Combustion

Today the cat caught on fire.

It all happened in an instant. I remember it in freeze frame: Me, yelling and reaching for the cat who had positioned herself directly above a lit candle. Her, face changing from contented interest to terror. Gordon, lunging across the room, papers flying.

It was a whirlwind. Her fur ignited with a hissing sound and the blue flame quickly spread. For an instant I imagined the fire would engulf her and I prepared to rip my shirt off to beat the blaze with it. But as quickly as she was lit, she spontaneously extinguished. In the same instant, Gordon's hand connected with her and either by his force or of her own will, she crashed across my desk and out of the room.

I examined her while Gordon got the air-freshener spray. The smell was extraordinary.

Other than a hand-sized patch of singed fur, she appeared completely unharmed. I observed her for a while, then brushed out her fur to which she had no objections.

She is back to her usual antics- batting all the ornaments off the bottom of the tree and tearing into her new bag of cat food.

Sometimes when I think back on it, I laugh a little; but I think that's just the insanity.