Contents
Part I Stubbytail and “THE ONLY OTHER CAT IN THE VICINITY”
Chapter 1 How Stubby Tail Found Out He Had A Stubbytail
Tail and Phantom Tail Syndrome
Chapter 2 Stubbytail's Photo Goes Viral
Chapter 3 Stubbytail's Identity Takes an Unexpected Turn
Chapter 4 Stubbytail Has a Glimpse at the MEANING OF LIFE
Chapter 5 Stubbytail Has Something to Say
Chapter 6 Navigating Through Ancient Irrigation Systems
Chapter 7 Stubbytail Goes in Search of THE ONLY OTHER CAT IN THE VICINITY
Chapter 8 Doing What Comes Naturally
Part II How Artist’s Drawing Would Eventually be Auctioned Off at Christie’s for an Exorbitant Amount
Chapter 1 Background
Chapter 2 The Book Signing Event
Chapter 3 The Great Storm
Chapter 4 Can Time Travel Account for Stubbytail's Disappearance?
Chapter 5 The Travels of a Sketch Book
Chapter 6 Stonewall Discovers the Sketchbook
Chapter 7 Stonewall Does His Research
Part 1 Stubbytail and “The Only Other Cat In The Vicinity”
Chapter 1
How Stubbytail Found Out He Had A Stubby Tail and Phantom Tail Syndrome
Stubbytail was born with only a stub of a tail and he didn’t even know it.
He could have gone through his whole life unaware of it.
After all, how would he know it wasn’t there?
And what is the significance of a tail, anyway?
Stubby or not?
Could anything be less significant?
It’s not like his mother raised him in a carton in front of a full length mirror.
So why even mention it?
Because though cats can manage with stubby tails, or no tails at all, this condition can have a minor consequence or two.
As l have mentioned, Stubbytail’s name was Stubbytail.
And Stubbytail knew it.
But Subbytail didn’t get it.
He knew his name had a great ring to it.
He loved it. He loved that it was HIS name.
It was the best name in the litter.
It sounded to him like going down stairs.
It sounded like HIM to him.
Just hearing his name made his heart fly up into his chest.
But, as I have already mentioned, he had no idea what it meant.
Another detail of import: “HIM” isn’t, in fact, the case.
But we will leave Stubbytail thinking it is, for the moment.
So how did Stubbytail finally learn the meaning of his name?
Well…
One day, Stubbytail sat down next to Mr. Kitty Psychiatrist on the Kitty Express, and they struck up a conversation.
And this is how it went:
Mr. Kitty Psychiatrist: “How are you this afternoon?”
Stubbytail: “Thank you for asking. I’m doing very well. And how are you?”
Mr. Kitty Psychiatrist: “Well, l just had a pretty crazy week. I work in a kitty clinic just past Catnip Arcade, if you know it. My name is Doctor Cohen.”
Stubbytail: “I’m Stubbytail.”
Mr. Kitty Psychiatrist: “Really? Can l see?”
Stubbytail: “See what?”
Mr. Kitty Psychiatrist: “Your tail.”
Stubbytail: “Why?”
Mr. Kitty Psychiatrist: “Because I imagine you have a stubby one, and that interests me.”
Stubbytail: “I’m afraid I don’t follow.”
Mr. Kitty Psychiatrist: “l can see you are young and inexperienced; and a bit naive. Taking that into account, do you have any idea what your name means?”
Stubbytail: “No…”
Mr. Kitty Psychiatrist: “Well, you most likely have a very little tail, if any at all..”
Stubbytail was sceptical.
So Mr. Kitty Psychiatrist went on. He put the first finger of his right hand straight up in the air in front of him, and then so close to Stubbytail’s nose that Stubbytail went cross-eyed trying to focus on it. Then he continued: “Most kitties your size have a tail about this size.”
Stubbytail: “Yes… So…”
Then Mr. Kitty Psychiatrist put the little finger of his right hand out, and showed Stubbytail the nail:
Your tail is probably about…so.
And he almost stuck the nail of his right hand little finger into Stubbytail’s left eye.
