Every cat owner must have noticed that – the cat sitting in the corner and staring at the wall. Most of us said to them “are you seeing a ghost?” Truth be told – they are…

“Hi”, someone said to Frank. He has gotten used to being invisible so he ignored the voice. It was both high-pitched and deep, the sound had resembled a ‘meow’, although interrupted like a ‘Me’.

“Down here”, repeated the voice, “Do you have mice in your ears?”

Frank had never heard this expression before and that was what caught his attention. He lowered his face and looked into the yellow-greenish eyes of an orange tabby. When the cat realized his gaze, it tilted the head.

“No mice then – how unfortunate.”

Frank shock his head, what didn’t seem to impress or startle the cat. 

“You can see me?”, he asked, puzzled. The tabby turned the head and tilted it into the other direction. 

“Shouldn’t I?”

“I am dead”, yelled Frank and twisted his face. This was the first time he had said it aloud. So far he had avoided that sentence, not because he neglected the knowledge but because it was painful to be reminded. 

“That explains why the others keep ignoring you”, answered the cat and went towards its food bowl. 

Frank watched it. The family that had moved into this apartment had brought it along. They knew that someone had died in this apartment but affordable space was hard to find in the city and his unfortunate death has made this place really cheap. Frank had heard all of this when people came to the apartment tour, he had also tried to make them aware of himself but no one reacted. At some point he had accepted his situation and placed himself at the corner of the kitchen where no one ever went to. He had tried to avoid situations in which people passed through him, the sensation had been too unpleasant, reminding him of his grave situation. The conversation with the cat was the first one he had since his untimely end. After the tabby was done eating it watched him again. 

“What’s your name?”, it asked.

“Frank. And yours?”

“Hristuzuskjhg“, made the cat – it sounded like a rattling cough or like it was trying to regurgitate a hairball. 

“Your family calls you Tiddles”, remarked Frank. 

“You can also call me Tiddles – might be easier to pronounce for you.”

They kept staring at one another. 

“So, you are the one that died here?”, the tabby broke the silence. 

“Yes. You understand what the family is saying?”

Somehow the cat managed a grin. Frank hadn’t been aware that the mimic of a cat was capable of that facial expression but it was clear. In a way it made the tabby radiating arrogance. 

“For sure. We understand all you say, but we also decide not to listen most of the time. Let’s be honest, you humans say a lot of bullshit over the course of the day.”

“Can all animals speak?”, Frank asked, ignoring the insult. The conversation fascinated him – maybe because it was the first he had in months. The cat had just lifted its leg to clean itself and looked up to him from that position. 

“Yes”, it answered shortly and started grooming itself. 

“I have never heard a dog talk…”, pondered Frank. As a child he had had dogs but none of them had talked to him. He had imagined to hear them speaking quite often but the older he got the more he had realized it was only imagination. Tiddles looked at him from his position and sighed. 

“I am sure, dogs talked to you before. But you are a human, you are all way too loud, you never listen.”

“Why can I hear you know then?”

“You are silent now.”

Frank thought about the information while Tiddles went back to grooming.

“Can all animals see ghosts?”

“No, only those that can see in the dark or at twilight.”

“You are aware that you are not really talkative?”, asked Frank. Tiddles laughed in return – it was a weird sound but definitely a laugh. 

“I said before, animals are silent. If humans would be silent as well we would get along quite superb. But personally, I believe you are so loud because you cannot be alone with your thoughts.”

Frank looked at Tiddles puzzled. The tabby sighed again and gave him a look as if it would realize that it had to do with an idiot. 

“Take my humans. The child is always listening to music – ALWAYS! When his thoughts are getting louder so does the music. Even when they are together the TV is running in the background. Outdoors the cars are loud, the planes, everything…”

“Electric cars are silent”, Frank remarked having the feeling that he needed to defend humanity. Tiddles left the kitchen in which they had both been so far, to set down on the couch. His paws didn’t make any sound on the parquet, if Frank would have closed his eyes he wouldn’t have noticed the cat. Even when he jumped on the couch there was no sound to be heard. Frank had followed the tabby and felt observed again after Tiddles had settled. 

“That’s why you put things inside to make them louder again.”

“To make them safer”, was the defence. 

“And so you cannot hear yourself. If you were silent you could hear the beauty of the world. But you are expecting that the world subordinates to you.”

The ghost must have looked puzzled because Tiddles sighed again before rolling up in a little ball of fur. Then he looked at Frank from its yellow-greenish eyes, his head resting on its paws. 

“Take airports – did you know that birds have stopped chirping around airports because they cannot hear each other anyhow? They have subordinated themselves. And then people hear birds chirping and are happy and consider it beautiful but forget that they could have this every day if they would just consider animals as equals.”

“Animals are also dividing in ‘higher’ and ‘lower’. Take hunters and prey as an example.”

“YOU are dividing us into hunters and prey. Take me, what am I for you?”

“You are a cat, for sure you are a hunter.”

“Viewed through the eyes of a mouse, that might be true. But in the eyes of a starving dog I am prey. And after its death the dog becomes food for the mouse. In the end we are all equal. But this is not fitting into humanities world view where there has to be a ‘higher’ and a ‘lower’. You even differentiate your own species into this.”

“There are better humans than others”, murmured Frank. He had always considered himself belonging to the ‘others’.

“Isn’t that depending on the persons view?”

The ghost didn’t answer that. 

“Sit down with me”, demanded Tiddles, Frank obliged. He couldn’t imagine that anyone would have considered him as better than anyone else. Tiddles yawned and rolled closer to Frank. Frank could feel the heat radiating from the fluffy body, when he put his hand down he could even touch the fur. He could not feel the softness but Tiddles started purring nonetheless. The ghost felt the vibration and relaxed a little.

“For example, I consider you better than my humans”, purred Tiddles. 

“Your humans can play with you”, remarked Frank although deep down he was happy about the compliment. 

“I can talk to you this is way more valuable”, answered the cat and closed its eyes but kept on purring. 

“Maybe humans should adapt the view of animals”, Frank whispered.

“You definitely should”, Tiddles purred and rolled over so he could touch the ghost with his back, “It’s unfortunate you cannot tell anyone about your enlightenment.”

“Probably I’ll find a way”, suggested Frank. Tiddles, who had fallen asleep, didn’t answer anymore. The ghost stayed seated. He was happy, feeling like he had found a new friend – the first in years. He was looking forward to further conversation with the tabby – maybe there was more to learn. 

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This story was first published in German as part of the anthologie “Ein bisschen mehr Tier täte uns gut”. Check this book out for more lovely stories about special connection between humans and animals .