how the steps seemed a lot smaller now. Once I got to the top of the steps, I bounded through the upstairs hallway and into Mom and Dad’s room. As I suspected, there was a pair of folded socks on the bed that Mom had taken out of the laundry. I grabbed it in my teeth, being careful to be quiet and not wake Mom, who was taking a nap before Abigail got home. I then bounded back downstairs, onto the chair, and onto the counter, skidding slightly, but stopping before I banged into Lily’s fishbowl.
“Oooh,” Lily exclaimed. “The small splash object.”
“Exactly, the soft socks.” I said. Turning impressively, I marched over to the sink, which had a few dishes in it but wasn’t full of water, and dropped the socks in.
Lily swam excitedly in her fishbowl, trying to see what I was doing.
Carefully, I got in the sink too, avoiding stepping on most of the dishes. A little bit of some leftover sauce got on me as I shuffled around, contorting my body to try to avoid them. No matter, I could lick it off later. I stepped carefully down on the socks in the sink, pressing them down into the drain.
“Lily, here’s another cool thing I can teach you. Shoes are hard so they hold their shape. But socks are soft so they can bend to any shape! They can fit on anything. On feet… By my head when I use them when they’re folded as a pillow... And even to block drains!”
Then, with a flourish, I nudged the long kitchen sink faucet handle with my paw, pulling it back and turning the water on.
Water began to pour down and bounce merrily off of the pair of socks shoved into the bottom of the sink. I walked over to the end of the counter where Lily was and carefully pushed the bowl toward the sink. It wasn’t a purrfect job. I splashed some water on the counter and my paws naturally pulled away from the water when I accidently touched it, but I wanted Lily to be able to see. After a few minutes of pushing and a slightly sore head (still my Tiger head is no match for a fishbowl), Lily’s bowl was right up against the sink so Lily could look down and see as the sink slowly, slowly filled up with water. A couple cups began floating like the boat in Finding Nemo. Satisfied, I stretched out so the tips of my front paws were just over the edge of the sink. And Lily and I watched together, mesmerized, as the sink filled up with water.
It took a long time, but with Lily beside me, I couldn’t think of anything I’d be happier doing. Mom was upstairs taking a nap and Abigail was at school. Dad was at work. Boy were they going to be in for a pleasant surprise!
I dozed a little but finally opened my eyes to see a sink that was filled to the brim with water.
“What am I going to do?” Lily asked, breathless with excited energy. “Am I going to swim in it?”
“Ew, no.” I said, looking back at the part of my fur that had brushed the sauce earlier. It had hardened a bit and felt sticky and uncomfortable. “The sink’s not very clean.”
“Then what…”
“Lily,'' I said, raising my whiskered eyebrows and putting both paws on the top of the bowl to look down at her. “I’m going to let you explore the house!” I gestured down to the sink, which had just reached its tippity top. The faucet was still running.
“I couldn’t bring your bowl to the ground because the water might spill out and then you might not have enough water to be in. But, I can change that!” A waterfall of water slowly began running over the edge of the large metal sink and down the counter, pitter pattering against the floor.
“Clever Tiger!” Lily cried, clapping her fins together.
“You know I won’t let you down.” I said, now sitting on the edge of the counter watching the puddle grow larger and larger.
“How long do you think until the whole house is flooded?” Lily asked.
“Probably a long time.”
Together we watched the beautiful waterfall cascade from the sink, to the edge of the counter, to the shining pool of water on the floor.
I spent most of my days with Lily, talking with her and getting to know her more. Of course, we talked a little about Finding Nemo, which I know Abigail has seen before - I guess that’s why Abigail wasn’t in a huge hurry to finish watching it again. I just never thought much about Finding Nemo until I met Lily. And Lily and I also talked about a lot of other things.
“You know where I came from.” Lily said one afternoon. “I told you about the place with all the other fish, and how people would walk by and look at us and sometimes take some of us home. But where did you come from?”
“I…” I had to think about that for a minute. I was so tiny when I first came home to live with Mom and Dad and Abigail. But I vaguely remember another house. “I was born in a different house, and there were other cats there, and we were all tiny. I... I don’t remember much, but I do remember the stairs. Yes, I was so small I used to have trouble climbing the stairs!” I say.
“The what?” Lily asked. Of course, how would she know what stairs are?
“They’re things I have to climb. Like this.” I hopped casually from the counter to the floor, and then onto a kitchen chair and back onto the counter. “But they're a lot smaller. Each step is shorter than I am tall now. Even shorter than your fishbowl is tall.”
“Wow, you were smaller than my fishbowl?”
“Yes. I was really tiny. A big furry orange ball of fluff with huge eyes.”
“Awe,” Lily said. “That sounds cute!”
“Yeah, I guess…” I said, feeling my nose burn a little. “I remember I’d try to hop up, and would hit my chest on the steps and then pull myself up with my claws. Sometimes it would work and sometimes I would fall back down and have to try again. But eventually, I made it up and was able to climb the steps! I was so proud.”
“Cool. Good job! So after you learned to climb the steps, you came here?”
“Yep. Pretty soon, I had grown and then my family came to pick me up. And Abigail came and scooped me up in her arms and gave me a big hug. She was younger; she had just turned five. But I was a lot smaller too so she could snuggle me close to her.
