When I entered, Rama was pacing the floor; he was waiting for
me. He looked up, saw me and stopped. He said nothing and I began to tell him
how I found Sita.
After shape-shifting into a cat, I wandered the dark streets
of Lanka for some time. I was disoriented and confused about my new body. I
finally found a dark alley where I could rest. Hopefully after a quick nap I
would feel more like myself. I curled up in the corner and quickly drifted into
a deep slumber.
 |
| (Personal Photo January 2015: What I pictured Hanuman to look like as a cat) |
After several hours, I was startled awake by someone yelling “Shoo,
scat, get out of here!” Disoriented and confused, I looked around; it had to be
me he was yelling at. Why was he yelling at me? There was no one else in sight. It had to be me. Unless he just enjoyed yelling and did this daily as a way to release stress. Nope, it was totally me he was yelling at. Appalled I thought, "Doesn’t he know I am Hanuman!" I took a step and tried to speak, but all that
came out was a meow. I tried again. “MEOWWW!” Shocked, I shook my head, while
the rakshasas continued to yell. Then it occurred to me that I was a cat! I meowed again, let out a hiss and ran out of the alley. Hissing is weird and made my throat itchy.
Figuring out how to move this new body was an odd
thing; it’s like my tail had a mind of
its own. Not to mention my voice, all I could do was….meow. I then realized I
was starving, as my belly rumbled. Food, where to find food?! The garbage was
really my only option. Back to the alley; there I saw a garbage can. Which way
had I come? I had been walking aimlessly trying to sort through my
thoughts. I stopped and decided I had
just made one big circle, so I continued… and I was right. The alley I had run from
was right around the corner. Luckily the rakshasas that yelled at me was gone. I could eat in peace.
I found some edible things, and soon my hunger was conquered.
All of a sudden I had the urge to lick my paws…and before I knew it…I was
LICKING MY PAWS! That body was so weird. Mental note: avoid shape shifting into a cat. Once I finished cleaning my paws and
face, I went back to the corner where I could see both ends of the alley. I had
to avoid as many people as possible if I was going to accomplish the task at
hand. I decided to rest there for the night; I would save Sita in the morning. As
I curled up, my tail kept twitching. It wouldn’t stop! I finally laid my paw on
top of it to keep it still. As I drifted off to sleep, my throat started making
this weird noise…. then I thought.... am I purring?!
Rama laughed and said..."Get on with the important part of the story!"
Rama laughed and said..."Get on with the important part of the story!"
Author's note:I chose
to tell this story from Hanuman's inner thoughts while he was a cat. This story
was really fun to write. Once I decided to write about Hanuman being a cat, I
spent some time observing my own cats. They are very agile and light on their
feet yet have this spunky little attitude that is each their own. Sometimes
sassy, and sometimes with an I couldn't-care-less attitude. Can you imagine being
able to shape shift into another creature and having to relearn how to move
your body?! In my opinion this is not something that would come naturally; you
would have to adjust and move differently as a shape shifter in a different
body. I wanted to pinpoint that aspect in my version of Hanuman's story. I also tried to make it seem like he was doing
things as a stray cat would in a place it had never been because he was
wandering the streets of Lanka. I really had a fun time writing this story and
I hope that shows through in the way I wrote the storyline. This story is taken from Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.
