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Monday, January 29, 2018

"The Cat is The Tiger’s Cousin" by Taslima A


     One fine morning when Stephen was only 2, he was playing in the front yard of his family home in the nice and quiet suburbs. He was so absorbed by the mere variety of nature, running around, stopping and laying down to observe the hidden miniscule world of insects. When suddenly out of nowhere there came a biting pain on his back, like needles rained from the sky. It was so sudden that it almost felt cold. Before he could react the cat that attacked him clawed and gnawed poor Stephen to a pulp of a toddler , bleeding profusely, scars on his face, hands pressed against his precious eyes like a mother holds her baby. Tears gushing out of them. As he grew up his parents had to deal with the face that Stephen, due to his childhood trauma had developed a condition similar to schizophrenia, let’s say, it was schizophrenia. Which meant whenever a cat was put in front of him he would see a tiger, intent on attacking, killing and destroying everything around him. His fear was a immeasurable, he could not put into words how he felt no matter how hard he tried. Except for that, nothing else was wrong with, he knew the factual differences between a cat and a tiger and that too better than most because of his interest in animals. But put a cat in front of him and all hell would break loose. He was a reasonable boy for his age, too reasonable rather, because he would beat his parents in an argument and earn his right to ignore their orders. He was very keen and smart too at school and had enough friends, just no cats. Meanwhile Stephanie, obviously his older sister spent a lazy afternoon in her room with the pillars of golden sunlight peering in like the heads of giraffes, a gentle breeze breathing life into her dream catcher making it dance and sway and announce her mood as she was scrolling through cute pictures of kittens with an expression that was a mixture of cringing and grinning ear to ear. She loved them, well, who doesn’t love kittens, cute fluff balls doing silly things and looking up at you with those big beady eyes(irresistible to say the least). So she was intent on having one as a pet. Soon enough there were high pitched cries coming from her room. Cute, expressionless faces asking for food, or maybe something else, maybe just for the heck of it. Stephen had avoided cats so skillfully that he didn’t even completely know being able to hear a meow meant a cat was in his vicinity. As you might expect when Stephen suddenly discovered the bengal tigers in his house he threw a huge fit forcing Stephanie to eventually return the poor little kitties to the shelter. After a few months Stephanie hatched a genius idea. She knew her brother was not dumb, ergo, he could be reasoned with and convinced that a cat was harmless, she brought one home, and took it to Stephen’s room, caged and locked, Stephen was still furious, but not ecstatic enough to alarm his parents. His heart was pounding out of his chest and tears involuntarily rolling down has he tried to tell himself that his sister likes cats a lot and that he loved her dearly, so he should at least try to fight his fears. Stephanie took it out of the cage and petted it. It meowed and purred joyously, “Look!!!  cute isn’t??” She inquired looking to her brother who had recently turned his pillows and blanket into a WW2 bunker. She told him to come out and he did, she felt that if he saw he would understand, that she is doing this to make him stronger. Little did she know, he already did. Stephen already told himself everything you could possibly tell him to convince him that a cat is harmless. He already loved his sister, understood her attraction and intentions. He just wished things were different, that his family could get the concept that no matter how real the cat in front of his eyes is, the tiger behind his eyes, was equally real to him. The fear the pain the memories the way it made him feel, they were all real, irrational as they maybe. He just wished he was not scared , he wished he could change the fact that it had to be the one pet his sister wanted. But no matter how much he tried and cried, the tiger would still haunt him with the same vigour it did it in the very beginning , only not physically.

7 comments:

  1. Taslima, this is such a great story. The way you described the tiger attack was so real and vivid that I felt like it was occurring in front of me. The description you gave to how much he feared every type of cat, even a house cat, was deep and convinced me that he truly feared all cats. Great use of imagery and figurative language throughout the piece!

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  2. While Stephen himself wasn't able to describe his irrational/indescribable fear, as the storyteller, you certainly did a great job! You illustrated well the effects of childhood trauma hiding behind reason. The contrasting images toward cats especially highlight your characters' thoughts.

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  3. I like how this story is a great example of how an event can become a traumatic memory. I like how descriptive the tiger attack was. I also like how the story is very detailed when it comes to Stephen's fears of cats.

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  4. I will say, this story took me off guard. Regardless of how many times my expectations are flopped on their head, it seems it is impossible for me to have some extent of anticipation or judgement going into the story. And after reading your story Taslima, I feel... oddly enlightened. The wonderful thing about stories is that the author can offer their audience so much more than they could ever possibly dream; I feel that way with this story. In life, we each face seemingly harmless and innocent circumstances. Yet behind that innocence is danger. Anything from your best friend to driving a car to eating a hamburger, each of these "cats" have their own "tiger" lying in the shadows. Your creativity, personality, and literacy all shine through so splendidly in this piece, and I was enthralled throughout the entire thing. Exemplary job Taslima, I love it so much.

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  5. You have such a great imagination! I was able to clearly picture the terrifying and scarring attack of the tiger on Stephen and felt horrible. I love how he was slowly working up his tolerance towards cats and pushing back the fear of them in his mind as he compared them to tigers. I really want to know if he ends up getting over his extreme fear and trauma! Great job!

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  6. This was good. The title really got my attention. It’s sad that if something happens to us at a young age it kinda sticks with us and not fully get over it. This was a great story thanks for sharing.

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  7. This whole story was a complete twist than what I thought it was going to be about. Traumas from our childhood leads to actions we can't explain later on in life but these things happen and you did a great job infusing cats, which I love, into your story to get that point across. Overall I really enjoyed your shared work of the story of Stephan.

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