Hazel's Road Home
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Hazel's Road Home
Oh, I do believe
In all the things you see
What comes is better
Than what came before
Hazel snuggled up in the corner of the void deck next to the lift, the smell of the rubbish bin infiltrated her nostrils. The smell was repulsive, but at the same time vaguely familiar. The rest of the territories were taken up by the other cats, which guarded their homes and corners with sharpened claws in the night and glaring fangs from their opened mouths. They hissed at Hazel wherever she went, and through the days of wandering aimlessly, she ended up at the lift lobby of a strange block she has never been to.
She recalled the days only a few months ago when she spent her time wandering the streets as well, only to be taken into the arms of a family of kind humans. She hated those wandering days, the way every corner turned could have been her last, or the way rotten food tasted in her mouth. She cuddled with herself, and rolled up into a ball of fur as the cold midnight wind blasted merciless into the side of her body. In the air, a faint scent of rain was sensed, and Hazel knew in her heart and mind, that aside from the lonely night, it was going to be a cold and wet one as well.
The last night at home, everybody was gone save for the male human. His eyes alternated their glances between the television and Hazed, as she paced the white tiled floor with her silent grace. The television was showing some kind of drama serial, and Hazel watched as the miniature humans moved about and talked in the television, the sound of them arguing over the speakers translated into senseless murmurs and noise to her. But still, she gazed upon the black box with much wonder, as her tail wagged from left to right and then back.
With her head tilted back and her back straightened, she almost looked like an Egyptian statue of sorts, the Egyptian Lord of the Underworld. Somebody must have thought her presence to be a kind of bad omen, or a stroke of bad luck. For the male human sat in his sofa, uncomfortable and distressed, and within his mind he plotted a route from the front door down to the void deck, and from there to an empty spot where he'd discard the cat once and for all. Tonight was the night, he thought. And without further delays, he switched off the television and gathered Hazel into his arms and left the house.
As the afternoon sun began to shed the last of its beauty, in the arms of the male human Hazel gazed down at the concrete floor below and was intrigued. She wondered where the male human was taking her, for nobody took her for walks before, save for that time when she ran about in the void deck on her own, always close to the owners that brought her there. She could hear the soft thuds of the man's heart against her ears, and she clawed at his shirt every time she hears it. All the while in his arms, Hazel studied the man's carefully shaved chin and his nostril that looked like two deep wells that were sucking her life in. Her green eyes looked forward, and after they crossed that tree in the corner of the estate, they were in uncharted territory. She has never been to that place before, and the air already smelled a tad bit different from the world she knew from the other side.
Setting her down on the ground, the male human prepared to leave. Troubled and confused by his actions, Hazel watched as the man turned around and left her there all alone in the middle of nowhere. There were other humans there, one of them getting out of his car while another had a younger human in her hands. They took no heed of Hazel, as she sat there with her front legs straightened and alert about this strange new world. The silhouette of the man started to grow smaller and smaller, and the sense of danger within her heart ticked off. She was reminded of the time when her first owner discarded her, the way the back of him disappeared around the corner as well. Her green eyes widened, and with swift steps Hazel caught up with the man and followed him as he made his way home.
He noticed the shadow around his feet and looked down. There she was, staring up at him with her piercing green eyes and the little curl in her mouth that looked almost like a smile. "Perhaps she's not getting the message", he thought, as he picked Hazel up in his arms once more. "I need to take her to a further place."
This time, the air smelled stranger than before, even hostile to her. Hazel inspected her ground as before, and this time the human ran away and left her all alone. She was next to a big green field then, in a place she has never been to. The fear crept up her spine and into heart, and knowing that she was abandoned once against she started to purr. Wandering through the alien void decks and car parks, Hazel searched the area with her nose, hoping that somebody would recognize her and bring her back home. But the humans that passed her by looked upon her with much wonder and fascination, and merely that. None of them spent more than half a second on her, nor did any one of them looked like the family she belonged to. Like a lost child, Hazel's panic exploded within her body, and this time her purr was louder than ever. She cried, in a cat sort of way, and as the sun finally disappeared behind the houses and the trees, a realization came over Hazel as she sat upright in the middle of nowhere: She was abandoned all over again.
And you better come, come, come, come to me
Better come, come, come, come, come to me
Better run, run, run, run, run to me
Better come...
