The cat city

The young man was carrying a bag and traveling alone through the landscape. He did not have a specific destination. He got on the train and got off at any place that caught his interest. Stay in a hotel, visit the market, stay as long as you like. When he was satisfied, he continued to travel by train. This is his usual way of vacation.

A beautiful river appeared outside the car window. Along the winding river, the gentle green hillocks stretched in a line, and there was a delicate town at the foot of the mountains, giving a quiet feeling. An old stone bridge spans the river. The view tempted his heart. Here one might be able to eat delicious trout. As soon as the train stopped at the station, the young man jumped off with his bag on his back. No other passengers got off here. Just as he got off, the train left.

There was no station attendant in the station. This is probably a very quiet station. The youth paced across the stone bridge and walked to the town. The town was silent, not a soul in sight. All the stores were closed, and the town hall was empty. In the only hotel, there was no one at the desk. He rang the electric bell, but no one came out. It seemed to be a completely deserted town. Or else everyone had gone to hide for a nap. But it was only 10:30 a.m. It seemed a little too early to take a nap. Perhaps for some reason, people have abandoned the town and left for other places. In any case, there would be no more trains until tomorrow morning, and he would have to spend the night here. He strolled around aimlessly, killing time.

However, this is actually a small city of cats. As dusk falls, many cats walk across the stone bridge to the town.

Cats of all colors and patterns, of all breeds. They are much bigger than ordinary cats, but they are still cats after all. When the youth saw this sight, he was shocked and climbed to the bell tower in the middle of the town to hide. The cats are familiar with the way, or open the roll-up door, or sitting at the town hall desk, and began their work. Before long, more cats also crossed the stone bridge and came to town. The cats went into the stores to shop, checked in at the town office, and ate at the hotel restaurant. They drank beer in the tavern and sang happy cat songs. Some play the accordion and some dance to the sound of the organ. The cats' eyes work better at night and hardly need lighting. But on this night, the silver light of the full moon enveloped the town, and the young man in the bell tower took in the light. Near dawn, the cats closed the store door, finished their work and things, and walked in groups across the stone bridge, back to their original place.

When it was dawn and the cats were gone, the town returned to its deserted state. The youth climbed down from the bell tower, went into the hotel, and went to bed to sleep. When he got hungry, he ate the bread and fish left in the hotel kitchen. When it began to get dark, he climbed up to the bell tower again and hid, watching the cats' movements all night long until dawn. The trains came in the morning and before evening and stopped at the station platform. By taking the morning train, you can travel forward; by taking the afternoon train, you can return to your original place. No passengers get off at this station, and no one gets on from this station. But the train still stops here as a rule, and departs again a minute later. If he wanted to, he could have gotten on the train and left this warlike cat town. However, he did not do so. He was young, curious, and ambitious and adventurous. He wanted to see more of the strange sights of this cat city. Since when, and why, had this become Cat City? And what is the structure of this cat city? What exactly are the cats doing here? If possible, he would like to find out these. I'm afraid there was no one else but him who had witnessed this spectacle with his own eyes.

On the third night, there was a small commotion in the square under the clock tower.

"Don't you think it smells like someone?" A cat said.

"If you say so, I really think there is a strange smell these days." A cat twitched its nose in agreement. "Actually, I feel it too." Another echoed.

"But it's strange, it's impossible for people to come here." A cat said.

"Yes, that's right. People can't come to this cat city."

"But it does smell like those guys."

The cats split into teams and started searching every corner of the town like a self-defense team. Seriously, the cats' noses are very sensitive. It didn't take much time for them to discover that the clock tower was the source of the smell. The youth also heard the sound of their soft paws climbing up the steps, step by step. It's over, he thought. The cats seemed to be extremely excited and enraged by the smell of people. They were big, with big sharp claws and sharp white teeth. And the town was a place where humans were not allowed to tread. There was no telling how he would be treated if he was caught, but it was hard to think that knowing their secret they would let him go unharmed.

The three cats climbed up to the bell tower and sniffed hard.

"It's weird." One of them twitched its long whiskers slightly and said, "There's obviously a smell, but no one is there."

"Strange indeed." The other one said, "Anyway, there's no one here. Go look somewhere else."

"But it's so strange."

So they went away, puzzled. The footsteps of the cats went down the steps and disappeared into the darkness of the night.

The youth was relieved and puzzled. You know, the cats and he met in an extremely narrow place, as they used to say, almost nose to nose. It was impossible to see through. But for some reason, the cats couldn't seem to see him. He held his hand up in front of his eyes. It was clear to see, and did not become transparent. Incredible. Anyway, in the morning, go to the station, have to take the morning train out of town. It was too dangerous to stay here. It is impossible to have such good luck all the time.

However, the next day, the morning train did not stop at the small station. It didn't even slow down, just whizzed past his eyes. The afternoon train was the same. He saw the driver in the driver's seat and the faces of the passengers in the windows, but the train showed no intention of stopping. The figure of the young man waiting for the train, even along with the train station, did not seem to be reflected in people's eyes at all. After the disappearance of the afternoon train, an unprecedented silence fell around. Dusk began to fall. Soon it would be time for the cats to come. He understood that he had lost himself. He finally woke up: this was not a cat town at all. This is the place where he is destined to disappear, the place prepared for him, not in this world. And the train would never stop at this little station again to bring him back to the old world.