Stubbytail: “Woa!! Really? That’s really strange, because I feel my tail wagging sometimes. Are you absolutely sure?” With this, Stubbytail turned around and stuck his little bottom right up in the air so Dr. Cohen could get a better look at his tail, such as it was.
Mr. Kitty Psychiatrist: “No question about it. l run into plenty of cases like this. You not only have a stubby tail. You also have a case of Phantom Tail Syndrome.”
At this point Catnip Arcade Station came into view. Dr. Cohen mumbled a hurried word of parting, and was off.
…So that is how Stubbytail found out he had a stubby tail and Phantom Tail Syndrome.
Chapter 2
Stubbytail’s Photo Goes Viral
But Stubbytail was not satisfied.
He was determined to see for himself, so he turned himself over and up, trying to get a look.
A fellow passenger happened to take a photo at this particular moment, which he shared; which then went viral, unbenounced to Stubbytail.
This is the pose Stubbytail was in when the photo was taken.
One person was very excited when he saw the viral photo. He was a member of the Delft Historical Society, who was visiting the city.
However, the photo came and went so quickly going viral that he was strangely unable to find it anywhere on the internet when he sat down to research it the next morning.
Chapter 3
Stubbytail’s Identity Takes an Unexpected Turn
Stubbytail stopped trying to see his tail.
It was impossible for now.
This wasn’t the first time, or even the second time he had tried. As a matter of fact, it was sort of an obsession with him; looking for his tail in this position.
But if he were going to succeed, he would need to take a yoga class and work on his flexibility, he thought.
Stubbytail had a lot to think about.
Dr. Cohen was not the first to have hinted at something being amiss with his tail. But Stubbytail had paid no attention. He had remained amazingly and single-mindedly oblivious.
Now, he started remembering things……..
He was so deep in thought that he forgot where he was and what he was doing, until another passenger who had been sent the photo of Stubbytail on Instagram, showed it to him.
And as the other passenger was showing Stubbytail his cellphone screen, another photo of Stubbytail popped up. In this one, Stubbytail was sticking his bottom up in the air, showing it to Dr. Cohen.
(There were a lot of passengers on the Kitty Express that day with their phones poised to click.)
When Stubbytail saw the photos, it was all clear to him for the first time.
From the second photo, anyone could see he had no tail.
But the first photo…
As I said before, “he” was in for another big surprise.
Because where there should have been a set of balls, in that photo, there were none.
How could that be? Stubbytail was truly beside himself.
Then he remembered a drawing identical to that photo.
It had been drawn by an artist Stubbytail’s owner had met at a book signing when he was with Stubbytail. The artist had convinced Stonewall, Stubbytail’s owner, to have Stubbytail pose for the him.
This is how it happened at the book signing:
Stonewall: “Stubbytail is my great buddy; though he is delusional”.
Stonewall’s twin:
“I agree. He is so sure he’s got a tail.”
Artist: “I’d like to draw him. What could he loose? Certainly NOT his tail.
And the three had a hearty laugh over Artist’s successful attempt at humor at Stubbytail’s expense.
But Stubbytail hadn’t heard.
Stubbytail didn’t even know he was posing when it happened in a quiet room Stonewall had found next to the hall where the book signing was taking place.
Artist finally got the last crucial line down, and Stubbytail uprighted himself, as all the blood had run to his head.
Unbenounced to Stubbytail, Artist had drawn him.
And he had faithfully recorded what Stubbytail hadn’t noticed; actually two things, that Stubbytail hadn’t noticed, or ignored.
One, Stubbytail had no tail to speak of.
And two, Stubbytail had no balls.
Chapter 4
Stubby Tail Has a Glimpse at the MEANING OF LIFE
He wasn’t having any of it.
He a she?
She was still on the Kitty Express.
It was then she remembered Dr. Cohen, who had exited shortly before.
She felt a restlessness and started looking around.
There was only one cat in her immediate vicinity. She knew it was a male from his subtle odour which she was apparently engineered to recognize and appreciate.
He was taking up an entire seat.
He sensed eyes on him and raised his head to look around.
Their eyes met.
A primal communication brought them both to the exit and they jumped out together as if it had been choreographed.
