The Game of Cans

It’s been raining out so Walter and I invented a game so all the apartmentites can do something in lieu of going out because of the rains. Yes, we know that even if it does not rain we are still not allowed to go out but we’d like to think that we have the option to go out and play like everyone else.

The game is called Cans. Mainly because the players are mostly cans- Corned Beef, SPAM, Pork and Beans, Tuna, Milk, Chicken Hotdogs, Vienna Sausage, Potted Meat, and Cat Food. Walter has some misgivings with having some cat food on his teams but I assured him that they would be impartial. Just like I was assured that all the other cans, who are in his care in the pantry, would also play fair.

Walter and I formed two teams with the cans. We have five cans playing at a time with the other cans on standby. The playing space is five spaces wide and five steps from each other. Five can are in a line on each side. Then Walter’s team turn away while I hide one of Ursula’s coins under one can then we can form any formation two cans thick and three cans wide. Then our team faces the back while Walter team does the same. The object of the game is to guess where the other team hid the treasure.

The captains of each team- namely Walter and I- may command a member of their team or command a can from the other team to move one space at a time. In the beginning, one prioritizes to move cans of the other team so they break their formation and maybe during the movement reveal who is hiding the coin. It is also essential to move them away from each other so that they cannot pass on the coin to another can.

At any time during game play, you may interrogate a can to find out if he or she has the coin. Interrogation is considered a move.

During game time, the cans are allowed to move the coin from one can to another. But, they have to do it discretely.  SPAM cans are very good at covering line of sight. They are also good hiders. SPAM cans work very well with low lying Tuna Cans.

Moving the coin is risky but sometimes it is the only way to protect your treasure. The Corned Beef guys are very good at this. They have very good poker faces and can pass a coin like nothing happened. They are very serious at Cans. They hate losing.

If one is definitely sure which can is hiding the treasure you can challenge a can. The can steps forward to your side of the playing field then reveals if he or she has the can. If you are successful in making you challenge. You win the game! If not, the challenged can stacks another can from your standby team. Once this stack reaches back home base, they may unstacked and then you have 6 cans playing on your team during gametime.

Stacking is also allowed anytime during gameplay. But, there is a danger that the stack be brought to the other team’s side so that can becomes their player. A stack may be challenged at anytime so stacks of 5-6 may happen.

Pork and Beans are very boisterous players. They like it when the stacks get to an unreasonable height. They like to tease the cans till they topple over. Which looks dangerouns and some cans may get dented. But it's all in good fun.

The smaller cans- Potted Meat and Vienna Sausage- are giddy they can't stand in one spot too long but they are very good bluffers. We have a particularly excellent Vienna Sausage Can who can act as if he has the the coin or the the coin has just been passed onto him but is trying his best not to show it. Such a classic. We have to watch out for him.

One time Walter and I kept on challenging so that the other team could not gain possession of the stack. We ended up with two stacks 10 cans high. That's when Walter and I realized that we have to figure this game out further. 

The Hot Chicks, Tini and Gras

The master caught me behind the curtains. I was talking with Tini and Gras. The two chicks who live just outside our window.  They sit outside the window raising the eye candy factor of the apartment’s window. The Master put birdhouse in between them hoping that birds would come near our apartment for us to stare at, but it does not seem to be working. The outside plants are much more effecting in doing that.

 Tini and Gras are very talkative. You’d think the birdhouse would stop them from chatting and getting to know each other more intimately but you’d be wrong. It is what strengthened their friendship I guess. Maybe it’s their chatter that scares the birds away. It’s okay though. They are cool chicks.

Some people think they are sisters, twins even. Both of them will object to this pointing out their differences that no one else can see but them. Only the bestest of friends can do this. Which is what they are. Really, really, really, good friends. So much the same and alike at the same time that only they can tell the difference.

Tini is the more talkative of the two, and Gras is the listener. Even after the three of us have just spoken. Tini will repeat the story and Gras will listen as if she heard it for the very first time. She is very respectful that way. She likes hearing things from different perspectives.

At night Tini tells Gras bedtime stories to help her sleep. Even if a birdhouse divides them them Tini’s beautiful stories lulls Gras to sleep taking her far far away in a world where they both of them live in their very own chicken coop and tell stories side by side, maybe even sharing a warm cup of tea together.

Water Talk

Having a rest after Water Lessons. Me on top of the cabinet.
Walter on top of the water container. The fishies in the water tank. 

