The Wizard's Cat's Meow

Cosmo, glanced at his cat and frowned, “What do you mean I need help?” he inquired of the cat.

The orange furred cat looked at him with a tilt of her triangular shaped head. Her large ears sat tilted forward on her head giving her an awareness about her as if she is always paying attention to everything that is going on around her. Her green eyes, which look large on her face, exuded intelligence. With a casual glance at him she picked up a forepaw and started licking and cleaning her face.

“Okay,” Cosmo grumped.

Cosmo had recently graduated from being an apprentice wizard, he was above average height and bit stooped from crouching over a desk for long hours looking over tomes. His features were gaunt from missing too many meals and staying indoors for a good portion of his early life. He was not overly thin, but his clothes did hang from him loosely and possibly could use some tailoring. He went to the bookcase and took a tome down and then placed it down on the scarred wooden desk that the cat was sitting on. The cat stopped cleaning herself and lithely stood and walked over to the tome and sat on it. The cat looked at Cosmo with an almost pitying look.

Cosmo rolled his eyes heavenwards and muttered with exasperation, “Listen Kat,” addressing her, “I know I have to get over this fear of the eclipse to complete this spell, but what can a psychiatrist do, in this short of a time?”

The cat gave a petulant meow.

“You mean right now?” Cosmo looked at Kat with a look of defeat and then nodded. “I assume you have someone in mind already.”

The cat jumped off the desk onto the ground, gave a swish of her tail, turned her head upwards to stare at Cosmo and then proceeded to head to the door.

“Why a psychiatrist and not a psychologist?” Cosmo asked as he picked up an overcoat and a hat and went to the door. Kat deftly jumped onto his shoulder as he reached the door and purred into his ear. Cosmo opened the door and waved his hand in a dismissive manner and the lights went out in the apartment. He nodded to Kat absently. “I see, you think this is more a mental imbalanced and considering the time constraints you think I need drastic measures.” With a sigh, he closed the door behind him and walked down the hallway. “I feel anxious already now because of the upcoming eclipse, but I am not totally incapacitated,” he muttered under his breath. The cat whapped his cheek with her sheathed paw.

“Yes, I know you found me cowering in the corner of the room, I assure you that it was just a moment of weakness.”

The dreary street had very few people wandering on it, which was a relief for him. He was not fond of large crowds. It was why he stayed in most days and avoid meeting people. He liked his magical studies, and he had Kat that kept him company. She had appeared one day at his door scratching and demanding entrance to his apartment. Since then, she had been his constant companion.

Kat jumped off his shoulder onto the ground, breaking his wandering thoughts. With a swish of her tail, she headed off towards an office building. The trip to the psychiatrist office through the building was uneventful.

They entered what looked like a waiting room. Kat, lithely jumped on to an empty chair and sat, her large eyes looking intently at him. With a shrug he joined her on the seat next to her. The cat promptly purred in approvement. Her tail nervously swish back and forth. She looked at the receptionist and gave a musical meow. The receptionist, a pale blond-haired person with glasses glanced up and nodded to Kat. She peered at Cosmo before getting up and going to the far door and exiting the room. Cosmo looked nervously around. He had never liked enclosed spaces. The cat brushed up against him and purred.

“I am okay, Kat. Just a bit nervous. How did you know about this place?” It felt like he had been here in the past. In truth, he could have sworn he had seen that receptionist before.

There was a murmur of a comforting meow from Kat and Cosmo nodded. “Yes, I trust you,” he answered.

The receptionist, Lizzy, nodded to the woman sitting behind the desk in the office in the other room. “Doctor, they are here.”

The doctor, Francine Macloney, was a middle-aged woman with a light touch of gray in her dark hair. She wore loose-fitting blue blouse and dark slacks. She glanced down at the file folder in front of her and nodded.

“Thanks Lizzy, how does he look?”

“Slightly agitated, but it looks like Kathrine has him under control.”

“Okay, give me a few minutes and I’ll buzz you to let them in,” said Francine.

Cosmo was an interesting case as she opens the file folder and perused it. Kathrine had contacted her the day before and had said that the upcoming eclipse had triggered an episode. Usually, the medication would help smooth things over.

Francine looked over the notes that she took while discussing things with Kathrine. It looks like that his anxiety has taken over according to Kathrine. To cope, Cosmo had built this fantasy that he was a wizard, and Kathrine, his girlfriend, was his cat familiar.

Francine, buzzed the intercom and informed Lizzy to send them in.

Kathrine, entered first, dressed in jeans and a deep brown blazer covering an orange top. A loose ponytail contained her long thick auburn hair with rose gold highlights. She moved with a feline grace. It was no wonder that Cosmo thought of her as his cat. Her soft voice purred lightly in greeting as she led Cosmo to one of the two chairs.

Cosmo sat down and looked around the room, he nervously petted Kat in the adjacent seat. His cat meowed at him and a swatted a paw on his hand. Cosmo withdrew his hand from Kat and sighed. The office was immaculate and was set up in predominate muted colors of blues and browns. The furniture, two chairs, a small low table, and a sofa with pillows were set pleasingly in the room. They were sitting in the chairs in front of a neatly tidy desk where the doctor sat behind.

