The ringworm cat

My name does not concern you, so you can call me as you wish. I am not a particularly fascinating man and the only thing that could be described as interesting or abnormal about me is my phobia for cats. Ah, I avoid them, I avoid them like the plague! As soon as there is one of his creatures around, I sneak in, I disappear ... I teleport.

To the nuance of other fears that only make sense of their incoercible side, mine is logical, I would even say reasonable. It stems from a completely implausible story. Since I never want to forget it and I hope that a few people with an open mind believe me, I put it on this forum.

At the time, I was still living in Marcory. I was an office worker who, without being rich, carried out his duties. Loneliness filling my heart, I felt more and more the need to have another presence in my little house.

One Monday, as I was on my way home from work, I saw an all-black cat lying on my doormat. Thinking that this was an answer to my prayers, I lifted him up and kissed him with a fever of a repelled and unloved woman. The animal did not tense up, and its tail remained motionless. We returned, I showed him around my house as one would with a friend. Once the visit was over, he freed himself from my grip. I still remember it, at that very moment, he had thrown me a strange smile, which without me knowing why, rushed me into my bed.

In the evening at midnight pile, he came to my room, scratched my already bald skull and disappeared. Every night, at the same time, it was the same scenario. He would come, do what he had to do, and leave. Thinking that this was his way of showing me his affection, I was always waiting for him with a smile.

One weekend while looking at myself in the mirror, I noticed that I had strange plates on my head. Ringworms, I concluded. As I watched them, disgusted, I heard a kind of strange sneer creeping into the room. Although frightened, I got out of the shower to see what it was. I saw nothing singular, except some hair of the animal that was lying outside my door.

Notwithstanding the blatant absence of mycosis on the cat's body, I waited sitting on my bed for his time to come, to dissuade him from touching me. When he returned, the cat looked at me briefly and then began to fire, to growl like a real predator. His ears bent down and his hair bristled. I tried to calm him down by slowly approaching the animal, but with a sharp gesture, he jumped on me, began to scratch me, to bite me, with a violence that can only be suffered and not described. Bleeding from various places, I curled up and trembled. Seeing me in such a lamentable state, the monster stopped martyring me, scratched my head with almost human euphoria, and left the room.

Time passed, a week, a month and my situation worsened. After colonizing my skull, his horrors began to appear on my torso, on my back, on my stomach, on my... penis. Everywhere. To hide them, I had to cover myself completely. So much so that with my hood and gloves, I looked like a real thief. I didn't go out anymore, for fear that I would be identified with it, I didn't work anymore.

Of course, as soon as the moths passed the surface of my skull, I went to see a doctor. I went to see several. None of them could help me. The last one I saw said to me after analysis this: "Mr. X, imagine that your pathology has nothing to do with ringworms. To the naked eye, one could say it without audacity, however, it is something else entirely. What we don't know. We have done all possible analyses, but none of them have allowed us to discover the origin of your disease. The only assumptions we have left, although they are absurd and cowardly, are that you are an alien or that you are turning into another species... which we do not know ... Please, are you going to... leave medicine in peace."

I knew. I knew very well that it would be enough for me to catch it; that I flush him down the toilet, or drown him in the bathtub, so that all this stops. But I couldn't do it. I was afraid, like a wife, that we had wrung out her mind and made docile. One fine day, when I wanted to rely on prayer, I found myself meowing. I kept quiet for a few seconds, to see if I was not caught in some kind of auditory hallucination, and then I tried again. But I no longer spoke, I meowed, like the beast.

The next day, I began to lick myself, the idea of getting into the shower and rinsing myself, disgusted me. Scratching armchairs, furniture became my new hobby. And I must admit, it is a pleasure without equal.

Nevertheless, things went so fast that I did not even notice, that I no longer walked like a human being. Imagine a large cat. Because yes, he grows up, I don't know by what spell, but while I struggled to stand, he walked with ease. He was doing it slowly, with great strides, for me to see.

