The Great Catsby (Part 1): The Green Light on the Wall 🟢🥂🐈‍⬛✨

In my younger and more vulnerable years, my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. "Whenever you feel like hissing at anyone," he told me, "just remember that all the cats in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had." 🐈‍⬛💭

He meant catnip, of course, and a steady supply of wet food. 🥫 I am Nick Carraway-Cat, and that summer I moved to West Egg-Crate, a less fashionable district of the living room, squeezed between two massive bookcases. 🏚️📚

My neighbor was a mystery. He lived in a colossal **Modernist Pedestal Perch**—a factual imitation of some Hôtel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool (water bowl) across the front. 🏰🏊‍♂️✨

It was Catsby's mansion. 🦁

I had never met Catsby, but I had heard the rumors. They said he was a German spy during the Great Vacuum War. They said he once killed a man (it was actually a very large moth). But mostly, they talked about his parties. 🕵️‍♂️🦋🎉

Every night, the music (a rhythmic purring) drifted from his perch. Blue gardens (the rug) saw men and girls come and go like moths among the whisperings and the champagne (tuna-water) and the stars. 🌌🍾🦟

But it wasn't the parties that interested me most. It was what Catsby did when the guests had gone. 🤫

One night, I saw him emerge from the shadow of his pedestal. He stood at the very edge of the perch, his paws trembling. He stretched out his arms toward the dark water (the unlit hallway) in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. 🌊😿

Involuntarily I glanced seaward—and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock. Or perhaps... a laser pointer? 🟢🔦

When I looked once more for Catsby, he had vanished, and I was alone again in the unquiet darkness. 🌑🐈‍⬛

Ready for the next chapter? Nick receives an invitation to a Zoomie-Party! Find out in Part 2! 🐾✨