"Lakeside"
by Elizabeth Crooks
Frank could see everything from his perch, even the little mouse across town. The sun was shining, birds were chirping, and the world around Frank’s window was waking up. Frank could hear someone behind him moving around the apartment, dishes clanking on the kitchen counter, and the distinct suction sound of the refrigerator door opening, but he kept on gazing out the window. It wasn’t until the sound of the cat opener was heard that Frank turned from the window and headed into the kitchen. By the time he got there a bowl of Friskies chicken-flavored cat food was waiting for him. His owner, the elderly Ms. Rose, was busy preparing her own breakfast on the other side of the kitchen. Frank stopped to look at his owner, her gray hair tied up in pink rollers, her long flowery nightdress flowing from her neck down to the floor, and her horrible, cheap perfume that could be smelled from a mile away. Frank smiled at his owner and gladly went over to his plain blue food dish and ate his breakfast.
After breakfast, Frank took a quick bath. He gently licked his white paws before reaching around to brush behind his beautiful black ears. He admired his reflection in the window, his white belly outlined by stark black fur, giving him the appearance of wearing a tuxedo. After his bath, Frank went calmly to the front door of the apartment and began to meow softly. It took Ms. Rose a little while to reach the door but Frank didn’t mind the wait. After a quick pat on the head and an affectionate rub against his owner’s legs, Frank headed out the door and down the main stairway to the lobby. Frank slipped out the automatic sliding glass doors of the apartment building with nothing but a glance at the lobby supervisor, Mr. Catch, who was asleep behind the front desk.
The sun greeted him as he turned and started to walk down the sidewalk, turning to the right around the back of the apartment building to go through Forest Park to get to the meeting place. Frank walked through the trees that lined the edge of the park, his paws making no noise atop the pine needles and fallen twigs, to a clearing in the middle of all the trees where two cats were waiting for him. One of the cats was a gray and white tabby and the other was a fluffy, white Persian.
“Hey, Frank!” said the tabby.
“You’re late,” said the Persian.
“Hey, Sam,” Frank said to the tabby. “Fluffy,” he said to the Persian, nodding.
“So, where are we going today, Frank?” asked Sam eagerly. “Ed has a new ball of yarn we can go see, or maybe we could go fishing at the lake,” he suggested.
“Yarn and fish! Is that all you think about, Sam?” asked Frank.
“Mmm, I sure could go for some fish right about now,” said Fluffy, patting her stomach, “I’m starving!”
“Well…” pondered Frank. “If we are going to go fishing, we should at least go fishing where we haven’t before. Perhaps, the river?”
“The river?” asked Sam, dropping the pine needle he was playing with.
“It’s too dangerous up there Frank,” said Fluffy matter-of-factly.
“It is not dangerous,” responded Frank. “It will be easy. We could catch hundreds of fish up there. We’d have full stomachs for weeks!”
Sam and Fluffy look at each other. “All right,” said Sam, “I’ll go with you.”
“Me too,” added Fluffy, sighing.
“All right,” said Frank with a smile. “Let’s go!”
The three cats left the park and walked back towards the front of the apartment building. They crossed the street to the town plaza just south of Frank’s apartment, scurrying through the bushes that line the brick pathways that circle in front of the town courthouse. A few townspeople were in the plaza and watched the cats as they made their way around the courthouse down Main Street into the housing district. Everybody in town knows who Frank, Sam, and Fluffy are. Some keep an eye on them as they walk by, their adventurous reputation has gotten them in trouble on more than one occasion, while others smile and nod at the trio, going about their business as usual without a care. The tree-lined Main Street branches off at several points into different neighborhoods but the cats continue down to the edge of town where the lake to which the town of Lakeside is named for provides most of the activity around the small town. Fluffy glances affectionately down Primrose Avenue as they pass, eyeing her home in the distance. Sam nudges Fluffy forward into the dirt and pine needles that line the bank of the lake along the parking lot at the end of Main Street.
Frank, Sam, and Fluffy duck into the pine trees that border the lake and the undeveloped forest on the outskirts of town. A long asphalt walking path winds its way through the forest around the lake but the cats know a shortcut to the river that flows into the lake on the east side. Once away from the safety of the open woods and the paved pathway, the forest is quiet. The cats cautiously walk through the trees, on the alert for strange noises. The forest is empty. Hardly anybody visits the forest nowadays because it’s a terrible site for camping. Even the fishermen don’t bother with the river because plenty of fish wind up in the lake during the summer season. The cats reached the end of the tree line, slinking out between the low bushes into the sand bank, the sound of rushing water all around them.
“I don’t think we should be here,” said Fluffy, eyeing the river nervously.