As Stubbytail landed she saw how far this had gone within the space of a few seconds.
It all seemed very natural…but Stubbytail, who had already had too many surprises for one day, bound back into the Kitty Express a split second before the doors slammed shut.
Had she had a tail at that moment, she would have lost it between those slamming doors.
Woa, she thought, dazed but safe for the moment.
Is this what it is being female?
She had some serious thinking to do.
But it wasn’t going to happen.
Not now.
She fell asleep a moment later, on the bench of the Kitty Express where THE ONLY OTHER CAT IN THE VICINITY had been napping a few moments before.
When she woke up, she didn’t remember anything.
But something inside her had subtly altered. Something aside from her being female.
Now she also knew she had a purpose. She didn’t know what it was. But she knew she eventually would.
It was then she realized she would have to change her name, much as she loved it.
If she was going to be a force to be reckoned with, and she was convinced that would be the case, it wasn’t reasonable to think she could do it with a name like Stubbytail.
Or was it?
Chapter 5
Stubby Tail Has Something to Say
Maybe Stubbytail COULD keep her name.
Wow…what a day!….she thought.
Time to head home. But her mind was a blank.
She couldn’t remember A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G.
Not where she lived, or with whom, though she remembered very clearly THE ONLY OTHER CAT IN THE VICINITY; a truly AMAZING cat.
She decided she was going to like being female.
(She certainly wasn’t suffering from Phantom Ball Syndrome.)
She would just have to take it slow.
Time for a start fresh.
At the next opportunity Stubbytail made her exit from the Kitty Express.
There was no use looking back. It was all a complete blank…except for the AMAZING cat from the Kitty Express.
She would just have to see how things work themselves out.
When the Kitty Express stopped in front of The Stationary Store, a few minutes later, Stubbytail jumped down and made her exit.
Inside the stationary store, she took a good look around.
She must organize her chaotic thoughts.
She would need:
a notebook
a pencil,
a pencil sharpener,
and an eraser
She got right to it.
The notebook she found could not have been better; with “NOTES” written in capital letters on the cover.
And the eraser she picked was a rectangular one that fit into her paw like it was made for it.
Next door there was a convenience shop with a soft drink dispensing machine; and another with sandwiches wrapped in cellophane. She found a can of root beer, and a tuna sandwich with lettuce and a slice of pickle.
Across the road was a lovely public garden.
There she found a grassy spot, out of the way, where she took out her pencil, eraser, and notebook with the word “NOTES”, written on the front cover in capital letters, and began writing.
This is what she wrote:
I know I am just a feline,
and one who doesn’t really have any tail to speak of,
but tails are not entirely essential, and Stubbytail is exactly who I am.
And I love the sound of it.
So…
Leaving my imperfections aside,
I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY.
Really? She thought…. Really??
She had written it IN CAPITAL LETTERS.
Should she take it back? Erase it? Put it on the trash heap of history?
After a bit of a think, a frosty, thirst-quenching root beer, and a lovely tuna sandwich with lettuce and a pickle-slice, Stubbytail decided it was true that she had something to say …..or would be true eventually…
She wasn’t going to take it back.
She wasn’t going to erase it.
She would not throw it on the trash heap of history.
She would grow into it.
Meanwhile she thought about what she DID know.
Stubby Tail didn’t have a lot of experience. She was young. Primal; new to the dating-mating-game.
She had just managed to avoid a major first encounter, but it was clear she was going to have to get a handle on this female thing.
And it was going to take some time.
Meanwhile, the weather was absolutely fabulous. The sun was high. Stubbytail stretched out.
Before she could get another thought in edgewise, she was out like a light.
Chapter 6
Navigating Through Ancient Irrigation Systems
Stubby Tail was obsessed with the ONLY OTHER CAT IN THE VICINITY.
He was the only thing she could remember and she didn’t understand how that could be.
Those were her last thoughts before falling asleep in the fragrant foliage in the warm sun after her tuna sandwich and root beer, in the public gardens across from The Stationary Store, next to the stop where she had exited the Kitty Express.
And she dreamt.
She was being propelled by water through a tunnel which was part of an ancient irrigation system.