While I was having fun with the furniture, I sometimes heard words articulate incoherently. As if it were a toddler trying to get rid of his vernacular, to speak according to convenience. When he learned to do so, he lowered himself to my level, meowing, with a blissful smile.

Of course, all this irritated me, but had I barely noticed an abnormal event than another even worse one occurred.

He stopped scratching my head, but that did not put an end to the metamorphoses. Over time, I became a cat and he a man. It was implausible, aberrant, but so real. He would go back and forth around the house and when he came back, he would always look at me with his hateful smile.

One day, when he had one of my suitcases in his hands, he said to me: "If you want to know everything, they did the same thing to me. He professed that he had come to save me and that I was lucky that he would do it without making me suffer. Moreover, once the process is started, one is condemned; you understand, you couldn't have done anything. If you want to save yourself, you will have to find one of his cats before 3 months. But the funny thing is that you could spend your whole life, without ever crossing them. Most people don't even suspect their existence." He began to laugh. Seeing this mouth that I opened greatly and my eyes wide, he exclaimed: "If you want a clue that is not one. It is that these cats have something that will allow you to differentiate them from others. Something things... what... Who knows? But don't tell you to follow me. I am finally free. Come on, Goodbye my kitten"

I did not pursue him. I waited an hour until he had disappeared and went out. The roads were filled with life, animation. There was a herd of cars embracing each other, like a young couple and full of hurried and stressed man jostling and sometimes apologizing. That day, I cried all day.

The next day, enthusiastic, I set out to find his so-called cats. I went to the park, to the dark alleys, to all the places where I suspected that a stray cat could be found. But I couldn't find them.

Neither did the next day, and the days that followed. I soon got used to this life, although I never believed it. It was not uncommon to find fish bones in garbage cans, it was enough to know how to search. In addition, I slept everywhere without anyone complaining. I often sneaked into the homes of a few impudent strangers who failed to close the window and leave at dawn.

I didn't make a cat friend though, they all avoided me as if he perceived some kind of difference, strangeness in me. I didn't care, I didn't need them.

One fine day, while I was walking through the streets of my old neighborhood, a young girl who was walking with her mother, considered me for a long time, as one considers a jewel or a branded garment.

Her mother, who seemed to be counting her hours, pulled her by the arm, but the little one began to moan, to whine, to shout with so much power, of rage, that they were quickly noticed and questioned.

-Elza, you'll calm down right away! And the white cat you had the day before.

She did not cease, moreover, she cried more beautifully.

-Well... very good but... let it breathe at least.

-Yes mom! Thank you, you are the most beautiful!

-Yes, that's right. Let's go home.

Of course, I had no intention of consenting to her wishes, but when she grabbed me and immediately began to caress my neck, I thought of nothing.

A few minutes later we arrived at the door of a house. Elza was hopping while his mother opened him. When she had finished the girl began to run with this enthusiasm that only children maintain.

We quickly arrived in his room. In it I discovered with amazement about twenty felines all more original than the others. There were all black, bushy, hairy and even Siamese. Unlike those I had met until then, they welcomed me as an old friend welcomed him.

We played for a long time and at all kinds of games, some fought others had fun with a wool ball and the most unfortunate were dressed in ridiculous clothes by the girl. It was very entertaining, it was like a nightclub, but without the beverage. The milk came at 4 p.m., however, intoxicating like a well-brewed beer.

In the evening at 10 p.m. when the little one fell asleep, one of the cats approached me. It seemed to me that I had not noticed him until then, as if he had waited for the right moment to show himself. His coat was a white that could be clearly perceived in the darkness of the room, and his emerald green eyes gave the impression of a small firefly that attracted the soul by the eyes. Looking confident and condescending, he expressed himself in his own words: "Then pitiful creature, we have been fooled. False saying that little Elza has the eye to find you"

-Oh, you are one of his cats!

-One of his cats, what a funny way to distinguish me. For your information. I am what is called a ringworm cat.

-A ringworm cat?

-Quite said while licking his paw.

He had a certain grace, in his way of moving and his diction was perfect.

