The Strange Noises Outside

It started with a rustle. A faint, whispery sound just beyond the window.

I, Gryzka, Queen of the Apartment and Guardian of the Night, was immediately on high alert. My ears twitched. My tail flicked. My pupils dilated to their maximum hunting capacity.

Something was out there.

I leaped onto the windowsill, pressing my nose against the glass. The night was dark, but my superior feline senses detected movement in the shadows. A sinister presence.

Was it a bird? A mouse? A ghost? An army of evil squirrels plotting world domination?

I didn’t blink. I didn’t move. I stared.

And I stared.

And I kept staring.

After thirty minutes, Ania finally noticed my intense gaze. “What are you looking at?” she asked.

I did not acknowledge her. This was serious.

Another rustle. My tail fluffed up to twice its usual size. This was no ordinary noise. This was a conspiracy.

Spurka stretched on the couch and yawned. “Go to sleep, Gryzka.”

Sleep? SLEEP?! While danger lurked just outside our home?! Foolish.

Kitka barely opened one eye. “It’s probably just the wind.”

I glared at her. Just the wind? That’s what they want us to think.

Ania sighed. “You’re being dramatic.”

Excuse me?

I turned back to the window, doubling my efforts. If I stared hard enough, the truth would reveal itself.

One hour passed.

Then two.

Then…

Ania stood up, walked to the window, and pulled back the curtain. “Gryzka, it’s a plastic bag stuck in the bush.”

…Oh.

I squinted at the offending bag. It fluttered mockingly in the breeze.

I flicked my tail. Tonight, the bag had won.

But I would remain on guard. Because next time… next time, it might not be a bag.