Biscuit and the Blue Bowl

Biscuit arrived with a cardboard box, a knitted mouse, and a habit of hiding whenever the floor creaked. She spent her first morning beneath the sofa, studying the new house one pair of ankles at a time.

At lunch, someone placed a blue bowl just beyond the sofa fringe. Biscuit crept toward it, stopped, then crept again. The water held a tiny upside-down kitten who copied every cautious blink. Biscuit touched noses with her reflection and took one brave sip.

A week later, the blue bowl had moved into the kitchen and Biscuit had moved onto the softest chair. She still inspected every creak, but now she did it as the official guardian of a home that was unmistakably hers.