-But if you are one of his cats, why didn't you release the others?

- Who could well have a desire for such insolent stupidity. These men have the minimum material that your little wool ball grants. Moreover, what a foolish idea that to take care of the fate of others, you were born alone, take care of your own milk.

-You are right.... I don't care what happens to others, take care of me, before it's too late.

-Treat you?!

-Yes!

-But what an idiot! Why would you want to become a man again when you lead a cat's life? Cats are the happiest creatures in the world! A man, it passes, his life to win it and to question himself without ever finding an answer. You certainly want revenge when this man has opened the doors of paradise to you.

-It is true at first, I wanted revenge, but... I don't want that anymore.

-So why?

-Because I'm crazy. Probably. But don't you have to be a little crazy to be human? I am aware of the harshness of our existence. I am aware of its instability and the brutality of the present that is tearing itself before our eyes. I lost my parents at a very young age and didn't have a brother or sister to help me cope with this pain. I had to adapt and build myself. Jobs I have lost so many that today I am no longer afraid of being fired. But if there's one thing that's kept me going so far, it's my desire to start a family, and give my children what I've never been able to have.

A few drops soon escaped from my pupils, but I promptly erased them, while the creature walked around me looking at me with disdain.

-Ridiculous! I did not answer. He smiled and continued:

-This woman's husband will return tomorrow at 9:30 p.m. and I plan to tear off this dog's skull without a leash. He is a kind of exterminator, he has already killed a significant number of the members of my race. If you help me to make it disappear, then I will have the kindness to give you back your stupid human form.

-What if he didn't come?

-He will come!

-How can you be so sure?

-It's none of your business. However, you will be able to judge for yourself that what I am saying is correct.

He fell silent for a few seconds, as if to give me time to think, and then cried out impatiently: "If you do not help me, I will prevent you from becoming a human again and you will never be able to found this family that makes you so envious. So what do you decide!? "His eyes targeted me as well as an arrow that would soon pierce you.

-I cannot be complicit in a murder! I can help you master it as much as possible but... not to kill him.

-Humpf... Or so let us do so.

Thus, he told me his plan in every detail with a mischievous, almost perverse smile. For a moment his green eyes turned red. He did something to me exactly, I don't know anymore and transformed myself before doing it in turn. We then went up to the rooms to prepare the second part of his plan.

The next evening at 9:00 p.m. sharp, when we were both in the living room and the cat tired of going around in circles, whispered obscure and abstract words, the sound of a key inserting itself into the lock was heard.

For a moment, he let out a smile that I found terrifying, as it was filled with malice. He was a tall man, stocky and dressed in a kind of hospital suit that covered his entire body. Beyond his accoutrement, there reigned in him such a great assurance that it seemed as if he had devoured his emotions.

-Surprise!!!! He exclaimed in a clear and precise voice despite his covered face.

Feignant astonishment, the cat rushed to him with a bright smile.

-I missed you I hope!?

-Of course darling! How can we not miss you?! After all this it's been three months since you traveled.

-Oh you're counting the days now! Wouldn't you fool me by chance?

-Of course not! Replied the cat with a most indignant look, you have ideas sometimes.

With these words, they begin to laugh like an old couple whose time has not yet slaughtered the fire of love.

-But you ... don't you want to make yourself comfortable? He said, staring at his suit with trembling hands. "You're right, catch! He threw his bag at her, which the cat narrowly received. "I wasn't talking about that. Finally, you don't suffocate in your suit." He was already not listening to her anymore. Instead, he was walking towards me, which paralyzed me completely. Unlike the cat, I am a poor comedian.

-What is Elza? Usually, as soon as I come, you are so happy to see me.

-Oh Elza, poor she was in such a hurry that you come back that now she doesn't know what to do. Yesterday again she shouted at me dad will come tomorrow I am so happy. You know the children, we are the ones who make them, but we are unable to really understand them.