“What’s the matter?” asked Frank. “We can catch fish in that,” he said, pointing to the river.
“The water is moving too fast, Frank,” said Sam. “Fluffy is right. Why don’t we just go fishing down at the lake where the water is calmer?”
Frank isn’t listening though. He walked towards the river, light paw print marks pressed into the cool, wet yellow sand as he moved. There is a log that extends out into the water, held in place by large boulders that have always been in the river bed as far as Frank knew. Sam and Fluffy gasped at the site of Frank walking out on the log to the middle of the river. But Frank isn’t perturbed and proceeded to reach down into the water and, in no time, grabbed a fish! He placed the fish into his mouth and trotted back to the other cats waiting where the dirt of the forest blended with the sand of the riverbank. They sat, amazed at what Frank had just done, torn between excitement and apprehension. Frank dropped the rather large minnow onto the sand in front of the other cats and smiled.
“That wasn’t too hard,” he said, happy yet relieved that he didn’t fall in the water.
“Wow,” said Sam, his mouth wide open.
“How did you do that?” asked Fluffy.
“I told you it was easy. Now, come on,” Frank said. “There’s fish to catch!”
Frank left the minnow on the sand and walked behind Sam, giving him a playful yet gentle push towards the water. Sam cautiously walked out onto the log, eyeing the water as it flowed steadily down under and around the log. He bent over, a small school of fish swimming lazily down the river, circling back at times to catch up with their friends. Without losing his balance he leaned over, scooped up a fish with his front paw and placed it in his mouth in one semi-graceful move. He trotted back to the others in glee.
“That wasn’t too hard,” agreed Sam, placing the fish next to Frank’s.
Frank turned to Fluffy. “Ok Fluffy, it’s your turn.”
Fluffy sighed but moved quickly to the side as Frank brought his paw around to push her forward, just missing her fluffy tail as she swished it behind her. She climbed on top of the log slowly, pushing on it with her weight to test it. It didn’t budge. Still, she walked slowly out towards the middle of the log, slower than Sam had moved. She bent over, careful not to lose her balance, and looked into the clear water of the river. Her pearly white reflection stared back at her amongst the fish that were swimming lazily around the log. She stretched out and quickly grabbed a fish of her own, but it flopped right out of her paw back into the water.
“I’m not really that hungry,” she said to herself, eyeing the fish that got away.
She turned and started to walk back towards the riverbank when she heard a noise that sent terror throughout her entire body. The log was cracking beneath her feet! She leapt into the air, trying to make a hurried escape, but the log snapped in two and she fell into the cold water of the river. Frank and Sam gasped and started to run down the side of the river, hoping that something, anything, would stop their friend. Fluffy, unable to maneuver in the moving water, paddled to try and keep her head above water. Frank scanned ahead; the river was about to end where it would dump Fluffy into the lake. Another fallen tree log extended out from the sand into the lake just in front of Fluffy.
“Grab the log, Fluffy!” screamed Frank.
“Don’t worry,” said Sam to Fluffy as he ran. “We’ll get you out of there.”
Frank ran ahead and got into position on the log, holding out his paw. Fluffy used her last bit of strength to propel herself towards the log, taking hold of Frank’s paw, and is pulled out of the water. Frank carried his friend back up to the riverbank, away from the water. Fluffy coughed up some water and shivered, both cold and terrified of what just happened. Although relieved to see his friend alive, Sam stifled a laugh at the sight of Fluffy. Her fur was soaked, and without all that fluff she looked like a skinny rat with long wet hair. Frank saw Sam’s smile and looked at Fluffy. He couldn’t hold back his laughter.
“What?” demanded Fluffy, coughing up the last of the water onto the sand.
Frank looked at Sam. “Nothing,” they said in unison, smirking. Fluffy was not impressed.
“Let’s get you home, Fluffster,” added Sam, rubbing up against her affectionately. “You need to warm up.”
Frank nodded in agreement. “Come on,” he said to Fluffy. They walked close to her for warmth as they made their way back through the forest, using the path this time.
After seeing that Fluffy was safe and sound back at her house at the end of Primrose Avenue, Frank and Sam headed back across town. They said good-bye to one another outside the sliding glass doors of Frank’s apartment, Frank heading up the stairs to the second floor while Sam walked across the street to his place. Sam lived in the larger apartments on the other side of the town square. Once upstairs, Frank scratched at the door and only waited a few moments before Ms. Rose opened the door and welcomed her cat back home. Exhausted, Frank ate his dinner quietly without much thought. After finishing his dinner, chunky salmon in gravy this time, Frank went back to his favorite window to watch the sun set.