Walter is standing by the fish tank making faces at the fishies. If it had a sound it would sound like this...

“Wawawawawa.Popopo. Wa ew pop”

I told him that the master forbids teasing the fishies.

He told me he was not teasing the fish. He’s talking to them. I did not know he could talk fish. It was such a pleasant surprise. I always wanted to play with the fishies. Not I am much closer to doing that if only Walter could teach me how to communicate with them.

This is so exciting. Walter can teach me fish.

Walter told me that he talked water not fish. That explained a lot, he is a watermelon after all. I later found out all water creatures be it from fresh or salt water, living in, or made of talk water. Since Walter is partially made of water it is a language that was passed onto him along with speaking melon.

Talking water is strange but it makes no sound. It is a visual language based on the movement and shape of the lips and mouth. It’s very smart actually. Convenient for fishies to communicate without being heard by predators since sound is carried longer and at least 5 times faster in water. Water also magnifies up to 33 percent so you can talk to someone from afar without really being heard. Water creatures are so intelligent.

“Baba” is Hello. “Popop” is “How do you do?”

I am having a hard time speaking Water. My teeth are getting in the way. It reminds the fishies so much of the sharp teeth of Baracudas and Sharks that they get scared. I’m lucky that I have Walter to explain things to them.

Ursula, the Keeper of Lost Coins

The Master brought in the inside plants back inside. Rapunzel II, Bethany, and the newbie Fortune enjoyed the rains and some sunshine outside but now it was time to get back inside the apartment. Walter noticed something peculiar. All the plants are in pots but not all pots have plants in the Apartment. There was one pot where my playmates the Pings lived along with other bric-a-bracks that the Master gives me to play with. There is also this other pot that does not house anything. It sits in the apartment with all the other precious things. It seems very important to the Master.

Its a painted pot with a picture of a lovely lady with sunlight tresses, sky blue eyes, and a long slender fish tail that shines like a bright moonless night illuminated by a million stars of different colors-reds, green, yellow, violets, and blue. As I learned, this is a picture of the Ursula, the Mermaid keeper of lost coins.

Ursula, the keeper of Lost Coins

Coins are very inconspicuous. Oftentimes, we have so many that you hardly notice that you dropped one. Sometimes, they are so precious that we hide them so valiantly that we don’t even know where we put them. 

Coins magically roll out from the city, along the roads and streets. Inconspicuously avoiding being trampled by people who are too busy to notice. Rolling alongside cars and bike, even buses. Sometimes stopping with the traffic. They roll and roll so many of them that if someone only looked down and hard enough he would make a fortune. 

All of them make their way to the seaside and beaches so that the waves lead them to Ursula. 

Ursula wakes up every morning and collect coins from her garden. She finds then in between the cockles, seashells, and starfish. Along the rows of seaweeds, corals, and anemonies. Like a lady tending to flowers in a garden. She picks them up and places each one in a purple ermine bag very careful not to disturb the sea creatures resting alongside them. The mindfully considers each one. Each coin is unique to Ursula. 

Ursula's Ermine Bag 

Ursula brings all the coins from all over the world in the magical cavern where she lives. She has so many purple bags in her magical cavern some of them bursting with coins. Ursula has never bothered to count or sort the coins. What for? To her they are all the same. Gold, silver, platinum or copper all of them will serve the purpose of bringing good cheer to people who deserve them the most.

If you’ve ever walk along the sidewalk and suddenly you spot a coin. That coin came from Ursula. She gives coins to people to cheer them up. Sends coins to wish you good luck. Or when you feel like it’s your lucky day, she gives you cause to shout out “Hey, a lucky coin. It really is my lucky day!”

Some people miss the magic. Some people get it. Some people will look at the coin Ursula sent them and rate it for it’s value. What a lovely feeling it must be to find one of Ursula’s coins. To be reminded that someone somewhere is thinking of you and sends you a happy thought. That feeling that a little magic has gone your way.

In the apartment we also have a bowl where the master keeps his loose change. I always wonder how many of those coins came from Ursula.

Screen Door

I was standing beside the screen door and I thought how easy it is for me just to scratch my way out of the apartment and explore the outside. I stepped outside once before. But the Master did not like it.