The tunnel’s opening was in a huge stone wall five meters above a pool of water.
Stubby Tail landed in the pool with a great splash.
And coming down, feet first, directly above her was
…THE ONLY OTHER CAT IN THE VICINITY.
He landed on top of her, taking the breath right out of her.
I’m lucky to be alive, she thought.
I could have drowned.
And that is when the water from the pool was suddenly flushed out from under her…and she was together with HIM, at the bottom of the empty pool.
She couldn’t think.
There was something wrong with her head.
She had taken a direct hit.
THE ONLY OTHER CAT IN THE VICINITY didn’t have a name, but he did have an opinion.
HE wasn’t confused or conflicted, though he was a bit shaken up from being flushed through an ancient irrigation tunnel in Stubbytail’s dream.
He KNEW this feline was for him.
So he nuzzled up to her and she started to purr.
And as he did…Stubbytail, who was also totally shaken up, but still more than ecstatic to have found him, nuzzled him back.
And a moment after, Stubbytail vanished into thin air.
She had never done that before, she thought.
The last time she felt a compulsion to leave, she had just jumped back onto the Kitty Express.
She was now tumbling through time and space, until she came to rest in the middle of a threshing floor. The air here was fresh with a splendid breeze. There was a large enclosure. Goats and camels were tethered by a watering trough. Piled high by onr side were sacks of grain. Not a soul was in sight.
She took a footpath that led from the threshing floor through the fields, to the gates of a settlement fortified by a high stone wall. Here, a market was under way. Goods were up for barter; crude farming tools, barley beer, and pomegranates the size of melons.
Stubbytail was mildly interested, but getting more anxious by the minute.
She couldn’t stay here.
Her instinct was telling her the only thing that really mattered now was THE ONLY OTHER CAT IN THE VICINITY. She must get back immediately. With this thought, she began tumbling back through time and space…
…until she found herself back in the pool with no water.
…But THE ONLY OTHER CAT IN THE VICINITY was no longer there.
Stubby Tail considered. Had she landed in a different century?
But the pool was still empty. And it looked just as it had the first time.
Maybe THE ONLY OTHER CAT IN THE VICINITY was STILL in the vicinity somewhere.
Stubbytail decided to look for people; because where there are people, there is food; and where there is food, there is usually a cat or two. And THE ONLY OTHER CAT IN THE VICINITY must be famished; Stubbytail certainly was.
She heard the very faint sound of music and trotted off in its direction.
It led to a cave.
Far down into the cave, she saw firelight flickering ahead. When she reached the light, she was in the suddenly in the midst of a gala celebration with dancing and music and food…
…and a big piece of FISH…under a table, between some feet not far from her.
She made a bee line for it.
She wasn’t alone.
THE ONLY OTHER CAT IN THE VICINITY got there just as she did and in short order the two of them reduced the fish to a few bits and bones.
After their fish dinner, and when both of them had cleaned themselves up, Stubbytail, who was more than ecstatic to have found him, nuzzled THE ONLY OTHER CAT IN THE VICINITY.
And this is when Stubbytail woke up from her dream.
Her notebook was lying beside her in the grass.
She couldn’t remember her dream.
The sun was no longer high in the sky.
Chapter 7
Stubbytail Goes in Search of THE ONLY OTHER CAT IN THE VICINITY
Stubbytail decided it was time to find THE ONLY OTHER CAT IN THE VICINITY.
She took Kitty Express back to the station where THE ONLY OTHER CAT IN THE VICINITY had gotten off, and got off herself.
She looked around. There was a butcher shop, a restaurant, and a tuna processing and canning factory behind locked gates.
This would be HIS choice, she thought; and slipped under the gate.
She searched the grounds and the building, top to bottom but HE was nowhere to be seen.
She found a way onto the factory roof. From here she could see for miles around. She scanned the countryside but saw nothing of note.
Stubbytail had run out of ideas.
In any case, she was too hungry to think. Then, she remembered a row of garbage cans she had passed inside the front gate on her way up.
In a flash, she was back there, sniffing around a garbage can that was overflowing.