With the final rays of sunshine leaving the sky beyond Frank’s window, he leapt off his perch onto the living room floor as Ms. Rose shuffled off to the bedroom. He settled down into his moss-colored cat bed in the corner, his eyes slowly closing as Ms. Rose turned off the last light in the bedroom. A large smile crossed Frank’s face, the thought of Fluffy looking like a poor drowned rat crossing his mind. Although water would be out of the question next time, he drifted off to sleep dreaming of other adventured he could go on with his two favorite pals, Sam and Fluffy.
After breakfast, Frank took a quick bath. He gently licked his white paws before reaching around to brush behind his beautiful black ears. He admired his reflection in the window, his white belly outlined by stark black fur, giving him the appearance of wearing a tuxedo. After his bath, Frank went calmly to the front door of the apartment and began to meow softly. It took Ms. Rose a little while to reach the door but Frank didn’t mind the wait. After a quick pat on the head and an affectionate rub against his owner’s legs, Frank headed out the door and down the main stairway to the lobby. Frank slipped out the automatic sliding glass doors of the apartment building with nothing but a glance at the lobby supervisor, Mr. Catch, who was asleep behind the front desk.
The sun greeted him as he turned and started to walk down the sidewalk, turning to the right around the back of the apartment building to go through Forest Park to get to the meeting place. Frank walked through the trees that lined the edge of the park, his paws making no noise atop the pine needles and fallen twigs, to a clearing in the middle of all the trees where two cats were waiting for him. One of the cats was a gray and white tabby and the other was a fluffy, white Persian.
“Hey, Frank!” said the tabby.
“You’re late,” said the Persian.
“Hey, Sam,” Frank said to the tabby. “Fluffy,” he said to the Persian, nodding.
“So, where are we going today, Frank?” asked Sam eagerly. “Ed has a new ball of yarn we can go see, or maybe we could go fishing at the lake,” he suggested.
“Yarn and fish! Is that all you think about, Sam?” asked Frank.
“Mmm, I sure could go for some fish right about now,” said Fluffy, patting her stomach, “I’m starving!”
“Well…” pondered Frank. “If we are going to go fishing, we should at least go fishing where we haven’t before. Perhaps, the river?”
“The river?” asked Sam, dropping the pine needle he was playing with.
“It’s too dangerous up there Frank,” said Fluffy matter-of-factly.
“It is not dangerous,” responded Frank. “It will be easy. We could catch hundreds of fish up there. We’d have full stomachs for weeks!”
Sam and Fluffy look at each other. “All right,” said Sam, “I’ll go with you.”
“Me too,” added Fluffy, sighing.
“All right,” said Frank with a smile. “Let’s go!”
The three cats left the park and walked back towards the front of the apartment building. They crossed the street to the town plaza just south of Frank’s apartment, scurrying through the bushes that line the brick pathways that circle in front of the town courthouse. A few townspeople were in the plaza and watched the cats as they made their way around the courthouse down Main Street into the housing district. Everybody in town knows who Frank, Sam, and Fluffy are. Some keep an eye on them as they walk by, their adventurous reputation has gotten them in trouble on more than one occasion, while others smile and nod at the trio, going about their business as usual without a care. The tree-lined Main Street branches off at several points into different neighborhoods but the cats continue down to the edge of town where the lake to which the town of Lakeside is named for provides most of the activity around the small town. Fluffy glances affectionately down Primrose Avenue as they pass, eyeing her home in the distance. Sam nudges Fluffy forward into the dirt and pine needles that line the bank of the lake along the parking lot at the end of Main Street.
Frank, Sam, and Fluffy duck into the pine trees that border the lake and the undeveloped forest on the outskirts of town. A long asphalt walking path winds its way through the forest around the lake but the cats know a shortcut to the river that flows into the lake on the east side. Once away from the safety of the open woods and the paved pathway, the forest is quiet. The cats cautiously walk through the trees, on the alert for strange noises. The forest is empty. Hardly anybody visits the forest nowadays because it’s a terrible site for camping. Even the fishermen don’t bother with the river because plenty of fish wind up in the lake during the summer season. The cats reached the end of the tree line, slinking out between the low bushes into the sand bank, the sound of rushing water all around them.
“I don’t think we should be here,” said Fluffy, eyeing the river nervously.
“What’s the matter?” asked Frank. “We can catch fish in that,” he said, pointing to the river.
“The water is moving too fast, Frank,” said Sam. “Fluffy is right. Why don’t we just go fishing down at the lake where the water is calmer?”