“I knew that I was made for Abigail, to be her protector, and that she was my person. She and her parents brought me home and then I started to learn the new places in the new house – this house. I slowly learned where the best place was to lie in the sun. Where the best place was to meow for food at the kitchen table and where the best place was over all – snuggled beside Abigail.”
“That’s really cool.”
“Yeah, I’m really thankful I have such a loving family that takes care of me.”
“Yeah,” Lily agreed, swishing her tail. “So what else have you learned about this place? I’m still new here and really only can see whatever's in my sight from my bowl.”
“Hmm…” Lily was right. The house was big yet she could only see a small portion of it. How could I show her more? I tried to push the fishbowl a little bit with my head. It felt heavy, but I wondered if I could push it off the counter and then roll it around the house to show Lily what all the other rooms looked like.
“Err… Tiger?” Lily said uncomfortably. “What are you doing?”
“Just trying…” I gave the fishbowl another heave. It really was quite heavy. “To move this off the counter so I can show you around.”
“That sounds cool, but won’t all the water spill out…”
I gave the fishbowl another little push and then stepped back, watching the water slosh by the top of the bowl.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right… That wouldn’t be good! There probably wouldn’t be enough water to cover the floor and then you wouldn’t be able to breathe right? Because you filter oxygen by water that’s flowing through your gills.”
“Yep, it’s a fish’s specialty! Tiny amounts of oxygen dissolve in water, and unlike humans and cats, fish have special tools to use that oxygen to breathe!”
“That’s amazing… But then…” And then I had an amazing idea. “Wait right here” I said, which was kind of a moot point because Lily could only swim around her fishbowl.
I ran from the kitchen to the living room and then up the steps to the upstairs – my, how the steps seemed a lot smaller now. Once I got to the top of the steps, I bounded through the upstairs hallway and into Mom and Dad’s room. As I suspected, there was a pair of folded socks on the bed that Mom had taken out of the laundry. I grabbed it in my teeth, being careful to be quiet and not wake Mom, who was taking a nap before Abigail got home. I then bounded back downstairs, onto the chair, and onto the counter, skidding slightly, but stopping before I banged into Lily’s fishbowl.
“Oooh,” Lily exclaimed. “The small splash object.”
“Exactly, the soft socks.” I said. Turning impressively, I marched over to the sink, which had a few dishes in it but wasn’t full of water, and dropped the socks in.
Lily swam excitedly in her fishbowl, trying to see what I was doing.
Carefully, I got in the sink too, avoiding stepping on most of the dishes. A little bit of some leftover sauce got on me as I shuffled around, contorting my body to try to avoid them. No matter, I could lick it off later. I stepped carefully down on the socks in the sink, pressing them down into the drain.
“Lily, here’s another cool thing I can teach you. Shoes are hard so they hold their shape. But socks are soft so they can bend to any shape! They can fit on anything. On feet… By my head when I use them when they’re folded as a pillow... And even to block drains!”
Then, with a flourish, I nudged the long kitchen sink faucet handle with my paw, pulling it back and turning the water on.
Water began to pour down and bounce merrily off of the pair of socks shoved into the bottom of the sink. I walked over to the end of the counter where Lily was and carefully pushed the bowl toward the sink. It wasn’t a purrfect job. I splashed some water on the counter and my paws naturally pulled away from the water when I accidently touched it, but I wanted Lily to be able to see. After a few minutes of pushing and a slightly sore head (still my Tiger head is no match for a fishbowl), Lily’s bowl was right up against the sink so Lily could look down and see as the sink slowly, slowly filled up with water. A couple cups began floating like the boat in Finding Nemo. Satisfied, I stretched out so the tips of my front paws were just over the edge of the sink. And Lily and I watched together, mesmerized, as the sink filled up with water.
It took a long time, but with Lily beside me, I couldn’t think of anything I’d be happier doing. Mom was upstairs taking a nap and Abigail was at school. Dad was at work. Boy were they going to be in for a pleasant surprise!
I dozed a little but finally opened my eyes to see a sink that was filled to the brim with water.
“What am I going to do?” Lily asked, breathless with excited energy. “Am I going to swim in it?”
“Ew, no.” I said, looking back at the part of my fur that had brushed the sauce earlier. It had hardened a bit and felt sticky and uncomfortable. “The sink’s not very clean.”
“Then what…”
“Lily,'' I said, raising my whiskered eyebrows and putting both paws on the top of the bowl to look down at her. “I’m going to let you explore the house!” I gestured down to the sink, which had just reached its tippity top. The faucet was still running.
“I couldn’t bring your bowl to the ground because the water might spill out and then you might not have enough water to be in. But, I can change that!” A waterfall of water slowly began running over the edge of the large metal sink and down the counter, pitter pattering against the floor.
“Clever Tiger!” Lily cried, clapping her fins together.
“You know I won’t let you down.” I said, now sitting on the edge of the counter watching the puddle grow larger and larger.
“How long do you think until the whole house is flooded?” Lily asked.
“Probably a long time.”
Together we watched the beautiful waterfall cascade from the sink, to the edge of the counter, to the shining pool of water on the floor.
Next > Episode Eight: An Adventure
