Encounter in the Rain

By Nishka Garg

Genre: Fantasy/Fiction
Theme: A girl & a cat talk on a rainy night.

I was walking back home that night. It was raining; not enough to push me to
rush, but enough to warrant the umbrella in my hand. It was one of those rare
nights, when I had nothing on my mind; just wanting to enjoy my time. Looking
around, taking in the raindrops illuminated by the street lights and the wet road
causing headlights to reflect rippled, my eyes took in something that made me do
a double-take.

A cat. In the rain. Smoking a cigar.

Cats don’t sit in the rain. Wait- Cats don’t smoke! I slowed to a stand, staring at
the curious creature. Rude, I know, to stare, but my brain couldn’t believe what I
was seeing.

I don’t know what took over me, but I crossed the road towards the cat sitting
under the street bulb and sat on my haunches beside the cat. Nobody liked to get
drenched in the rain, especially while smoking a cigar. Surprisingly, the smoke
didn’t bother me. I looked over the empty road, not looking at the cat, no matter
how much I wanted to.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” A deep voice beside me spoke up.

An involuntary “No” escaped my lips before I turned and realized where the voice
had come from. I must be dreaming. I gaped at the peculiar animal puffing his
cigar, ‘his’ because that voice was unmistakably masculine.

“First time seeing a talking cat?” He asked before letting out a smoke ring.

When no response left me, verbal or otherwise, he turned to look at me. Still in
shock, I just nodded. As he took another puff, a furious coughing fit left him.
“Should you be smoking with such a cough?” My question was loud around the
deserted road. My shock seemed to have disappeared.

“Should you be talking to strange cats?” He countered, voice raspy.

“Touche,” We both turned to watch the raindrops kissing the tarcoal. “How’s the
cigar?”

“Fatally good,” he chuckled and a smirk made its way to my lips.

We fell into silence. The only sound was the rain pattering on the umbrella that
was protecting us both. We sat like that until there was no tobacco left for him to
take another drag from.

Extinguishing the cigar in a puddle, he rose to all fours.

“Thank you, young lady, for saving an old cat from the rain.” He bobbed his tiny
head.

“No problem,” I stood too.

He turned around, but before he could walk away, my curiosity washed over me
and the question rushed out, “How can you talk!?”

He looked over and smiled, amused, “How can you talk?”

With that, he turned and disappeared into the shadows.

I stood there for a while, staring at the cigar butt floating in the puddle, fighting to
stay afloat under the attack of raindrops. The only evidence this happened.

Thunderstruck, shaking me out of my trance. I looked around, nobody there to

witness a girl talking to a cat. After one last glance at the cigar, I made my way
home.