That’s when THE ONLY OTHER CAT IN THE VICINITY appeared, seemingly out of…
…nowhere…
Stubbytail was so tremendously relieved to see HIM, that she nuzzled him; and this time it wasn’t a dream.
Chapter 8
Doing What Comes Naturally
It was time for a decent supper. As there wasn’t much tasty here, they ducked under the factory gate, and headed for the restaurant. Behind the restaurant they found a tray with two barely touched chicken dinners. In short order they were nothing but a few stray bones.
After a wash up, they found a warm spot and snuggled up for a well-deserved sleep.
They must have done more than sleep, because two months later Stubby Tail had a litter of five beautiful little kittens who looked just like herself and THE ONLY OTHER CAT IN THE VICINITY. And they all had nice long kitty tails the size of Dr. Kitty psychiatrist’s little finger.
….not that tails really matter.
Part II How Artist’s Drawing Would Eventually be Auctioned Off at Christie’s for an Exorbitant Amount
Chapter 1
Background
Note: The following is NOT ALL true.
There was a series of cat prints made on one of the earliest printing presses to arrive in Delft, in the Hague, in the early sixteen hundreds.
There were twelve prints in the series; cats in various positions; sometimes a single cat; sometimes pairs.
This series of prints was authenticated from original sources to have existed. They were attributed to Johannes Vermeer’s sketch books from the days of his art apprenticeship in Utrecht.
No trace of any of the prints in the CAT Series has ever been found.
The last drawing of the series, drawing number twelve, was entitled “CAT WITHOUT A TAIL”.
We know this from the Delft Printing Company records which are now preserved in the Delft Historical Printing Society Archives.
Recently, a large trove of art objects and related, stolen by the Nazis during World War II, was recovered from Siegen, Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia.
Among the items was a letter written in 1648 by an apprentice of the Delft Printing Company, Hans van Delft, who assisted in the printing of the CAT Series. In his letter, Hans van Delft sketched and described “CAT WITHOUT A TAIL”.
His sketch looked very much like this sketch:
The cat was in the same pose, and looked like Stubbytail.
I would even go as far as to say…that it WAS Stubbytail.
BUT HOW COULD THAT BE?
There must be some mistake.
Mustn’t there?
Let us return to the evening of the book signing….
Chapter 2
Book Signing Event
Stubbytail had a comfortable life with Stonewall and his twin brother in an apartment on the third floor, in the middle of the city. They were both bookworms and often attended lectures and other literary events. On the evening of the book signing Stonewall and his brother left the apartment, not realizing that Stubbytail had decided to join them and had slipped out behind them before the door slammed shut.
At a corner where they were standing, not far from the public hall where the book signing was about to begin, a six year old on a scooter cut in front of Stonewall and his brother, grazing Stonewall and almost knocking him to the ground. Stubbytail screeched in surprise, which is when the brothers finally noticed him. Stonewall whisked him up from the sidewalk unceremoniously and deposited him in the kangaroo pouch of his hoodie.
The venue of the book signing was a public hall.
At the far end of it were a dozens of lines of empty folding chairs set up in front of a long table which was piled with unsigned books. The hall which was full of people mulling around holding hot drinks in paper cups, eating cookies from the refreshments table, and talking enthusiastically about literature.
Stubbytail slipped out of Stonewall’s hoodie pocket as they entered and made a beeline for the refreshments table, hoping to find some spilt milk. What he found there was far more riveting; a tiny mouse by the back leg of the refreshments table casually eating a dropped cookie crumb.
Stubbytail lunged for him.
In survival mode, this tiny little mouse was faster than lightning. As he made his unhinged way through the crowd with Stubbytail at his tail, women started screaming and a stampede for the exit ensued.
The chase ended only after the entire terrified crowd was relocated outside.
When Stonewall saw Stubbytail next, he was licking his chops, oblivious to the chaos he had unleashed. Stonewall whisked him back into the kangaroo pocket of his hoodie, trying to make him disappear.
The crowd was invited back into the hall.
This is when the conversation that led to Artist drawing Stubbytail took place.
Stonewall, his twin brother, and Artist were laughing about Stubbytail having nothing to lose, certainly NOT his tail, were Artist to draw him.
