Finding the Right Home: A Zoe and Bliss Adventure, #2

By Susanne Skye

Are you longing for your perfect home, anywhere in the world? Then come join Zoe who's on the same journey. Hers even goes beyond Earth, to very different planets. You're invited to benefit from her friends and counselors, such as the lonely Misty Horse, and the sun and the moon. Mysterious Daisy, a little elephant who's as free from self-consciousness as from the laws of gravity, guides them through space. Cat Bliss, however, has her paws on the ground, and her whiskers in higher regions. A well-informed and wise voice gets louder, but stays invisible. This journey may help you find what you've been looking for. Moreover, give you joy!

A Story for Children between 8 and 102, and for Cats of Any Age

91 pages.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Susanne Skye
• Release date: Apr 9, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386219996

Susanne Skye

Living on a steep learning curve, Susanne’s deeply grateful for the oases offered by inspired writers such as Rex Stout, Astrid Lindgren, Jane Austen, P. D. James, Loriot, A. A. Milne, Jacqueline Winspear, P. L. Travers, and George Eliot. Susanne loves big trees, quietude, the sounds of rain and storm, animals, organic food, white clouds, kindness, creeks, the quest for consciousness, and starful skies.  Humor helps her stay on this planet, when she’s not venturing towards alien ones, on Zoe’s flying carpet.   Her love of space, nature and a passionate cat have inspired her ambition to give birth to characters that may kindle something beautiful in young and adult children's hearts and minds.   Susanne has an advanced degree in English and German language and literature, as well as linguistics. She’s written stories, speeches, and poems in both languages. She's happy to work at a  university with friends, loves to putter around in her life-full garden, and writes books with immense fun and deep joy. She warmly invites you to join Zoe and Bliss’s journeys towards alien planets and distant solar systems, and to share their  joyful adventures.

Book preview

1 The Noise

On Wednesday, Zoe knew she’d heard enough. Noise from so many cars going by. Noise from the trains running by. Noise from tooting horns. Noise from music played next door. Noise from calves missing their moms. Noise from the neighbors mowing their lawns and talking at night. Noise from machines used in the vicinity.  Zoe felt so distracted by all these noises around her home that she couldn't calm down any more. It had become very difficult for her to really rest. Sleep often was impossible.

That very morning her mother had said to her, You don't look all that well, Love. What is it? Have you again been unable to sleep?

Yes, I’ve not slept much. You know, all those noises keep me awake. And I really worry about those calves being all alone, about how they feel, and about how their moms suffer because they don’t know what’s happened to their children.

Her mother sighed. I wish we could do something about their fates, but as yet I’ve no idea how to go about it.

Zoe thought she might as well talk things over with Bliss, her wise, relaxed cat. Bliss was well-known for having her paws on the ground and her whiskers in somewhat higher regions.

Bliss said: A cat would simply take stock. Make a list. What is good, what is bad in her present home. Then she'd draw her conclusions and go from there. Let's see, this home has for good things: Nice sofas, cream surprises, people who understand cats to some extent, the occasional piece of salmon, a forest nearby, and you. On the bad side, there’s too much adult human activity in the daytime, when cats like to rest; not enough salmon; weird ideas about whom the fluffy armchair belongs to; too much leg activity of humans in bed; and misguided concepts about medicine for cats – some humans think I need shots and pills for every little thing.

I don’t, said Zoe.

Of course, Bliss went on. So, on the whole, this home’s okay for me. A different home might be just as good, or even better, as long as you’re there.

Thank you, Zoe said, blushing.

But don't you mind all the noise around this home?

Which noise do you mean? I can't say that I mind a kitchen knife at work, even if it's sometimes scratchy, you know.

I mean the machines next door, cars, trains, lawnmowers, music, cows and calves.

When have cars, trains, lawnmowers and cows been in our house? I seem to have slept then.

They’ve not been here, but the noise has. It makes me mad.

So, things and animals that aren’t here make you mad? That's why you want to have a new home?

Exactly.

