I had a dream where my house is on fire and about to burn down. We have to evacuate immediately. I only have a minute or two to decide what of importance I might take with me. I immediately reach for my cat Sable and wrap him in a sheet because he is not an outdoor cat while at the same time instructing everyone in the house to “GET OUT.”
Once outside in all the commotion my cat Sable slips through my grip and runs off into the brush. He has seldom been loose outside the house and on the rare occasions that he has he has managed to find his way back home. I’m worried that if my house burns down there will be no place for him to return to. The neighbor lady is a cat lady. She has hundreds of cats that come to her front porch. As I walk past her home I notice all the cats are identical and more than that they all look exactly like my cat Sable. I can see into her living room where the television is tuned to the news station. They are showing coverage of my house burning. My niece Esther unknowingly arrives on the scene and is captured on camera. I’m surprised because she lives in California and has never been to the East Coast to visit me. What is she doing at my house unannounced? Clearly without a doubt that is her on the television screen in front of my house. I’ve got to go back to the house but first I have to get Sable.
Looking at the hundreds of cats on the porch I instinctively reach for one of the cats not even questioning whether I have the right cat or not. As I walk away with Sable in my arms. Looking into his eyes, I become aware that I have the ability to recognize my own kind.