This is my response to this week’s Flashback Track Friday prompt, where we were asked to write a nonlinear story.

I aimed originally for another hundred but again, failed. In fact, when I realised I wasn’t going to boil it down, I started adding again! It’s 159.

---

A ball of fluff blending in, Lily lays curled on the duvet, not even reacting as I enter. Her only life-sign, the occasional flinch as she dreams of the next hunt.

Chased through jungle, it is touch and go. Panting hard, I weave through the dense undergrowth, able to hear the disturbance as my pursuer nears. The canopy thins, I sprint toward the sunlight, and feeling my feet sinking into the boggy ground, I hear an ominous growl from behind.

I glance backward – the one thing I must avoid – and glimpse the majestic tiger, immediately losing my balance. Pouncing, she gloats above me, I am her next meal. I thrust out my hand in defence, and inexplicably, my captor begins to lick.

A moment later, I am transported back to bed, my body oozing dampness onto the Egyptian cotton, as the wide-awake Lily demands an end to my repose. The clock shines 3 AM.

At least she’s having pleasant dreams.