He smiled at her as if to make her understand that he adhered to her thesis. Then he sat cross-legged feet in the armchair, examining his living room with nostalgia. "Elza, don't you want to come and sit next to your father?" As I approached the cat replied: "Leave your daughter, my love, you don't think we have more important things to do at the top. I missed you, you know!"

-Don't be in such a hurry my love. I want to have a good time with the two women who mean the most to me. Come and sit Elza!

So I obey. The ringworm cat gave me a sharp look, and then sat in the other chair in the living room.

-So, how was your honey trip?

-Glad you finally ask me the question. It went pretty well, I had to kill a dozen of these cats, even if they are more and more difficult to find.

Then he laughed out loud. A long laugh, unbearable, provocative.

-I ... I don't know what to say, maybe you should leave them alone.

"No," he said, getting up suddenly, "it is you who bother me and not the other way around. Let's stop this comedy, I know what you are.

Noticing the serious air it displayed, the animal grimaced and in a split second returned to its original form. His eyes were blood red.

-How did you know?

-The smell, you have the foul smell, the unreal, the fantastic. I hate anything vampire, witch, magic or fantasy. But you, yes you, I hate you even more. You offer another life experience to man, an experience that is not his own and that contributes to making his dreams of escape, his escape from reality palpable. I do not know how many unfortunate people tired of life, you have locked up in your prison and I do not know how many men you will still comfort in mediocrity. That is why I must exterminate you, to the last.

Throughout his speech, he approached the animal with assured steps, while the cat with bristly hair, waited for him with firm feet. Suddenly the man took a gun out of his pocket and pointed death at the animal. The cat with lightning speed, threw himself on his hand. The gun fell, sliding on the ground. He emitted a strange fire like a sonorous and sadistic laugh. The man remained calm, insensitive to danger, as if death could not reach its crossroads. He jumped again pointing his sharp claws at the exterminator. But this one in an incredible reflex, hit him with the foot preventing him from reaching it. Having violently fallen back on the ground, the cat began to gesticulate like a fish that would be pulled out of the water. He asked me to grab the gun and shoot. Not being able to, I just picked it up and threw it at him. He shot, extinguishing life with monstrous and frightening indifference. A significant amount of blood flooded the living room. The guy looked at me and cried out.

"You see, in my job, this is what is called a truce. I looked at him stunned. Beyond the blood that flowed abundantly, the body of the corpse was gradually covered with moths. Which chilled my blood altogether.

- Where are they?

-They were tied up in the girl's room.

-Very good.

-But me?

-What about you?

-How do I find my true body?

-Will have to find another one, although I strongly advise against it. By now, they already know that one of their own has died. And it won't be long before they find out who these murderers are. -But... but I did nothing, I was frightened, it was you who killed him. Not me. -Very well, so try to explain this to a pack of stubborn and angry ringworm cat.

-I... I can't stay with you?

-Even if you stayed with me, you would still be alone at some point. Also, you would bother me. Only... always be on your guard! The one I just exterminated was a child yet if I had flinched even for a moment... In your place, I will lock myself in a sarcophagus, although I am not sure that you would be safe there.

-Out of pity! He sighed, looked up and down at me with the most desperate look and then undressed.

His body was full of scars, it looked like a curse. Yet, he showed it to me without embarrassment, he was even amused by my amazement. Tired of this horrible spectacle he was inflicting on me, he got dressed and exclaimed: "This is what costs him to fight these things." I answered nothing. He let out a rictus, took out a small box from his bag, before resuming in these terms: "This is a remedy that I have been concocting for a while. I'm not sure it works yet, but if you really want to become a man again, take it, at your own risk."

I took , thanked him, and left him forever.

The remedy worked. The only downside is that I kept the girl's voice. For fear of ridicule, I speak very little in public. It's been three years now since this story happened. The cats still haven't attacked me. Every day, however, I see hair from these beasts in unusual places in the house. The toilet, on my bed, on the plates, etc. I'm scared, I have my mind limping. I feel that they are waiting for something, maybe I am finally realizing the only thing that still keeps me alive on this earth. Being a cat, being a man, I don't know, I don't know anymore...