Caesar’s day out

“Stop it, Victor, stop it right now! “Caesar said irritably and squeezed his eyes shut and pretended that he has no ears. Victor has been scratching noisily, spoiling his precious morning slumber.
Victor did not stop.
Caesar tried to tuck one of his ears under his head and raised a paw to cover the other ear.
‘Hsss!’ The raised paw touched something hot and he woke up with a startle. His body and the entire surrounding were vibrating. There were belts moving inches closer to him. Caesar controlled his urge to jump and stared at the moving parts, licking the paw.
“Ah…it hurts” he muttered.
This was not the first for Caesar. He had been in the bonnet of a moving car earlier, but could jump off at the gate and run back home. He was sure that being the smart little kitty that he was, he would be able to get down just in time and get back to safety.
Not this time.
Caesar used all his claws to hold on to the beam as the car left the good road and entered a street with stone paving.
‘Cling... clang… cling… clang’ the parts of the car protested in unison, but the vehicle did not stop.
“Hey human, stop the car!“ Caesar shouted, but the car continued along the bumpy road.
“Stop, or I will chew your fingers off!” Caesar was sure that he did not hear, for this was a good enough threat to get the car stopped immediately.
I should have listened to mom. He thought. She has been asking Caesar not to sleep in the car bonnet.
Tears started forming in Caesar’s eyes. “Smart kittens don’t cry” he told himself.
“I will tell mom all about this adventure.” He decided. “But this one is enough; I will never again sleep in the bonnet”
Caesar’s paws started hurting from clutching at the beam.
“I hope the human goes back home quickly…this is so tiresome. “ He thought. He was feeling thirsty and a bit hungry too. He may have dozed off for a second, for he very clearly tasted milk and was licking his lips.
Another bump. Caesar’s claws came loose for a second and he fell down from the beam
He landed on four feet for sure, but before he could shout ‘Stop’ the car continued moving and as he was running frantically behind it, the car turned a corner and disappeared from sight.
“Stop!... come back!… stop! “Caesar continued shouting, with tears streaming down his cheeks. He ran and turned the corner but the car was nowhere in sight. He was panting and breathless and the cries were just short of becoming silent.
“Oh… No… how will I ever meet mom and Victor again!” Caesar thought in despair.
He saw a puddle and drank from it. He felt a bit better.
“Hey kitty, where did you come from?” Suddenly someone lifted him and he reached the level of a human’s face. Many wrinkles, long white hair in a bun. Scary? He half closed his eyes and decided, No.
“I am lost” He said “Help me!”
The human ignored him and inspected his collar. “’’ Caesar’? that is a big name for a small kitten. Nina, look what I have found!”
A little human appeared at the door “A kitten? So cute…” and she look Caesar in her arms. Caesar squirmed and protested, but she tightened her grip.
“Black as coal and it is Friday the 13th. But he sure is cute.”
“Easy… easy…kitty. Can we keep him, Granny?”
“He has a collar…someone must have lost him, and will come searching for him.”
“If no one comes?”
“Let us place a board at the gate with his name and photo.”
“Hm… kitty dear, you look tired. let me give you some milk.”
The little human was not scary too…and Caesar was very thirsty. He emptied the bowl of milk and thanked her. She placed him at the window sill.
“No…”Caesar protested “I need to wait outside. Otherwise I will not see when my human comes”
She rudely ignored him and closed the door so he could not go out.
“Let me out! Please!” Caesar almost cried, but she ignored him again and sat down on the couch observing him.
“If I walk back, I will reach where the bumpy road started. From there, I can turn left …but I don’t know the route before that” Caesar wacked his head with his right paw. How stupid, not listening to mom!
He watched the road from the windowsill. There was sun and a mild shower. Afternoon came and slowly evening.
“He must be hungry” the old human said. “try giving him some bread”
Caesar was hungry, he sniffed at the bread, but did not like it. “I eat biscuits, not bread” he said, but the human pretended not to listen. She placed the plate near him and went. Some more time passed and he sniffed at the bread again. It was a little more appealing this time. As he was considering taking a bite, the doorbell rang.
The little human opened the door and there stood his human!
“Excuse me” He said, “I have lost a kitten. Any chance you have found one?”
Before she could answer, Caesar was at his side, giving him head bumps. He picked Caesar up, and stroked his head.
“Oh… dear… so happy to see you buddy! So you took a ride in the car?”
Caesar said “Yes”, and uncharacteristically added “I missed you too!” and licked the human’s face.
“How did you know that he was here?” the little human asked
“He has a GPS tracker chip. We too had not realised it would come this handy!”
“Oh…the chip” Caesar finally forgave the human for taking him to the vet and hurting him some time ago.
‘GPS chip’ he memorised. “I should tell mom that it is okay to sleep in the bonnet. The humans can find me wherever I am!”