KICK YOUR ENTHUSIASM (13)

By: Miranda Mellis
February 14, 2022

One in a series of 25 enthusiastic posts, contributed by 25 HILOBROW friends and regulars, on the topic of a favorite sidekick — whether real-life or fictional.

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FAMILIAR

I didn’t sleep well then. I would start to drop off and suddenly a rush of adrenaline would wake me up. In this way I only got snatches of sleep. I had been told my whole life that I should get eight hours of sleep a night, but it was hard to do.

I left the house to go to my local bookstore. As I walked, a cat appeared. I went in, and he followed. We sat together that November evening in the reading room, him settling on a footstool with his legs tucked under, me in a chair across, elbows on knees, hands clasped, looking at him. He looked back at me, with intent. His coat was sleek, heavy and black.

The bookstore was about to close. I went to get a book, something I hoped would help me fall asleep. He watched me choose, stretching.

I went to the counter to buy the book. As I stood waiting he wove a figure eight around and between my feet. I left the bookstore and walked home. I glanced back once or twice to see him trotting behind. When I opened my front door, before I could turn around, he had run past me into the apartment. He went straight to my bed, leapt into it and curled up. I got a bowl of water for him and opened the window next to the bed. That night, as he sat watching, I fell asleep immediately and slept all night without waking, for the first time in months. I slept consciously, lucid dreaming. I walked around naked telling people, this is a dream, you know? They looked askance at me. To them I was an “acid casualty” but I didn’t care, this was my dream and it made me laugh. I jumped high and far, flew around doing whatever I wanted. I got thirsty. I wondered if dream water could quench real thirst. I made a water fountain and drank. It didn’t work. So I woke up to get real water. The cat who cured my insomnia was sitting by the window sill, taking the air. We were nameless and light. Nameless and Light.

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KICK YOUR ENTHUSIASM: INTRODUCTION by Josh Glenn | Annie Nocenti on RATSO | Barbara Bogaev on TRIXIE | Sara Ryan on SWIFT WIND | Carlo Rotella on BELT BEARERS | Adam McGovern on JACKIE McGEE | Josh Glenn on RAWHIDE | Gabriela Pedranti on KUILL | Douglas Wolk on VOLSTAGG | Serdar Paktin on CATO | Deirdre Day on TRAMPAS | Dean Haspiel on TIN MAN | Flourish Klink on THE APOSTLE PETER | Miranda Mellis on FAMILIAR | Peggy Nelson on COSMO | Beth Lisick on MARTHA BROOKS | Bishakh Som on CAPTAIN HADDOCK | Stephanie Burt on SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE | Greg Rowland on SPOCK | Adam Netburn on SENKETSU | Mimi Lipson on ROBIN QUIVERS | Jonathan Pinchera on GUTS | Tom Nealon on TWIKI | Mandy Keifetz on DR. EINSTEIN | Judith Zissman on IGNATZ MOUSE | Anthony Miller on DOCTOR GONZO.

MORE ENTHUSIASM at HILOBROW

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