She dreamed of the warm towel that was wrapped around her that day, the first day in her new family. Somebody took a pictures of her, as her head popped out from the end of the towel. There were smiles all around, and a sense of wonder as the eyes stared upon herself, fascinated and intrigued. Hazel was back in the first day of her stay at the last home she was in, and there was a dog there too which barked at her through a metal gate as if he has never seen a cat before. But Hazel treated the dog like any other living thing in that house that day, with fearless innocence and purity.
And then all of a sudden, the lights were dimmed and the room grew cold. The tiles on the walls gave way and crashed to the ground as she leaped out of harm's way. The paint job started peeling off the walls, the smell of rotten meat and fishes escaped through the cracks and the fissures in the cupboards, so much so that she shielded her nose with her paws. Hazel tried to squeeze through the metal gate despite the ferocious dog on the other side, but her body was too thick and the gaps too narrow. Cornered by her own fears, Hazel looked into the growing darkness as slithering snakes glided out from the hole and towards her in swarms. They hissed with their forked tongues gliding in and out of their mouths, and from their eyes blood spurted out in gushes and stained the tiles on the floor. Hazel tried to scream, but no sound came out from her throat. And before anybody could come to her help, she was overwhelmed by the army of snakes and was drowned in their cold blood.
Hazel woke up, and she was still there by the green rubbish bin with the rain falling down just next to her. It was the night, and she forgot how many hours or days it have been since she was left outside. But that mattered so little, as she thought about the days ahead which she'd have to spend alone. With no friends and no food, Hazel was hungry and lonely. She hoped for another kind soul to take her in, or somebody to give her food every night at the lift lobby. But humans came and went, with bags of food every time, and spared little attention on the poor young cat. Always, with those striking green eyes, she gazed into those of the humans for affection and attention. But the child who came close to touching her one day, was pulled away by his mother as she screamed into his ears "Don't touch the stray cat!" Hazel wondered if she contracted a disease, if that was the reason why she was left out in the first place. She smelled her fur and her skin, and detected nothing abnormal, save for the fact that she smelled fouler than before. Then she realized, that it wasn't a virus or sickness that plagued her, but the loneliness that ensued the moment her master left her by the streets. And loneliness, more than any diseases in the world, kills one's heart swiftly.
Oh, I do believe
In all the things you see
What comes is better
Than what came before
It was the morning, and the world came to life. The routine wandering of the day started with her first step, as she ventured out of her safety zone into the wild again. Like every other day, she recognized nothing around her, but was at the same time fascinated by the novelty of the new world around. The trees looked different, and the humans looked different too. She jumped the colorful tiles under one of the blocks, and chased a rat into a hole dug in the ground one day. But she wasn't trying to kill the rat, but only to make friends with it. She only wanted a friend, but the rat was terrified of her. It stared upon Hazel from within its hole with much fear and petrification, and the closer Hazel stuck her nose into the darkness, the deeper the rat went. She was hoping that maybe it could dig a bigger hole for the both of them to sleep in, because a hole in the grass looked infinitely more comfortable than a corner in the void deck. But the rat refused, and that was the end of their brief friendship - or lack thereof.
She misses her home, always trying to pick up traces of the male human. But the trail that was strong only a day before, has been washed away by the rain last night, leaving Hazel with no clue or hints whatsoever to follow. But the desire to go home is strong, for she despises the life on the street so much. She vows never to be abandoned on the streets again, never to be left in a box for somebody else to find. Because to be thrown away, to be unwanted, to be unloved by people made her feel as good as the rubbish in the bin. That is why she pretended to watch the television even though she understood not the language. She just wanted to be part of the humans, part of the family, and deep inside she hoped - or thought - if she tried hard enough she might turn into a human one day. Who knows? Miracles do happen.
So Hazel straightened up her tail, and with a deep breath she started her journey home. She knew so little about the world, so scared at the same time and so frightful. But there is hope within her heart, and with the image of her previous owners in her mind, she trotted on into the streets - into the unknown. The chances of her finding her home with the trail now gone are low, and Hazel knows that within her heart. But perhaps, just perhaps, someday she will find her way back to the house where she came from. Even if it is a fool's hope, it is a of hope nonetheless. And with hope, home isn't so far away anymore.
And you better run, run, run, run to me
Better run, run, run, run, run to me
Better come, come, come, come, come to me
Better run...