These are their exact words:
Stonewall: “Stubbytail is my great buddy; though he is delusional”.
Stonewall’s twin: “I agree. He is so sure he’s got a tail.”
Artist: “I’d like to draw him. What could he loose? Certainly NOT his tail.
And the three had a hearty laugh over Artist’s successful attempt at humor at Stubbytail’s expense.
But Stonewall was intrigued by the idea. He was an art enthusiast, as well as a book enthusiast. He would LOVE to have a drawing of Stubbytail.
As Artist had a few blank folio pages and charcoal ready, Stonewall suggested they find a suitable location and do it immediately.
The drawing was executed, in a small room off the main hall of the book signing event.
Artist went in first, followed by Stonewall’s brother. Stonewall was the last to enter. He closed the door securely and put Stubbytail down.
Stubbytail didn’t know he was here to have his picture drawn.
By this time he was quite subdued; tired from digesting his Mouse meal.
He didn’t have a clue why he had been brought to this room.
He simply saw it as an opportunity to finally get a proper look at his “tail”;
as he never seemed to tire of the subject of his tail, or lack thereof.
He positioned himself by the wall to get the very best view; put his head on the floor and flipped his legs over and above his head. He was concentrating; doing his best to see; but without luck; holding the pose long enough for Artist to capture it.
The whole episode lasted a very short while.
And Artist wouldn’t let Stonewall pay even a penny for the sketch. He said Stubbytail had provided so much cat and mouse entertainment, that a drawing was the least he could offer in return.
Chapter 3
The Great Storm
Later that evening, Stonewall and his brother were on their way home with Stubbytail, when a great storm broke out unexpectedly. Flash floods followed torrential rain. Stonewall almost drowned.
Stubbytail disappeared along with Stonewall’s backpack with the drawing Artist had made of Stubbytail in it.
Stonewall was picked up and brought to the overwhelmed emergency room. Processing took hours.
As Stonewall was waiting, he was also worrying. His affection for Stubbytail only increased with Stubbytail’s shinannigans.
Luckily a flyer with a photo of Stubbytail on it was posted outside the emergency room, which Stonewall noticed as he was leaving.
It read:
CAT WITHOUT A TAIL FOUND
PLEASE CLAIM
At Animal Shelter
When Stonewall saw the flyer at the Emergency Room exit, he went directly to the Animal Shelter.
As an aside, another one of the flyers that Stonewall saw on leaving the emergency room, also came to the attention of another member of the Delft Historical Society who was vacationing in the city when the storm hit. When he saw Stubbytail’s photo, he felt sure this cat was connected to the CAT WITHOUT A TAIL drawing from the CAT Series from Vermeer’s sketch books. But the situation was post-flood chaotic, and there was no one available to ask about anything. He, too, returned to Holland, learning no more about Stubbytail’s connection to the Vermeer CAT Series.
Chapter 4
Can Time Travel Account for Stubbytail’s Disappearance?
So what happened to Stubbytail and Stonewall’s backpack, during the hours he went missing before he was found and brought to the Animal Shelter?
When Stubbytail “disappeared” during the flood, he went unconscious; so he did not experience his tumble through space and time.
When he gained consciousness, he was on a platform in front of a room full of young artist apprentices about to start sketching.
THEY interested him not in the least.
What did interest him, was the spot where wall met platform; HERE he might finally get a proper look at his “tail”. Having failed to see it when he was being drawn at the book signing; he was now even more determined to get a look.
So he took “the pose” we are all now familiar with; the same pose Hans van Delft had described and sketched in his letter of 1648; the same pose that had been caught by an instagrammer on the Kitty Express; and the same pose he had taken at the book signing event.
Stubbytail concentrated his attention and breathed deeply and slowly to settle and sink even more deeply into the pose to get a better view.
All his settling and sinking and deep breathing were to no avail. He must have held the pose for five minutes before uprighting himself. He had not gotten A SINGLE PROPER GLIMPSE.
The art lesson was now winding up. The instructor was making the rounds, commenting here and there.
Apprentices were looking at the sketches of their neighbors, arranging their work spaces, and putting personal items back in their bags.