The master arrived carrying a lot of groceries. I gave him my usual hello “Meow” which he always thinks is a cry for food. I think he’s projecting. He’s always hungry when he gets home. He goes straight to the fridge getting a drink or something to eat. Sometimes Walter and I make bets on which food item he’ll go for first. Walter usually wins. He has a better grasp on the Master’s eating habits and the refrigerator’s inventory.

I think the Master was too caught up with the groceries that he left the big blue door open. The screen door was ajar and for the first time the outside plants were so excited to see me un-blurred by the metal screen. They were soo happy to see me in full color that they called me over for a hug. I got a few steps away from the blue door. The smells were so different form the inside. So much fresher and not everything smelled like the Master.

The pots smelled different, more earthy. I took a whiff of soil, it was moist and grainy. I also put my nose against Bethany and she smelled so nice- fresh, green, and I guess… planty!

The Master screamed at me. I never heard him so angry at me. He explained that once I cross the doorline I will turn into a stray cat and lose all my princely powers. He grabbed my by the back and carried me inside. He dropped me on Mr. Ben and I hid under him.

Later, Mr. Ben explained that since I was 7 days old I have lived inside and I would never survive in the big big world. Mr. Ben and Walter told me that unlike outside kitty cats I do not have the instincts to survive outside and if I lose my way I would not have the capacity to find my way back home. If that’s what princely powers are all about then I gladly abdicate them for a chance at seeing the outside.

I guess the Master was only concerned for my safety that’s why he screamed at me. But, how will I learn about the outside if I don’t go outside? How will I be able to find my way back home if I don’t actually leave home? What are Princely Powers anyways?

Rub Cheeks Together, Be Friends Forever

The Master's friend Daniel Palma-Tayona drew this. It's me and the Master.

It’s supposed to be summer but the rains have come early. The Master is enjoying the "bed weather" under she sheets this morning. He is half awake and half asleep. I was concerned that the plants were bathing too loud. But I think the Master enjoys the strange sound. To him it is soothing. A few moments ago he even opened the window and the door so he can hear more of it and to get some cool fresh air into the apartment.

Mister Ben the Bed is working overtime today. He usually cradles the Master from eleven thirty in the evening ‘till six or seven in the morning. Today he is still at his job and it is almost nine am. You’ve got to love Mister Ben. He is serious about giving the Master the best sleep ever every night. Mister Ben cradles and rocks the Master all night long. Even when he himself is under the weather on some cold nights he never falters and never shows any signs of fatigue. He is the bed that never gets tired of giving rest. Sometimes the Master gets extra frisky and moves around a lot. But Mister Ben just hugs him ever so dearly, rocking and cradling until the soothing motion brings deep sleep.

I accompany Mister Ben at night watching over the Master. I help Mister Ben by keeping him entertained. He enjoys it when I play ball with the Pings or wrestling with the Hippo plush doll. I will admit, sometimes we overdo it and wake up the Master. We get a funny guilty feeling when that happens.

Mister Ben is the oldest resident of the Apartment. When the old inhabitants decided to leave the apartment Mister Ben dreaded the thought of being disassembled and put back together in another strange place. Luckily they could not figure out how to do it so they sold Mister Ben to the Master. Mister Ben appreciated the gesture, and, in time, learned to love and respect the Master.

I came two years after. And Mister Ben welcomed me with open arms, or properly speaking, posts. Mister Ben gave me a place to hide under him when I was new in the apartment and the Master was strange to me. Little by little he taught me to leave the safe heaven and explore the world of the apartment.

One night when the Master was asleep he even showed me how kind and loving the Master is. While the Master was alseep Mister Ben called me over to show me the Master sleeping, face laid down on his pillow-cheeks. “If you rub your cheeks together, you’ll be friends forever” Mister Ben said. I was afraid to do it but his low kind voice was so convincing. So I did it. The Master woke and I got scared. I woke the Master from slumber and I was expecting a beating. To my pleasant surprise, the Master just gave me bug hug and eskimo kiss then told me I was “The Bestest Kitty Cat Ever!”.  All cats are the bestest kitty cats to their Masters. The little kitty cat that I was, I knew as much. Mister Ben was right it made the Master and I friends forever. 

The Master has a Monster!

Have you heard of the saying that there are monsters under your bed? It is actually true! I have met the Master’s monster. His name is Rocky!

Mr. Ben the Bed introduced me to him just the other night. Everyone has a monster under the bed. It is actually quite a common thing. They are not there to pull you under the bed and swallow you whole. Unless that is what it takes to protect you. I think that maneuver gives them such a bad reputation. But it is actually all for the best.