Oh, I do believe
In all the things you see
What comes is better
Than what came before
Hazel snuggled up in the corner of the void deck next to the lift, the smell of the rubbish bin infiltrated her nostrils. The smell was repulsive, but at the same time vaguely familiar. The rest of the territories were taken up by the other cats, which guarded their homes and corners with sharpened claws in the night and glaring fangs from their opened mouths. They hissed at Hazel wherever she went, and through the days of wandering aimlessly, she ended up at the lift lobby of a strange block she has never been to.
She recalled the days only a few months ago when she spent her time wandering the streets as well, only to be taken into the arms of a family of kind humans. She hated those wandering days, the way every corner turned could have been her last, or the way rotten food tasted in her mouth. She cuddled with herself, and rolled up into a ball of fur as the cold midnight wind blasted merciless into the side of her body. In the air, a faint scent of rain was sensed, and Hazel knew in her heart and mind, that aside from the lonely night, it was going to be a cold and wet one as well.
The last night at home, everybody was gone save for the male human. His eyes alternated their glances between the television and Hazed, as she paced the white tiled floor with her silent grace. The television was showing some kind of drama serial, and Hazel watched as the miniature humans moved about and talked in the television, the sound of them arguing over the speakers translated into senseless murmurs and noise to her. But still, she gazed upon the black box with much wonder, as her tail wagged from left to right and then back.
With her head tilted back and her back straightened, she almost looked like an Egyptian statue of sorts, the Egyptian Lord of the Underworld. Somebody must have thought her presence to be a kind of bad omen, or a stroke of bad luck. For the male human sat in his sofa, uncomfortable and distressed, and within his mind he plotted a route from the front door down to the void deck, and from there to an empty spot where he'd discard the cat once and for all. Tonight was the night, he thought. And without further delays, he switched off the television and gathered Hazel into his arms and left the house.
As the afternoon sun began to shed the last of its beauty, in the arms of the male human Hazel gazed down at the concrete floor below and was intrigued. She wondered where the male human was taking her, for nobody took her for walks before, save for that time when she ran about in the void deck on her own, always close to the owners that brought her there. She could hear the soft thuds of the man's heart against her ears, and she clawed at his shirt every time she hears it. All the while in his arms, Hazel studied the man's carefully shaved chin and his nostril that looked like two deep wells that were sucking her life in. Her green eyes looked forward, and after they crossed that tree in the corner of the estate, they were in uncharted territory. She has never been to that place before, and the air already smelled a tad bit different from the world she knew from the other side.
Setting her down on the ground, the male human prepared to leave. Troubled and confused by his actions, Hazel watched as the man turned around and left her there all alone in the middle of nowhere. There were other humans there, one of them getting out of his car while another had a younger human in her hands. They took no heed of Hazel, as she sat there with her front legs straightened and alert about this strange new world. The silhouette of the man started to grow smaller and smaller, and the sense of danger within her heart ticked off. She was reminded of the time when her first owner discarded her, the way the back of him disappeared around the corner as well. Her green eyes widened, and with swift steps Hazel caught up with the man and followed him as he made his way home.
He noticed the shadow around his feet and looked down. There she was, staring up at him with her piercing green eyes and the little curl in her mouth that looked almost like a smile. "Perhaps she's not getting the message", he thought, as he picked Hazel up in his arms once more. "I need to take her to a further place."
This time, the air smelled stranger than before, even hostile to her. Hazel inspected her ground as before, and this time the human ran away and left her all alone. She was next to a big green field then, in a place she has never been to. The fear crept up her spine and into heart, and knowing that she was abandoned once against she started to purr. Wandering through the alien void decks and car parks, Hazel searched the area with her nose, hoping that somebody would recognize her and bring her back home. But the humans that passed her by looked upon her with much wonder and fascination, and merely that. None of them spent more than half a second on her, nor did any one of them looked like the family she belonged to. Like a lost child, Hazel's panic exploded within her body, and this time her purr was louder than ever. She cried, in a cat sort of way, and as the sun finally disappeared behind the houses and the trees, a realization came over Hazel as she sat upright in the middle of nowhere: She was abandoned all over again.
And you better come, come, come, come to me
Better come, come, come, come, come to me
Better run, run, run, run, run to me
Better come...
