When I moved to the big city, everyone warned me.

“Nobody cares about you there. You’re just another stranger.”

“You won’t make any friends!”

“Either people ignore you or they swear at you, and those are the best-case scenarios.”

Well, I was a grown-up, and a lot of people live in the city. I can handle it, I thought, and I moved into a downtown apartment with my cat, Chloe. I unpacked my boxes and got settled in, while Chloe made herself at home in one of the now-empty boxes.

Sitting down, staring at the bare white walls, the apartment felt cold and foreign. It smelled weird, it felt weird, it sounded weird. Even my trusty beanbag chair and beloved posters couldn’t make it feel like home. I slapped my legs, making Chloe jump out of her box. It was time for our ritual: the evening walk.

While she purred excitedly, I grabbed the leash and put on her harness. We ran down the stairs, eager for the autumn evening sun. When we opened the old door of my apartment complex, yellow and red maple leaves blew into the corridor. The tiles soaked in amber light, and the strange halls felt a bit more welcoming. Chloe bounded onto the sidewalk, pawing at the leaves with delight. I let the leash run loose, smiling.

People walked by briskly, some ignoring my cat rolling in the leaves, others staring expressionlessly. Then, an older lady stopped in her tracks.

“You’re walking your cat? On a leash, my dear?”

I nodded.

“What a curious kitty cat. My cat, Wilma, hates wearing a collar, but she loves playing with yarn. But I have to stand by carefully, because she also loves chewing on wool. Can’t let that silly kitty cat alone...”

I listened to the lady’s story until Chloe started tugging on her leash. I waved the woman goodbye. She waved back quickly and excitedly, still thrilled by the cat on the leash.

Chloe led me a few more meters, then started sniffing a lamppost.

“That is an interesting animal... is it a cat?” A man in a well-tailored suit eyed Chloe.

I nodded. He watched Chloe roll in the sand. Shaking his head, he muttered to himself, “I don’t understand people who pay abhorrent sums of money for these ugly hairless cat breeds.” He glanced at his watch and tapped his Bluetooth earpiece before striding off.

“You are neither an ugly nor a hairless cat,” I whispered to Chloe. She didn’t care. She rubbed her splotchy fur in the sand, coating herself in dust. Then she jerked upright and tugged at the leash again. Time to go.

She led me into a park, where we sat down on the grass. A group of teenagers smoked nearby, chattering and laughing in buzzy happiness.

“Woah, look at that cat. Damn!” one boy shouted, pointing at Chloe.

Chloe chewed grass. She didn’t care. The girls stared at her like she was an alien.

“Why is she missing so much fur? Is she sick or something?”

“Oh no.” I smiled. “I got her like that.”

The girls nodded uncertainly. The boy leaned closer. “What happened to her eyes?”

I smiled wider. “Oh, she doesn’t mind. She doesn’t need them. She sees with her spirit.”

The girls got up, drifting back toward the park paths. The boy lingered, staring at Chloe’s hollow eye sockets, where silvery spirit-ponds swirled. I smiled encouragingly.

“Oh, it’s totally normal. It happens when you get a cat from the pet cemetery and it’s been lying there a bit. Some of my relatives back home can restore the parts more naturally than I can, but it’s an art form.” I sighed, still smiling. “Do you want to pet her?”

The girls called him away. He shrugged helplessly. “Maybe another time. Have a nice day.”

I waved goodbye, scratching Chloe’s chin.

“Man, we just wanted to go for a walk, and everyone treats us like celebrities.” I grinned at Chloe, who purred in response. “Have these people never seen a cat on a walk before?”