The instructor began excusing the apprentices in alphabetical order.
The last to leave was an intense young man whose sketch had attracted the attention of apprentices and instructor alike….Johannes Vermeer.
Chapter 5
The Travels of a Sketch Book
Johannes Vermeer’s sketchbook was sitting on the chair in the work area he had vacated a moment before, open to the sketch of Stubbytail.
Stubbytail took a look. Even now, he wasn’t aware that HE was the subject of the drawing or that he had been the class model.
In the sketch, he could see this cat’s stubby tail clearly. So THIS is what a stubby tail looks like, he thought. But who WAS this cat that looked so familiar to him? Things weren’t adding up.
Just then, a servant entered with ladder, soap, water and rags. He leant the ladder against the wall, climbed it, and began sudsing windows.
Two burly fellows started removing furniture.
Stubbytail noticed Stonewall’s backpack on the edge of the platform. In one swift move, he grabbed it, stuffed Johannes Vermeer’s sketch book into it, and left.
Safely outside, he panicked.
Had he lost his mind?
He remembered THOU SHALT NOT STEAL from church with Stonewall, and shrunk from himself.
He had NEVER stolen anything before; never even CONSIDERED it.
He was shaken.
His heart was beating uncontrollably.
If this went on, he would faint.
He stretched out on a bench in the courtyard and began breathing deeply and rhythmically, deeply and rhythmically. Finally he could breathe again.
He would survive.
He reflected. Perhaps stealing the sketch book had something to do with unfamiliar and unusual circumstances and surroundings.
He must get home immediately.
If not, he might melt down completely.
With that thought and a quick tumble through time and space, he was back on the corner where he had almost gotten run over before the book signing. The flooding had stopped; the city was in chaos.
A Pet Rescue van slowed to a stop along side him and offered him some Kitty Snack Morsels. Before he knew it, he was in the back of the van eating a whole handful.
When they arrived at the shelter and was being processed, a volunteer noticed his “tail”. A photo of him was taken, and flyers were printed up and plastered on every available noticeboard in the city, and outside the emergency room as well.
Stonewall saw the flyer with Stubbytail’s picture on the bulletin board at the exit of the Emergency Room as he was leaving, and went straight to the Animal Shelter.
When Stonewall got his first glimpse of Stubbytail at the Animal Shelter, he was looking subdued, and had Stonewall’s backpack by his side.
Stonewall was so relieved to see Stubbytail, and so exhausted; that he collected kitty and backpack without fanfare, and got them home after two in the morning.
They went straight to bed and slept long and hard; Stubby curled up safety in Stonewall’s loving arms.
Chapter 6
Stonewall Discovers the Sketchbook
For the next week Stonewall’s backpack remained undisturbed, on a hook by the front door.
The emergency room doctor had given Stonewall a week sick leave to recover, and Stubbytail was happy just to laze around the apartment with him. They ate ice cream for snacks, Stonewall reread some of his favorite paperbacks, and they lounged together on the hammock in the living room, listening to music with the sun streaming in.
When Stonewall finally took his backpack off the hook near the front door to organize it the night before he was to return to work, Stubbytail entered anxiety mode.
He had been concerned that his theft of the sketch book would come to light and that Stonewall would lose respect for him; or even throw him out.
But Stubbytail had managed to forget about it completely for a time.
It helped being back in the present and four centuries removed from his crime.
But it didn’t help that the evidence was in the backpack on the hook by the front door.
So when Stonewall took it down from the hook, he had Stubbytail’s undivided attention.
“What is this? ” he asked,
“…a SKETCH BOOK?”
The sketch book he pulled out of the bag was open to a sketch of Stubbytail. It was exceptional somehow. Stonewall looked through the sketch book. It was full of magical cat sketches. Stonewall checked for a name.
JOHANNES VERMEER
was printed clearly on the cover.
And there was another drawing of Stubbytail in the backpack: Artist’s drawing of Stubbytail from the book signing.
Stubbytail couldn’t tell his own story; but the sketch book said it all. It was extraordinary. The two sketches of Stubby Tail, the one drawn by Artist; the other by Johannes Vermeer, WERE IDENTICAL, or at least as close to identical as two drawings of the same subject, in the same pose, by the same artist; could be.