“Hello Cosmo,” Francine addressed Cosmo and noted how he had tugged on Kathrine’s ponytail, which Kathrine reacted to with a light slap on Cosmo’s wrist. “I have heard that you are having some anxiety with the solar eclipse coming up later today,” she continued.

Cosmo clasped his hand together and nodded nervously. “Yes, I have this spell that I need to perform during the solar eclipse. I am anxious because I feel something terrible is going to happen.”

Francine folded her hand under her chin and propped her elbows on the desk, leaning forward and looked at him. Deciding to play along she asked, “And why would you think that?”

Nervously Cosmo answered, “I don’t know, I feel the world is going to end, I guess.”

Cosmo gaunt face looked at Kat, and for a moment, reality shifted for him, and he saw woman in place of the cat. He blinked and the cat appeared again, her large ears twitched forward regarding him. A plaintive meow issued from her and what seems like an exasperated look crossed her eyes.

Francine watched Kathrine as she gave an exasperated sigh as she looked at Cosmo. “Cosmo, nothing bad is going to happen, believe me.”

“Are you sure?” Cosmo muttered.

Kathrine turned to Francine, “He has not been taking his medication, and he’s slowly deteriorating into this fantasy world.”

The doctor nodded and opened a drawer taking a pill container out and placed it on the desk, looking at Cosmo she asked. “Are you willing to take these pills if it helps with your fear of the upcoming eclipse?”

Cosmo thought about it for a moment. His fear had been slowly increasing as the solar eclipse approached. Even now, looking out the window he could see the sky darkening. His eyes traveled from the pills to his cat. His eyes showing his fear. “Kat, what do you think?” And as he stared at his cat, she grew larger and morphed into a human figure. Her ears remain large and furry, and she had a ponytail of luxurious thick auburn hair. Her tail had remained although now longer and it swished back and forth in agitation. Cosmo’s eyes widen in surprise.

Kat purred in a soft voice to him. “Do you not want to complete this spell you have been working on?”

Cosmo shifted in the chair and stood up, backing away from them. “What is going on? Kat, how…,” His voice trailed off.

Francine looked at Katherine in surprise, when she and her had discuss this approach about Cosmo, she had surmised that this would be play-acting. Her eyes widen further as she noticed the change in Kathrine. What the hell? How did she change into a costume? Surprise turned into apprehension. Wait, those ears and tail look far too real!

Kathrine large green eyes iris with vertical slitted pupils gazed at Francine. She sighed noting the apprehension and fear. “I see that my illusion has been dispelled.”

“Ill..Illusion?” stammered Francine.

“Yes, I needed your help with Cosmo. When we had first contacted you, I had created an illusion to hide my ears and tail. I do not believe that this form,” she waved a hand over her body, “would have been acceptable.” Kat gave a wry chuckle. “I guess with so little magic here, that illusion could not hold for long. What I told you yesterday was true. He truly does have a fear of the upcoming solar eclipse. His mind sees both worlds. This dimension where little magic exists, and a mirror dimension where magic is very real. When the solar eclipse happens, he will be able to draw on the magic of both worlds and return us to our dimension.”

Cosmo had backed up into the corner of the room, his breathing coming out in gasps as he stared out the window, seeing the darkening sky. “Yes… I remember, the spell, it trapped us here.”

Kat nodded. “Yes, Cosmo you were working on a travelling spell, and something went wrong. It sent us here to this dimension.”

Kat turned to Francine, “Those pills, had calmed his anxiety down about the eclipse, but they had also dulled his mind as well. His mind is in two different dimensions, the best I can surmise is that he is merging what he is seeing. The closer to the time of the solar eclipse, the more Cosmo’s mind cannot separate the two realities to cast the return spell.”

Francine had moved behind the desk again, keeping the desk between her and the couple. She went to reach for her phone. Kat frown, “Please don’t, we need your help.”

Francine hesitated. She looked at Cosmo, who was clearly cowering in the corner, his eyes darting to the window every so often, and murmuring incomprehensible to himself. Kat had a pleading look on her face.

With a resigned sigh, Francine’s hand retreated from the phone. She had become a doctor to help people. Even if this situation seems strange and for all accounts, something out of a “B” movie script, she meant to help. Cosmo is her patient after all. “Okay, the medication he had before, did it help?” She asked Kat, as she tried to ignore the ears and swishing tail. Although Kat’s eyes were bizarre enough and hard to ignore.

“A little, but we don’t have time, the full solar eclipse is only an hour away. There are times where he is lucid and knows what’s going on, but then there are times,” she pointedly looked at Cosmo in the corner, “He is like this.”

Francine nodded, and thoughtfully looked at the pill bottle in her hand. Placing it on the desk she opens a drawer and took out a sheet of paper and another pill bottle. She looked over the paper and then grunted. “OK, this is a new drug, it’s new to the market, it has been tested and the results were mixed. The company is running a new trial. The data looked promising. It’s supposed to help with anxiety and phobias.”

