post 21. The Cat Goes On a Journey, or The Cat Meets a New Friend

One winter day, the Cat went on a journey. The Cat had heard of a Beach of Silvery Surf far to the east of which it was said that the sand from that beach can bring about untold happiness. And there was someone the Cat would like to give the sand to.

So after packing a few changes of clothes, the Cat set off to the east. The Cat left very early in the morning when the sun had yet to rise over the horizon, and there was no one on the road as the Cat left home. This may sound strange, but the Cat was glad to meet no one, which is really odd as most everyone likes to have friends and family to wave goodbye to when they leave. But the Cat was feeling bit sad and heavy at heart and was glad to be alone. Also cats are secretive,solitary creatures, used to coming and going alone.

The day was cool and the Cat made good progress. Gradually, the Cat felt better as more distance was traveled and the Cat's heart slowly felt lighter. It was almost as if the Cat's mood coincided with the rising of the sun, for the higher the sun rose in the sky, the better the Cat felt. Now, this may seem strange to some of you, especially those who have never left home, for who would feel happy leaving home behind and traveling to strange places? But sometimes, when a place is associated with unhappy memories, traveling to new places can make you feel better.

By afternoon, the sun was high in the sky and it was becoming hot work walking. The Cat was glad to see a tree by the side of the road, and decided to take a rest there.

The Cat gratefully sat under the tree. From where the Cat was sitting, the Cat could see that there was no one around. So imagine the Cat's surprise when a voice started speaking out of thin air!

"Ouch! Excuse me!" The voice sounded as if the owner was highly offended.

The Cat sprang up and looked around. Was there someone hiding behind the tree? The Cat went around but there was no one there. The voice seemed to have disappeared, so the Cat returned to the original spot and sat down again.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" The voice had returned! And it sounded even more indignant than before.

The Cat was mightily puzzled. The Cat could see no one around but there was a voice speaking out of thin air! Maybe the heat is making me hear things, the Cat thought. The best thing to do would be to ignore these silly imaginings and to get as much rest as possible. So the Cat threw back on the ground in a big lazy flop, intending to get a small nap.

"EXCUSE ME?" The voice was very loud and very close, and it sounded like the owner was almost shouting in the Cat's ear. "Can you watch where you put your big, fat feet?"

Oh. The Cat looked down. There was a lace-white handkerchief laying on the ground and the Cat was stepping square on top of it.

The Cat bent down and picked the handkerchief up from the ground. If handkerchiefs could ever be said to have expressions, the Cat would have said that there was a certain indignant smugness to the lace-white handkerchief. Feeling a bit silly, the Cat spoke to the handkerchief.

"Are you the voice talking to me?"

There was no reply. If anything, the handkerchief seemed to become even more smug.

"Hello?" Feeling even more silly, the Cat gave the handkerchief a small, forlorn shake.

"Brrrr! Please stop shaking me! First, I get stepped on by a blind, clumsy animal and now I am shaken around like a broken doll! What a way to start the day!"

"But handkerchiefs don't talk!"

"And cats do?" The handkerchief seemed almost to burst with self-satisfaction as it said that.

So of course, the Cat had to apologise to the Handkerchief for it was very wrong to assume that someone could not do the same things you could just because they looked different from you, and you must never, ever do that. The Cat was so effusive with the apologies the Handkerchief became embarrassed and quickly forgave the Cat.

The Cat was very curious about the Handkerchief, for it was the first time the Cat had met a talking non-animal. The Cat was also most curious about the pristine whiteness of the Handkerchief, for the Handkerchief was still as white as snow, despite laying on the ground and being stepped on.

"How do you keep yourself so white, Handkerchief? For you are the cleanest Handkerchief I have ever met!"

The Handkerchief fairly glowed with pride. "The secret to staying clean is to never give your heart to anyone!"

"Never give your heart to anyone?"

"Yes! Never give your heart to anyone! I have a friend. Here, look at this picture! Isn't she the prettiest Handkerchief you ever saw? She had the nicest lace, with the prettiest frills, and she used to be as clean as me. But she fell in love, and her heart was broken and she became all stained and tattered. She was not clean anymore! Never give your heart to anyone!"

"But how did she become so different from you?"

"Hah! When she was happily in love, she laughed and there were creases. When she was so happy she became dizzy, she smiled to herself and blushed and there were stains. And when things turned bad, her laughter became tears and there were more stains. And to hide the stains, she rubbed at herself and the stains became tatters. Now, she is just a tattered, old thing! Not that for me!"

"But your friend, did she regret what she did?"

"Of course she did! She was not clean anymore! And she couldn't stop crying for months. Although now," and here, a note of doubt crept into the Handkerchief's voice, "now, I do not know. She is starting to smile and laugh and becoming her old self again. And what is even stranger, she seems to remember those times with some fondness!"

"My dear Handkerchief, can we look at that picture again? Shall we take a closer look at your friend? Look. Don't you think that those stains, which you think so ugly, add colour and brightness to her? Here. That shade of bluish-gray, the very colour of heartache. It seems very sad and depressing, doesn't it? But it's balanced by this vivid splash of colour here! Look, how it grows and blossoms! Look how it shines and glows, like the twinkling of the sun on the surface of a lake, like the glow of paper lanterns thrown off the fluttering wings of moths in the night? Wouldn't you say that she was content and happy more than she was sad?"

"Yes, you can say so, if you want. Yes."

"And those creases and tatters, which are so distasteful and hideous to you. Look at this bunch of lines here. Don't you wonder what he did to make her smile and laugh so? The emotions she felt, the happiness that swept her up? Of course, there was sadness. Here are the tatters you mentioned. Great, big gaping holes, some of them. But look at her! They do not make her ugly at all. I think your friend looks more beautiful than before she fell in love."

The Handkerchief was silent awhile.

"But she's not clean anymore!" the Handkerchief finally said plaintively.

"Yes, she is not."

And the Cat realised the Handkerchief would not understand the point anyway, and so they talked about other topics, for it was pointless to try to force someone to understand something if they did not want to.

They talked about many other things, and it was all very interesting, but it was finally time for the Cat to go, and the Cat waved goodbye to the Handkerchief and continued on the journey to the Beach of Silvery Surf.