Flight of the Red Bat and Soul Globe

Flight of Red Bat

Chapter One

She awoke to the sound of scampering across the floor. She turned her head to glance at the Big-Ben clock, 3:20, she smiled, she liked its eerie glow and constant tick-tock, tick -tock; they were a comfort to her. She turned back to stare at the blackness of the ceiling. Closing her eyes, she listened to the quiet of the night. Besides the sound of her clock, there was the constant chirping of crickets; in the distance, a coyote howled. Sleep started to come to her, but, as if on cue; the scampering resumed. She lay still, waiting, feeling a tug on her bedspread, pressure at the foot of the bed; then tiny pin pricks on her legs coming up towards her body. Next there was a pressure on her chest; she stretched out her right arm to tap the touch lamp on her night stand, while simultaneously lifting her left hand towards her chest. She opened her eyes to see two red orbs staring back at her. She let out a high pitched “Eeeee” this was echoed back to her” Keee, keee, keee”. She felt the bouncing up and down on her chest and looked into the sharp fanged grinning mouth.

She let out a laugh and stroked the pointy snout of her albino opossum, “Good boy Blanco” she said. He loved this daily night-time ritual. Her big black tom cat Shadow glanced up from his place on the bed, yawned and stretched his long sleek body. Sapphire eyes staring at both of them, he sat up and started grooming. He knew what was next. She sat on the side of the bed, placing her feet in her slippers. Her two furry room-mates had already left her to do her bathroom duty and waited patiently in the kitchen. She turned on the light and grabbed their bag of liver treats, each getting one. She opened a can of cat food, halving a portion into each one’s bowl. She put a handful of dry cat food into a third bowl, and then washed out the water bowl. After refilling it with fresh cold water, she set it down. She washed and dried her hands, turned out the light and returned to bed. She checked her clock making sure the alarm was set for 6:00. It was now 4:10. She might be able to go back to sleep. She yawned and closed her eyes. “Brriinngg!!” her alarm was calling. Without opening her eyes she grabbed for the clock, pushing in

the alarm. She liked not having the snooze button, that feature on her clocks was a bad thing. She said to herself,”OK old girl, time to get up”. She turned on her old analog am/fm short wave radio and listened to the oldies.

She toileted, put on her shower cap, then turned on the shower. She took cool water showers and brushed her teeth at the same time. She always did her best to conserve. She hated to waste water, she always thought about the destruction of the earth and this caused both anger and despair. She shook her head to clear her mind of these thoughts and finished getting ready for work. She put on her underwear and looked into the full length mirror on the back of the bathroom door. She laughed at herself in her beige colored old lady bra and granny panties. This is much better she thought. She walked barefoot to her kitchen and made some tea and toast. Blanco was back in his cage, his pink naked tail sticking out of the carrier, and Shadow was quietly snoozing on the sofa. After her breakfast, she finished dressing, placed her hair in a brown clip and headed for work.