Entanglements

29th November 2021: ocicat, n. A breed of domestic cat which has a spotted coat somewhat resembling that of some wild cat species; a cat of this breed.

30th November 2021: carry-castle, n. An elephant (in allusion to the former use of war elephants to carry turrets with soldiers in them).

1st December 2021: flatshare, v. To share a flat with other people, typically as cohabitants of rented accommodation; to engage in flat-sharing.

2nd December 2021: amirite, int. ‘Am I right?’, used to invite agreement or to assert that one’s previous statement is correct.

3rd December 2021: infodemic, n. A proliferation of diverse, often unsubstantiated information relating to a crisis, controversy, or event, which disseminates rapidly and uncontrollably through news, online, and social media.

4th December 2021: amscray, v. To depart quickly, to scram.

5th December 2021: bardo, n. In Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism: an intermediate or transitional state; esp. a state of existence between death and rebirth.

Prrrrrruuuurrrr. The deep rumble shudders beneath the ocicat’s dappled fur as she surveys her hunting ground. Her prey hides in the shrub and the craters of the carry-castle foot. But she will sniff it out. Her human’s call snaps her out of her fantasy. It’s time for an easier meal. Suppertime in a flatshare arrangement is so much more civilised – amirite? as her human would say. Is she, indeed? Wrong about so many things and yet, in this infodemic, she probably stays afloat, on the correct side of right or wrong. She gives a quick hiss in the direction of the mouse she had pursued, satisfied that her performance has caused it to amscray, wherever it is, as she trots back to the dwelling her human provides. Later, when she swirls in the bardo’s mists, she will recall this place, this moment with both fondness and shame, delighting in her games and yet disgusted by the pet she had become.