Stonewall had been suspecting Stubbytail was more than he appeared to be for some time now. Many incidents had hinted at the possibility. But this sketch book PROVED that Stubbytail was a TIME TRAVELER.
But was Johannes Vermeer also…a time traveler?
Because Johannes Vermeer must have drawn Stubbytail at the book signing.
Was there any other possible explanation?
This was beginning to get complicated.
And Stonewall didn’t have the time for it just now.
He got out his lunch box; made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, wrapped them; took out a banana, washed and trimmed celery stalks, and put them all into his lunchbox, which went into his backpack, along with his wallet and a hoodie.
He needed a good night’s sleep.
He took a nice hot shower and was in bed by 10:00.
But he couldn’t sleep. The drawing of Stubbytail, and wondering about Johannes Vermeer at the book signing, …if it WAS him…
Stonewall made a decision to contact the organizers of the book signing as soon as possible, to see if he could learn more. When this decision was made, he immediately relaxed into a deep, rejuvenating sleep.
Chapter 7
Stonewall Does His Research
The next day at lunch break, Stonewall called the organizers of the book signing event. They located the contact list the participants had filled out when they were finally seated in the hall that night.
“Artist” wasn’t on the list.
But Johannes Vermeer was.
In the column for Johannes Vermeer’s email, were these words:
ART TRANSCENDS TIME
And in the comments column:
I CAME TO DRAW STUBBYTAIL A SECOND TIME
This was all Stonewall needed.
And it was more than AMAZING.
Stonewall was so excited at his discovery, he had difficulty getting through that afternoon of work.
But could it be a HOAX?
Just to make sure it wasn’t, for the next few weeks, Stonewall did everything in his power to locate Artist. He visited every art gallery and art venue in the city, asking questions; looking for a lead. He also contacted every participant of the book signing event.
One of the participants, Daniel Depardieu, had been talking with friends in the hall outside the room where Artist had drawn Stubby Tail.
This is what he had to say:
“Stonewall’s twin brother left the room first. Behind him was Stonewall carrying Stubbytail. Artist exited last. And as he was closing the door behind him….. HE VANISHED INTO THIN AIR. I wasn’t sure if I had imagined it.”
After Stonewall told him everything he knew…Daniel Depardieu realized it was Johannes Vermeer he had witnessed vanishing.
One of the friends Daniel Depardieu was in conversation with when Artist disappeared, was a journalist by the name of Adrian Trader. He also thought he saw Artist disappear; but his attention had been on Stubbytail; so he wasn’t sure.
Daniel Depardieu was so excited after he got off the phone with Stonewall that he called Adrian. Adrian lost no time writing an article which reached his editor’s inbox by the end of the same day.
The article was entitled:
JOHANNES VERMEER
DEFIES TIME TO DRAW
STUBBYTAIL A SECOND TIME
It was the lead article in the magazine section of that weekend’s local newspaper…
….and it was a sensation.
The article was emailed to the Delft Historical Society as well as to the Utrecht Society for the Preservation of Art and Culture. Both who had a particular interest in Johannes Vermeer.
In short order, the article was published internationally.
It also went viral.
Everyone was talking about it.
“Time travel”, “Johannes Vermeer”, and “Stubbytail” topped Google Search for weeks.
It changed Stonewall’s life. He couldn’t leave the apartment without being accousted by members of the news media. Naturally, his twin brother was getting the same treatment.
Christie’s Auctions got in touch with Johannes Vermeer shortly after, when he and his brother were reaching the breaking point and desperate to return to anonymity. Stonewall agreed to let them auction Johannes Vermeer’s sketch from the book signing event.
And that is how Johannes Vermeer’s drawing of Stubbytail reached the hands of a Christie’s Auction House and was later auctioned off for an Exorbitant sum.
As for Johannes Vermeer’s sketch book, Stonewall had had enough excitement for awhile, so he put it in the bottom of his bureau drawer
———————-?———————-
and forgot about it until something happened to remind him.
But that is another story.
THE END
Israelcraft 
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