Glad to be Awake

I dreamed I was having a heart attack.

In my dream I was lying on the grass in a park watching shapes in the clouds when suddenly my left arm became heavy and I had a hard time breathing.

I clutched my chest.

People walked by, oblivious to my condition.

I tried to cry out but only mouthed a few words in silent slow motion.

Looking up the clouds parted and a pair of yellow, devil eyes appeared. They were devil eyes because the irises were vertical, the pupils yellow and glowing.

It was the Devil!

I was dying and going to Hell!

Then the Devil made a charming purrrrr-RUP noise that Kink uses to tell me he’s around and about.

I opened my eyes and stared into Kink’s yellow devil eyes. Kink blinked slowly and dug his claws into my chest in a gesture of love.

Ah, Kinkster, you old devil. I scratched him behind the ears and he put his chin on my chest and purred. Within seconds Kink’s breathing became regular and rhythmic and I knew he was asleep. As I continued to scratch his back he stretched out, kicked his legs a few times and sighed.

Kink runs around all day and seldom sleeps or naps. He’s always checking out what’s happening and doesn’t want to miss anything, whether it’s the barky dogs next door, the pool guy or the folks who walk the bichon frises 90 times a day. Kink is there. It must wear him out because by the time we turn in for the day Kink is right there with us.

The sleep of the innocent.

The sound of a train rumbled in the distance and I drifted off.

“Tickets! Tickets, please. Sir, do you have a ticket for your cat?”

I fumbled in my pocket but couldn’t find a ticket for Kink.

“I thought I had one,” I pleaded to the Conductor, “but I seem to have misplaced it.”

The Conductor’s eyes narrowed and turned yellow with vertical slits.

I clutched my chest.