I was
quietly reading Jean Rhys’ unfinished autobiography in my dirty bathroom when
my cat suddenly awoke in the living room.
She started
meowing frenetically. All kinds of meows, punctuated by dozens of question
marks: ?????? ??? like a child
waking up from a nightmare and feeling abandoned at home.
She
proceeded to move her meowing symphony closer to me, she entered the bathroom,
put one paw against the bathtube, blinked her eyes and said:
‘i repent
openly, i did not open my agenda this week and i just realized that i forgot
the memorable 26th of October 1985. I blame
myself for this thoughtlessness but to me days all look alike and i’m sometimes
trying to find out which day it is. So please
accept, even a few days late, that i wish you from the bottom of my heart:
happy birthday’