Kathrine went to the corner where Cosmo was staring in fear out the window. “We will try it,” she stated.

Francine opened the pill bottle and took out two pills as prescribed, and then poured some water into a glass from the pitcher on the desk. She handed it to Kat, “It is better that you give it to him.”

Kathrine nodded and looked at Cosmo. “Listen Cosmo, you trust me, right?” there was a hint of desperation in her voice.

Cosmo replied, “Of course Kat,” he looked out the window again and seem to fall into himself. “I can’t do it. Something is going to go wrong. I know it.”

“It will be fine, I promise you. We will get home. Here take these. It will help calm you.”

Cosmo took the pills and swallowed them with a gulp of water from the glass.

Kat smiled, “Good, lets sit down on the sofa, where you don’t have to look out the window.” She then turned to Francine, “How long?”

Cosmo sat down on the sofa, his frantic eyes looking around the room. He felt lost. The fear had subsided after he stopped looking out the window. But there was that inkling of impending doom. Panic was just under the surface of his mind. Soon a calming sensation came over him, and the fear subsided. He even thought it was funny that he had feared the solar eclipse. His mind became clearer, and he knew what he needed to do. The spell that he was working on flashed in his mind. Every step documented in his brain.

Francine watched Cosmo and saw the transformation on his face. “Not long, I suspect.” She commented with a smile.

Cosmo looked at Kat beside him, “Hey sweetcakes, how was the mouse hunting going?” He giggled and reached to her ear and playfully tug it.

Kat swatted his hand away. “Stop that Cosmo.”

“Awww, why not? You loved it when you were cat and I scratched behind your ear,” said Cosmo.

Kat stood up and backed away from the sofa, her tail swishing back and forth, “Not now, Cosmo!”

A silly grin crossed his face as he stood up and looked over at Francine, “Hey dollface, what did you give me? And can I have some more?”

Francine gapped at him. “I don’t think so,” she replied in a surprised voice. The transformation in his demeanor was phenomenal. Cosmo was assuredly happy, if not a bit amorous, in just the way he looked at Kat. His face no longer held the gaunt and haunted look of fear. He looked sure of himself; his confidence radiated from him. Francine was fascinated. She had wondered why Kat had been attracted to such a man. If this was his true self, it was no wonder.

Cosmo grinned and gave a hearty laugh, he swayed a moment and then giggled. “I must prepare the spell,” he hiccupped. “Oops… I don’t have time for silliness. Right Kat?”

Kat eyes were wider than wide, her cat-like ears were flicked backwards almost against her head and her tail was in constant motion as she glanced at Francine, “What is that shit?”

Francine shrugged, “It has a substance called anandamide, supposedly it’s to boost your happiness and decrease fear and anxiety. It can also improve memory. This is just what the literature had said,” she pointed to the piece of paper on the desk. It had also mentioned that there are people who have a gene that is very susceptible to the drug.” She looked at Cosmo, “I suspect that he is one.”

Meanwhile, Cosmo had gone to the window and looked up, “Ohh pretty, almost time my sweetness,” turning and glancing at Kat winking at her.

“Will you stop that, Cosmo!” exclaimed Kat.

He smiled and promptly started moving the furniture way from the center of the room. He then went to Francine’s desk and picked up a marker, “This will do,” he laughed, “Magic marker too.”

He then proceeded to draw on the floor with quick flourishes. Symbols soon appeared in a circular pattern. He was quick and scurried around the room. “There, finished.” Cosmo looked out the window and chuckled, “Just in time too!” He flexed, “I’m the man!”

Kat rolled her eyes heavenwards. “Thanks Doc, this shit wears off right?”

Francine shrugged, “It should, take it in case you need it again.” she tossed the pill bottle to Kat, who deftly caught it with cat-like reflexes.

The window to the room darkened, and Cosmo grabbed Kat and pulled her the center of the circular pattern.

“You know what you are doing right, not like last time?” asked Kat apprehensively.

Cosmo’s eyes crinkled for a moment in concentration and then gave a wink to Kat, “Of course I know. It won’t happen again.”

Soon the window to the room went completely dark, Cosmo started chanting and raised his arms. Light gathers around the couple. Francine gasped and moved to the back wall as far away as possible as the energy streamed from all directions. The chanting became musical and became a crescendo of chaotic noise. The light fixtures shattered in a spray of glass as lightning shot out of them drawn to Cosmo. The room light up brightly with a rainbow of colors. Then there was a loud bell sound, and the room went dark and silent.

Francine stayed against the wall, unsure what to do next. Light through the window soon increase and Francine peered to the center of the symbolled circle. An orange furred cat with large ears sat in the middle and another cat, a dark grey tabby, was laying on his back playfully pawing the air. The orange cat gave an exasperated yowl and then whapped the other cat angrily.

“Kat? Cosmo?” inquired Francine.

The orange cat’s green eyes locked onto Francine and gave another yowl, which sounded like disgust this time and promptly slumped to the floor.