She dreamed of the warm towel that was wrapped around her that day, the first day in her new family. Somebody took a pictures of her, as her head popped out from the end of the towel. There were smiles all around, and a sense of wonder as the eyes stared upon herself, fascinated and intrigued. Hazel was back in the first day of her stay at the last home she was in, and there was a dog there too which barked at her through a metal gate as if he has never seen a cat before. But Hazel treated the dog like any other living thing in that house that day, with fearless innocence and purity.
And then all of a sudden, the lights were dimmed and the room grew cold. The tiles on the walls gave way and crashed to the ground as she leaped out of harm's way. The paint job started peeling off the walls, the smell of rotten meat and fishes escaped through the cracks and the fissures in the cupboards, so much so that she shielded her nose with her paws. Hazel tried to squeeze through the metal gate despite the ferocious dog on the other side, but her body was too thick and the gaps too narrow. Cornered by her own fears, Hazel looked into the growing darkness as slithering snakes glided out from the hole and towards her in swarms. They hissed with their forked tongues gliding in and out of their mouths, and from their eyes blood spurted out in gushes and stained the tiles on the floor. Hazel tried to scream, but no sound came out from her throat. And before anybody could come to her help, she was overwhelmed by the army of snakes and was drowned in their cold blood.
Hazel woke up, and she was still there by the green rubbish bin with the rain falling down just next to her. It was the night, and she forgot how many hours or days it have been since she was left outside. But that mattered so little, as she thought about the days ahead which she'd have to spend alone. With no friends and no food, Hazel was hungry and lonely. She hoped for another kind soul to take her in, or somebody to give her food every night at the lift lobby. But humans came and went, with bags of food every time, and spared little attention on the poor young cat. Always, with those striking green eyes, she gazed into those of the humans for affection and attention. But the child who came close to touching her one day, was pulled away by his mother as she screamed into his ears "Don't touch the stray cat!" Hazel wondered if she contracted a disease, if that was the reason why she was left out in the first place. She smelled her fur and her skin, and detected nothing abnormal, save for the fact that she smelled fouler than before. Then she realized, that it wasn't a virus or sickness that plagued her, but the loneliness that ensued the moment her master left her by the streets. And loneliness, more than any diseases in the world, kills one's heart swiftly.
Oh, I do believe
In all the things you see
What comes is better
Than what came before
It was the morning, and the world came to life. The routine wandering of the day started with her first step, as she ventured out of her safety zone into the wild again. Like every other day, she recognized nothing around her, but was at the same time fascinated by the novelty of the new world around. The trees looked different, and the humans looked different too. She jumped the colorful tiles under one of the blocks, and chased a rat into a hole dug in the ground one day. But she wasn't trying to kill the rat, but only to make friends with it. She only wanted a friend, but the rat was terrified of her. It stared upon Hazel from within its hole with much fear and petrification, and the closer Hazel stuck her nose into the darkness, the deeper the rat went. She was hoping that maybe it could dig a bigger hole for the both of them to sleep in, because a hole in the grass looked infinitely more comfortable than a corner in the void deck. But the rat refused, and that was the end of their brief friendship - or lack thereof.
She misses her home, always trying to pick up traces of the male human. But the trail that was strong only a day before, has been washed away by the rain last night, leaving Hazel with no clue or hints whatsoever to follow. But the desire to go home is strong, for she despises the life on the street so much. She vows never to be abandoned on the streets again, never to be left in a box for somebody else to find. Because to be thrown away, to be unwanted, to be unloved by people made her feel as good as the rubbish in the bin. That is why she pretended to watch the television even though she understood not the language. She just wanted to be part of the humans, part of the family, and deep inside she hoped - or thought - if she tried hard enough she might turn into a human one day. Who knows? Miracles do happen.
So Hazel straightened up her tail, and with a deep breath she started her journey home. She knew so little about the world, so scared at the same time and so frightful. But there is hope within her heart, and with the image of her previous owners in her mind, she trotted on into the streets - into the unknown. The chances of her finding her home with the trail now gone are low, and Hazel knows that within her heart. But perhaps, just perhaps, someday she will find her way back to the house where she came from. Even if it is a fool's hope, it is a of hope nonetheless. And with hope, home isn't so far away anymore.
And you better run, run, run, run to me
Better run, run, run, run, run to me
Better come, come, come, come, come to me
Better run...
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, April 18, 2007 at 9:57 PM.
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