I was in the car when it happened. I just had the feeling that something wasn’t right. We had driven to somewhere strange, a place I hadn’t been before, and I had no idea why. Nobody had bothered to try to reassure me about it. The car slowed down and stopped in the car park next to a building that had no obvious function. It was just anonymous. The others went inside, leaving me in the car, and I knew I had the one chance to escape. One of the rear doors was open. I didn’t have to think twice. I was able to get out, and made a break for it. Nobody saw me, but in any case I didn’t think I could trust them. I might have been getting on, but I still had my wits about me. My instincts told me this wasn’t a good place to be. I decided I would put as much distance as I could between them and me, and then work out what to do next.

The unfortunate thing was that I didn’t know this part of town at all. We hadn’t been living in the area all that long. I soon realised I had no idea where I was. I looked around for familiar landmarks, anything that might help me get my bearings. There was nothing at all that I could see that might point me in the right direction. The street looked like it could have been anywhere.

I told myself not to panic. It was getting dark, some lights were coming on, but I told myself there was no reason to be unduly anxious. So I just started walking. I had little alternative. I decided that sooner or later I was sure to come across somewhere I recognised, and then I would be able to make my way home and hope that everything would be all right. Maybe someone would explain why they were taking me to that strange place, and that if I made it clear that I didn’t really want to go there then they weren’t going to insist.

All of a sudden I spotted a couple of big ugly looking dogs in the front garden of one of the larger houses on the street. Nine times out of ten I would give this sort of dog a wide berth. They don’t like me and the feeling is mutual. If they saw me then before long there would be all kinds of jumping up and down and yapping going on. I can do without that sort of aggravation at my age.

I crossed to the other side of the street carefully and looked back. The dogs were being ushered back into the house. There were a few people walking on both sides of the street, but no-one I recognised. I was thinking of going up to someone, but decided against it. Some children surprised me as they emerged from a shop doorway, but clearly hadn’t noticed me; they turned and walked away, chattering to each other. A woman opened an upstairs window. She looked at me, but didn’t speak. Then she closed the window. The wind was getting up. I noticed how it blew the leaves around in small circles. Winter was surely on its way.

Shortly afterwards I came to a bus stop. A few people were waiting there, quite patiently, not really noticing me. They seemed distracted, looking vaguely into the distance, as though the present moment held nothing of value for them. I decided that buses were for taking you from one particular place to another and, apart from anything else, I couldn’t see any point in getting on. A man in the queue gave me a quizzical look, as though he was wondering what exactly I was doing there. He spoke to me, but I couldn’t make sense of what he was saying, and he looked away.

I walked on, and after a few minutes I saw another man heading towards me. I carried on walking and tried to look as though I knew where I was headed. I didn’t make eye contact, though I sensed that he was glancing at me. I expected him to say something, but he looked away and carried on walking. A car passed along the street. I wondered if anyone was out trying to find me. Just ahead, rooks were gathering in the trees. Suddenly I felt quite lonely.

The rain began, lightly at first and then with a growing intensity. I really didn’t like the rain. I found shelter underneath an oak tree, made myself comfortable and waited for it to stop. I sniffed at the damp autumn air and thought back over my life. It had been a long and happy one. I could have no complaints on that score, but over the last few months I’d been feeling poorly at times. I was persuaded to take medicines, and these did seem to help, but still the simplest things could become more of an effort and I had difficulty sometimes remembering how to do things properly. This did get me into trouble at home from time to time, but people usually made allowances for my behaviour. On the whole they were sympathetic. I sensed that they had a genuine empathy for my problems and were doing their best to help. Maybe where we were going earlier was a part of their plan to make my life more comfortable, or maybe it wasn’t. Maybe I was being taken to some sort of institution, where they would stick needles into me and send me to sleep. Where they would expect to keep me amused with playing trifling little games and being taken around the grounds. I expect the food would have been nothing as tasty as it was at home. Would they even have known what like to eat? I decided that whatever that place had been, I wasn’t going to have any part of it if I had any say in the matter.

I became aware that the rain had stopped and I looked up at the night sky with a sense of wonder. The stars in the sky: how could anything be more beautiful? I was alive, I knew I was alive and a sentient being, and I was grateful for being alive. For me, right now, that was enough. Things would be sure to sort themselves out in the morning. I might be old, but I wasn’t about to give up my freedom. I sensed that my life might not be straightforward any more, but I could find nowhere else to go at the moment, and for the time being, feeling comfortable and safe where I was, I drifted happily off to sleep.

                                                                              ****************

It was the following morning, and the woman was walking along the street. She looked middle aged, with brown hair, and sensibly dressed; ostensibly, a kind and conscientious citizen. The woman seemed concerned, looking from side to side methodically, as though searching for something in particular, but if you had been watching her you would not have known precisely what it was. She stopped opposite a large oak tree and spotted a large long-haired cat curled up and seemingly asleep near the base of it. The animal, she surmised, could well have sought shelter there from the previous night’s rain. She rushed up to the cat with a sudden flash of recognition and a sense of relief. She made as though to stroke the animal.

‘Charlie, what are you doing here? I’ve been frantic! I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Where on earth have you been?’

But it was too late. Her cat, she soon realised, had finally succumbed to the illness of old age, but she knew he would always have a special place in her memories. He had been acting strangely, of course, but if only he hadn’t run off when they had been taking him to the vet to be examined, surely he would still be with them.

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