Frank isn’t listening though. He walked towards the river, light paw print marks pressed into the cool, wet yellow sand as he moved. There is a log that extends out into the water, held in place by large boulders that have always been in the river bed as far as Frank knew. Sam and Fluffy gasped at the site of Frank walking out on the log to the middle of the river. But Frank isn’t perturbed and proceeded to reach down into the water and, in no time, grabbed a fish! He placed the fish into his mouth and trotted back to the other cats waiting where the dirt of the forest blended with the sand of the riverbank. They sat, amazed at what Frank had just done, torn between excitement and apprehension. Frank dropped the rather large minnow onto the sand in front of the other cats and smiled.
“That wasn’t too hard,” he said, happy yet relieved that he didn’t fall in the water.
“Wow,” said Sam, his mouth wide open.
“How did you do that?” asked Fluffy.
“I told you it was easy. Now, come on,” Frank said. “There’s fish to catch!”
Frank left the minnow on the sand and walked behind Sam, giving him a playful yet gentle push towards the water. Sam cautiously walked out onto the log, eyeing the water as it flowed steadily down under and around the log. He bent over, a small school of fish swimming lazily down the river, circling back at times to catch up with their friends. Without losing his balance he leaned over, scooped up a fish with his front paw and placed it in his mouth in one semi-graceful move. He trotted back to the others in glee.
“That wasn’t too hard,” agreed Sam, placing the fish next to Frank’s.
Frank turned to Fluffy. “Ok Fluffy, it’s your turn.”
Fluffy sighed but moved quickly to the side as Frank brought his paw around to push her forward, just missing her fluffy tail as she swished it behind her. She climbed on top of the log slowly, pushing on it with her weight to test it. It didn’t budge. Still, she walked slowly out towards the middle of the log, slower than Sam had moved. She bent over, careful not to lose her balance, and looked into the clear water of the river. Her pearly white reflection stared back at her amongst the fish that were swimming lazily around the log. She stretched out and quickly grabbed a fish of her own, but it flopped right out of her paw back into the water.
“I’m not really that hungry,” she said to herself, eyeing the fish that got away.
She turned and started to walk back towards the riverbank when she heard a noise that sent terror throughout her entire body. The log was cracking beneath her feet! She leapt into the air, trying to make a hurried escape, but the log snapped in two and she fell into the cold water of the river. Frank and Sam gasped and started to run down the side of the river, hoping that something, anything, would stop their friend. Fluffy, unable to maneuver in the moving water, paddled to try and keep her head above water. Frank scanned ahead; the river was about to end where it would dump Fluffy into the lake. Another fallen tree log extended out from the sand into the lake just in front of Fluffy.
“Grab the log, Fluffy!” screamed Frank.
“Don’t worry,” said Sam to Fluffy as he ran. “We’ll get you out of there.”
Frank ran ahead and got into position on the log, holding out his paw. Fluffy used her last bit of strength to propel herself towards the log, taking hold of Frank’s paw, and is pulled out of the water. Frank carried his friend back up to the riverbank, away from the water. Fluffy coughed up some water and shivered, both cold and terrified of what just happened. Although relieved to see his friend alive, Sam stifled a laugh at the sight of Fluffy. Her fur was soaked, and without all that fluff she looked like a skinny rat with long wet hair. Frank saw Sam’s smile and looked at Fluffy. He couldn’t hold back his laughter.
“What?” demanded Fluffy, coughing up the last of the water onto the sand.
Frank looked at Sam. “Nothing,” they said in unison, smirking. Fluffy was not impressed.
“Let’s get you home, Fluffster,” added Sam, rubbing up against her affectionately. “You need to warm up.”
Frank nodded in agreement. “Come on,” he said to Fluffy. They walked close to her for warmth as they made their way back through the forest, using the path this time.
After seeing that Fluffy was safe and sound back at her house at the end of Primrose Avenue, Frank and Sam headed back across town. They said good-bye to one another outside the sliding glass doors of Frank’s apartment, Frank heading up the stairs to the second floor while Sam walked across the street to his place. Sam lived in the larger apartments on the other side of the town square. Once upstairs, Frank scratched at the door and only waited a few moments before Ms. Rose opened the door and welcomed her cat back home. Exhausted, Frank ate his dinner quietly without much thought. After finishing his dinner, chunky salmon in gravy this time, Frank went back to his favorite window to watch the sun set.
With the final rays of sunshine leaving the sky beyond Frank’s window, he leapt off his perch onto the living room floor as Ms. Rose shuffled off to the bedroom. He settled down into his moss-colored cat bed in the corner, his eyes slowly closing as Ms. Rose turned off the last light in the bedroom. A large smile crossed Frank’s face, the thought of Fluffy looking like a poor drowned rat crossing his mind. Although water would be out of the question next time, he drifted off to sleep dreaming of other adventured he could go on with his two favorite pals, Sam and Fluffy.