bachè and the stairs

bachè came to us paralyzed. he is white, with a tabby pattern that you only see when the light is good, and his eyes are the largest green eyes i have ever seen on an adult cat. somebody hit him across the back with a sickle when he was younger. the nerve damage did not heal.

his back legs do not really work. they are along for the ride. you would expect this to slow him down. it does not slow him down. he is, daily, halfway up something he should not be on. last week he was on top of the kitchen cupboards. he had to be carried back to the floor. he had no regrets.

between fights, he is the small ungovernable peacekeeper of this flat. he wedges himself between two angry cats and lets them be angry above him until they get bored. it is, somehow, his calling.