petting of the cat period unless cat not around in which case grooving period followed by non grooving period of equal length as before or extended grooving period equal to two-thirds of the overall time and a reduced non grooving period
in essence any notion of schedule was abandoned completely now that grooving and petting of the cat were such charming ways of passing the time
the kindly hands that brought nutrition
who
that
who
what
well and did they not belong to a person
she
and did the person not have a name or at the very least a substitute appellation fitting for her relation to our hero
yes
mother
the mother
what
my mother
my mother brought the large mug of tea and some nutrition that was not charred
nutrition
o come now less of that
my mother brought me some toasted home made bread to go with the large mug of tea and for the first time since grooving began it was possible to chew and swallow said toasted home made bread as the throat did not close in fear
i ventured to offer thanks
the thanks were acknowledged
what
my thanks
what
she smiled
before leaving with the empty plate on which had been borne the nutrition
no
before leaving with the empty plate on which had been borne the lovely toasted home-made bread it was suggested
no
before leaving with the empty plate on which had been borne the lovely toasted home-made bread my mother suggested a new way to keep the old bonce from going bananas although of course she knew nothing of the mathematical swishing of the feet which had played havoc and nearly caused the floor to open up or the mattress to consume the duvet or the duvet to consume the whole bally lot
although nothing was mentioned
no
although she mentioned
no
although my mother mentioned nothing about the mattress the duvet or the floor opening up or the abyss keeping itself to itself or otherwise
her suggestion was to breathe slowly and rhythmically and concentrate on nothing but the slow breathing in and the slow breathing out and perhaps making use of a nice rhythmic phrase to focus
being easily amused by alliteration i chose the phrases breathing in bars the bonce from becoming bananas and breathing out bars the bonce from becoming bananas but discarded them in short measure as repetition rendered them more irritating than the old haemorrhoids
i breathed in deeply feeling the warmth of the purring cat beside me and the cool air caressing my nostrils as though from a hilltop or beach
i breathed out slowly feeling the ribcage fall
feeling a tiny fraction of the fear falling away
that moment i knew that i could breathe in
and i knew that i could breathe out
and i knew that i could pet the cat
and i knew that i could make verruca music and drink tea and eat toast
and that must surely count for something
suppose for a moment
no
the next time my mother returned with the large mug of tea i requested written entertainment in the form of a book on the subject of polar exploration
however the print was nothing but scribbly black to the old peepers and so the schedule-free entertainment of petting breathing and grooving continued unabated until night fell and the feet were still and the old bonce rested and all was quiet and our hero slept and slept and slept a deep and dreamless sleep with nary a tremble or a needle
NINE
well and did the cat continue to visit
o yes
the cat continued to visit and would flump affectionately onto the coverlet before snuggling in close and purring like the proverbial train
no matter that she was neither my mother's nor my father's cat and actually belonged next door
the warmth of her presence was matched by the rich bass warmth of the contented purring with its sound like deep dark corrugated iron
compared with the aforementioned rich bass warmth of the cat the limited sonic pallette of the picking of the feet whether physically or imagined came a poor second
and so with a final couple of clicks from the north and east edges of the verruca and a good hard scrape of the eczema on the big toe of the left foot which terminated in a satisfying thud of the knuckle and a last almost funky session of swishing of the feet our hero brought his exploration of foot-related music-making to a close and bade it a fond farewell
o and what replaced it
stillness and calm
breathing in and breathing out
the sound of the cat purring
the sound of the cat breathing in and breathing out
the sound of the cat occasionally sneezing
the sound of the cat chirruping gently in her dreams
the sudden but gentle movement of the cat as my mother brought tea
and soon there came the sound of quiet luminous chords moving by step in time with the rise and fall of the old ribcage
the feet still and calm
the heart beating only a little faster than normal
TEN
suppose for a moment
o this is not the one about the
please just listen
suppose for a moment our hero rose unaided
suppose he stumbled weak at the knees into the bathroom followed closely by the cat who disappeared like lightning as soon as water flowed from the shower head
suppose he climbed into the shower
suppose he called out to his father for company
once dry suppose he dressed himself unaided
Once dressed, suppose he walked slowly down the stairs.
Once down the stairs, suppose he crossed the wooden floor of the sitting room, turned the corner into the hallway, proceeded for another couple of yards and then turned left into the dining room.
Once in the dining room, suppose he sat down and then with fingers stiff and groaning from months of disuse played on the piano a chord consisting (in ascending order) of the notes F natural, B natural, D sharp, and G sharp.
ELEVEN
this is the one about the incident in the park