Earthquake, a Cat, and a Golden Slumber

I felt the earthquake at 3:17 PM.

At that time, I was sitting at my computer, trying to finish the ending of my novel. Outside the window was the uniquely gloomy sky of Chengdu, like a gray towel soaked with water, pressing down heavily. The air was filled with the mixed smell of hot pot base and damp earth, the familiar scent of Chengdu.

When the earthquake hit, I was typing on the keyboard. First, there was a slight tremor, like an invisible hand gently pushing my chair. I thought it was an illusion. After all, living in this city, you always get used to some inexplicable tremors.

Then, the shaking became more obvious. The monitor began to sway, and the coffee cup on the table made a "clinking" sound. I looked up and saw the books on the bookshelf begin to fall one by one, like a group of clumsy pigeons, flapping their wings but unable to fly.

I wasn't panicked. A 3.6 magnitude, for Chengdu people who have experienced the Wenchuan earthquake, this is just a small episode in life, a topic that can be used for teasing. I even had the mind to think about whether this earthquake would give my novel's ending more inspiration.

At this moment, I saw it.

A cat.

A black cat, with eyes like two golden ambers.

It appeared from nowhere, just sitting quietly on my desk, looking at me. Its eyes were strange, both with the laziness and mystery of a cat, and an unspeakable... compassion?

I'm sure I've never seen this cat before. My apartment is on the 27th floor, how could a cat appear here?

"Who are you?" I asked it, my voice trembling slightly.

Of course, the cat didn't answer me. It just meowed softly, then jumped off the desk and walked towards the balcony.

I followed it.

On the balcony, the wind was strong, blowing my hair wildly. The cat stood on the railing, looking down at the city below. I followed its gaze and saw a golden world.

It wasn't the sunset. The sunset wouldn't appear at 3:17 PM.

It was a... indescribable light.

The whole city was shrouded in this golden light, skyscrapers, streets, vehicles, pedestrians... everything seemed to be plated with a layer of gold foil, shining with a dreamlike luster.

I felt like I was in a huge, unreal dream.

"What is this?" I muttered to myself.

The cat turned its head and glanced at me. In its eyes, there seemed to be an understanding, a deep insight into this world and life.

Then, it jumped and leaped off the balcony.

I screamed, rushed to the railing, but saw nothing.

The cat was gone.

The golden light also disappeared.

The city returned to its original appearance, gloomy, damp, with the smell of hot pot base and soil.

I stood blankly on the balcony, feeling like I had a long and absurd dream.

The earthquake stopped.

My phone rang, it was a WeChat message from a friend: "Are you okay? There was an earthquake just now."

I replied: "I'm fine, just... saw a strange cat."

My friend sent a smiling face: "Haha, are you writing novels again?"

I didn't reply.

I went back to the computer and continued writing my novel.

I wrote: "When the earthquake hit, I saw a cat, it took me into a golden slumber. There, I saw the absurdity and reality of life, the intertwining of hope and despair. When I woke up, the cat was gone, and the dream was also awake. I don't know if the cat really existed, or if the golden slumber was just my hallucination. But I know that some things cannot be explained in words. Like life, like love, like... the look in that cat's eyes."

I think this is probably what Wang Xiaobo called "wisdom", but this wisdom came a bit... Haruki Murakami-ish.

I typed the last word, saved, and shut down the computer.

I got up, walked to the balcony, and lit a cigarette.

In the swirling smoke, I seemed to see the cat again, those golden eyes, in the sky above the city, quietly watching me.

I smiled and said to the air: "Goodbye, cat."

Then, I put out the cigarette and turned back into the room.

Life, must go on.