And that new home is to have no loud machines, cars, trains, lawnmowers, music, suffering cows and calves around it?

Yes, nor other noisy things and beings.

A cat would just decide not to hear the noise, rather than take upon herself all the trouble of finding a new home and moving there. Are you sure you can't do the same?

Zoe felt sure she couldn't: I’ve tried so often, and in vain. I just can't do it. I can’t even hear the birds singing in the midst of all those other sounds. I miss their voices, and I miss my sleep, and somehow I miss myself. Her life had lost something because of all that noise. She didn't know what it was, only that it was something important. A bit like a friend who had suddenly gone away, yet not quite like a friend. She thought if she only knew what it was she’d lost, she might find it again. Those of you who’ve met Zoe before, may guess that Zoe was missing the friendly voice she’d sometimes hear, a voice full of wisdom and love. If this is your first time with Zoe and Bliss, never mind. I have a feeling you may come across that voice sooner or later.

Bliss, as usual, had some comfort for her friend: I can still see you, so you’re still here. Yet the color around you has changed somewhat. Let me think. Yes, there’s now a nice shade of green around you, which reminds me of the patch of moss in the back of our yard, actually a very comfortable pillow for a cat who likes it soft, and who likes her privacy. On the sofa, humans will come by and insist on stroking my coat.

Don't you like us to stroke your coat?

I often do, but not always. It's rather difficult to think with your body when you're being stroked. It's distracting.

Zoe sighed. She had no idea what thinking with your body was about, but she knew very well that nobody likes to be stroked all the time and by everybody. How has my color changed? What was it before it turned green? she asked Bliss.

Oh, it has changed from time to time. The colors aren’t stable. One of my favorites was the dark red that appeared when you’d made all the hunters disappear from this planet. Don't worry. The colors are always right. They just subtly underline what's going on for you at a given time. All the colors of the rainbow are in you, and often there's more than one visible. That's what makes it so fascinating to watch – when one has the time, that is unless the prospect of a nap is nudging you towards your nest, or a cream bowl is calling out for you, or you just can't be bothered at that moment. Zoe smiled. She knew Bliss so well and would have been surprised had Bliss spent too much attention and time on her human friend. Which was very good for Zoe to see, since she had a slight tendency not to take enough care of her own needs. For example, when Zoe was hungry, she would first feed Bliss, then herself – a habit Bliss felt no need to criticize.

Why might the color be green now? Zoe wondered.

Green makes me think of good places to be in. It might be just the color one needs when looking for a new home, Bliss said. Maybe it helps to imagine things green. That might lead you to the right kind of home, one that matches your own green.

Okay, let's try that. How about a stroll outside? Bliss didn't look as if she were all for it. Zoe suggested: We could have a little snack in some green spot we’ve not yet discovered.

Bliss asked: What kind of snack? She knew when to be cautious. While a cat would probably think of a nice piece of canned sardine when it came to a snack, a human might come up with a piece of dried beef skin, something one might offer to dogs who had no idea about fine food.

I guess you'd like sardine, wouldn't you, Zoe assumed.

Okay, agreed Bliss, and out they went.

2 The Oak Tree

So far, it had been just the kind of summer Zoe liked best. Not hot, but medium warm, with enough rain. Zoe couldn’t stand it when she felt that the plants outside didn't get enough to drink. She needed lots of water herself. Soft breezes, animal-shaped clouds, and sunshine in between were her favorites. Bliss, however, didn't mind heat much. She’d spend ten minutes right in the sun, on her back, paws pointing upwards, then seek some shady spot to cool off for half an hour, with her belly on stones or humid soil. Then back into the sun, or she might walk upstairs to have a nap in the guest bed. Preferably with freshly-laundered sheets, as a perfect background for her paw prints.

Because today's weather was still right for Zoe, neither hot nor cold, she didn't need to put on a jacket, nor take off her green sweater. She liked best to go outside just as she was. Bliss, of course, would always go outside just as she was, at least to human eyes. Zoe had some secret thoughts