literature

Laredo's Flight to Florida

Deviation Actions

AshWolf-Forever's avatar
Published:
193 Views

Literature Text

“The first thing I did when that plane finally landed was kiss the ground.”

 – Daryl Worley, “I Just Came Back From A War”

Laredo had no idea why he was in the black bag for, or why he and his human were in this loud open place. There had been an air of excitement in the hotel room for days, and it all seemed to lead up to this. But what was this place? Where were they going? He had no idea. Frightened, he curled into a ball and tried to disappear.

    He bounced around in the too-big carrier as his human and her mother walked passed other humans dragging noisy bags just like the ones his human carried. Soon enough they came to a place where the humans were all standing in line. The line moved slowly, and then it was their turn. Much to his surprise the kitten found himself being removed from his bag and carried through a strange doorway. Too much noise! Too many smells! Too many people! If his human hadn’t held onto him he might have made a run for it. Then he was back in his safe haven and he hoped he’d stay there until they got wherever they were going.

Another line, more noise and strange smells. At last he found himself in a long room, wedged under the seat in front of his human. He quickly hid in the corner. He realized this was similar to what they had done at her desk for the last few days. Was this why? A disembodied voice echoed in the strange room and he folded his ears. When would this nightmare end? Then the room started moving like a car.

    What was going on now? Rooms didn’t move. What on Earth was happening? Suddenly his stomach dropped out of his body and his ears stared ringing. He looked through the mesh at his human. She nudged his fur with her toe.

    “Easy, Laredo, it’s all right.”

    My tail! Laredo thought. If I make it out of this alive, I swear I’ll never bite or scratch again! I’ll be a good cat, I promise. Just get me out of here!

     

Sometime later the room stopped moving, and the humans got in line again. His human and her mother caught a small car and rushed through another strange, too-open place. He bounced around so much he was sure he’d never know up from down again. But they didn’t get into another room; instead, they went to a dark, slightly less noisy place where he could smell food.

    His stomach rumbled but he didn’t move. Everything was too scary for that. His human opened the bag and petted him, then dropped a small bite of chicken in his carrier. As soon as the zipper closed he snatched it.

    “You’re okay, Laredo,” she said. “It’s just a little while longer.”

    He stayed quiet and still, hoping none of the strange humans would notice him. Then they got up and got in yet another not-car – it definitely wasn’t a room – and they were off again. He started the mental promises again.

    I’ll be the best cat ever, he thought. I’ll never do another thing wrong again, I swear! Just let me off this thing!

    A short time later his human left him with her mother and got the other bags. When she got back, they stepped out of yet another too-open place onto a platform that reminded him of the hotel. He sniffed at the air. Where was the snow? It was warm here! What had happened? As they got into a taxi for the last leg of the trip, all he could think was sometimes humans were impossible to understand.

    Finally they arrived at a stable, not moving room and, after using the litter box, he climbed into bed with his human and went to sleep. He hoped they wouldn’t make another journey like that for a long time.
Silly little story about Lucario de Laredo, a cat I took with me to Florida and left the state without. Laredo ran away/was adopted by another family in the trailer park we lived in briefly.

Story © Me
© 2015 - 2024 AshWolf-Forever
Comments8
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
MauEvig's avatar
Awww...poor kitty...it's sad you got separated from him.

As for the story, I loved how you captured what it must be like for a cat to go on a long journey, especially if they're not used to such a long distance. My cats throw a fit just going in the car; I can't imagine how they'd react getting on an airplane!

I expected our cats Storm and Talos to be scared; but I was hoping I'd get Nova used to the car. I took him on a car trip to get him used to it before getting him fixed so he wouldn't be traumatized. It was just a short trip down the road, no big deal. He let out the biggest, loudest yowl ever. And then when he finally did go to the vet... I felt so bad dropping him off. My boyfriend picked him up the next day after the surgery; and apparently he was the happiest cat alive when that happened.