Umdhlebi next door.

I lay on the daybed in the backyard; the warmth of the sun unfortunately did not distract me from the chilly breeze and left me shivering. At such a time it was the instinctive custom of Cat to come and sleep upon my chest but such a thing did not happen.
I had not seen cat for 5 days, her food bowl has not been touched nor has any of her winter-coat materialised mysteriously on the carpet. According to the telegraph pole posters and the council paper/magazine/property catalogue dozens of residents were also left sin los animales domésticos.
The wind then suddenly changed direction and I caught scent of a strange alien perfume. A juxtaposition of decay and fertility, heady and alluring. My curiosity was sparked and I endeavoured to climb my neighbour’s fence.
I say endeavoured for it was not an easy feat as the fence was a wall of smooth, imposing, grey stone with few crags and seams to aid the ascent. Atop the wall I could see the canopy of a large yet delicate tree, its fragile canopy danced gracefully in the breeze with its shimmering green leaves.
It seductively beseeched that I come closer and explore it foliage and discover its fine fruits. I curiously accepted the invitation and jumped across to the nearest branch and in hindsight I wouldn’t have done so due to my initial impressions of the tree.
Luckily it was strong enough to support my weight, although I almost fell off as stripped of a large portion if its outer bark thus, revealing fleshy under layer the colour of living flesh.
The large fragile green leaves shielded long pole like fruit hanging from the branches like tubular bells. They were either both wholly red and black at the same time or a motley of red and black. Like a stupid animal I picked the fruit and consumed it voraciously. Juicy and sickly sweet, the flesh was smooth and invigorating in its texture although the leathery skin, like that of an apple or pear, stuck between incisors. I ate fair amount more of these sweet fruits and lay calmly in the boughs of the tree for a time seemingly immemorial feeling much like my monkey ancestors.
Some time later I descended from the tree, blind to whatever lay below the canopy. Trapped in giddy delirium I dropped down upon the soft crab grass lawn beneath the tree and with my curiosity still unsated, very much unlike my appetite, I went and explored this wondrous garden. I saw strange and rare animals and plants from places that neither exists or known by western civilisation. I soon chanced upon a water feature. How thirsty I was, my head was aching with the sheer intensity of dehydration.
“Ah! A watering hole!” I exclaimed, for it was in fact what lay before my sleepy eyes. Peering into the crystal pool did I finally see my appearance. My once mismatched hazel eyes know had bloody red hue and my face all skeletal and dirty like a woodwo and I was completely nude for I had abandoned my clothes in the garden somewhere. This all did not bother me for one moment because I had discovered true freedom. I drank from the watering hole yet I could still not quench my first, at this point my headache had become unbearable and it was a task to stand. In my stupor I decided to go for a swim to clear my head and miraculously it worked. I now felt embarrassed by my own nakedness and hurried back to my clothes near the base of the tree.
Fully clothed I soon prepared to climb the tree again but now I saw the tree for what it truly was. The grass around the tree was entirely barren but the tree was still hearty and strong. Sadly this was not the worst for at the base did I see a menagerie of household pets and wild fauna. Cats, dogs, birds, ferrets, mice, rabbits and marsupials lay at the roots decaying at an unholy pace; some animals clearly had roots protruding into their carcasses whilst the plant seemingly drained the body of all moisture. Amongst the dead I saw Cat her white sock feet unmistakeable compared to the greenish black of the foetid soil. I tore her carcase away from the root system and rapped her in my shirt. I then tied the shirt together and held onto it with my mouth and climbed back up the wall.
I buried her that night in the garden.