They are big and strong creatures. They are there for you when you feel sad or lonely, when you are sick, or when you just need a friend to hug and hug you back. You monster is always there for you.

Each monster looks different. Depending on what their Master think is both terrifying and amusing at the same time.

The other night was particularly challenging for the Master, he was down with a fever and the weather was really bad. It was cold in the apartment and outside it was raining very hard. Then suddenly a loud sound and a bright light came out of nowhere. That’s when Rocky sprang into action. He jumped out from under the bed with his big big fiery eyes, sharp sharp teeth, and humongous paws that turned into molten whip-like claws of lava. He looked like a big bulldog but much much bigger and scarier. He is almost bigger than Mr. Ben! He roared to the lightning and thunder to go away... “Keep away from the Master for he is sleeping and he needs his rest!”

I myself was thrown off the bed. I was under the impression that the Master was being attacked. I was about to jump on this creature and scratch his eyes out. Good think Mr. Ben was there to explain things to both of us.

Rocky has been with the Master all his life. He is a cuddly monster. Scary when he needs to be but otherwise he is very fuffy and smells like toasted marshmallows.

When the Master was young Rocky was the one who caught fallen teddy bears and put them back in is arms. He walked beside him through bouts of sleepwalking and blind trips to the bathroom. When the Rogues come, Rocky is there to stake his claim and send them away. Rogues are other people’s monsters who have gone astray and have decided to be other people’s monsters whether they like it or not. Rogues are no match for Rocky. In extreme cases of nightmares and exorcism, Rock can even jump into the Master’s dreams and battle with demons. He’s done it a couple of times.

The Master has some weird demons Rocky explained. Rocky asked me if I’d like to learn how to jump in the Master’s dreams and send the demons away. He could use all the help he can get in there. I told Rocky that I’m up to the challenge. We rubbed cheeks on it, now we are bonded for life.

The Plantastics

Rapunzell II and I Plants make strange sounds when they take a bath. Like water landing on crisp paper. The leaves give off a crisp splat sound or a hollow TONG, sound. We Cats don’t make any sound when we bathe.

The Master brought all the plants out because the rains have come. The plants love the rain. The Master makes it rain with the watering can and the plants enjoy it immensely.

Bethany, Fortune, Rapunzel II, are now visiting the outside gang- Rapunzel I, Lourdes, and Lala. Lala is Bethany’s mom she used to be an inside plant until she became too big to be inside. She did not get too fat or anything but her pot did get too heavy for the Master to carry. Herb suffered the same fate. He now sits beside Lala atop the landing above the stoop. I don’t think they mind being outside at all. It’s not much different from inside only out. I really is about two feet away from the door. When I look out, I still get to chat with them, and I think I have much more to tell them about the happenings inside. All the Plantastics are such good listeners.

The inside group leave it up to me to tell about the happenings to the outside group. They are much too busy enjoying the sunshine from the shade. Direct sunlight makes them burn. I tell the stories through the screen door when the master leaves it open.

My Friend the Mellon

W. Mellon Collie, being a Watermelon Shaped Clock with Legs, is the keeper of time and the refrigerator. Guarding over the cookies, caramels and sweets and other goodies. His weapons include the can opener, knife, spoon... but he is partial to the fork. Multi pronged and easy to operate, “Wooo-shaaaa!”

Mr. Collie is friends with Ari the Cat. Although they don't really talk other’s language proficiently- one speaks cat and the other speaks fruit. They enjoy a camaraderie that is markedly cat and melon, watermelon to be exact. Mr. Collie is pedantic about that detail.

Ari and Walter are very much buddies. They spend the day watching over each other. Making sure each one is at the least having a sunny day. Ari roams the apartment making sure everything is in order. Whilst Mr. Collie valiantly watches the pantry, including Ari's food and water bowl.

Air reciprocates this kindness by bringing the freshest news from all over the apartment including the latest gossip about the fishies in the fish tank- Portia, Flamenca2, and Dee.

Mr. Collie loves all of Ari's stories. As a great keeper and guardian. Air's stories are both entertaining and relevant to his vocation.

That is life in GF1 a.k.a. the apartment. Everything comes to life. Everything has life. You should hear Ari the Cat's stories about the Pings. The ping-pong balls who live in the clay pot. Such a happy bouncy bunch.