Mystical Mystic

You hear that, Scottie Mom? Something's in there!

While in New York, Heather and Mr. K made themselves at home with Scottie Dad's family. They had a room all to themselves with comfy doggie beds should they want a quiet place for an afternoon Scottie nap, and they were given free range of nearly the entire home for much of the day. At night, they would retire with Scottie Mom and Dad but during the day, Heather and Mr. K were free to go anywhere they pleased...except behind a certain closed door.

Naturally, any time you tell a Scottie he or she cannot do something, it only makes them want to do it more. Such is Scottie-tude, right? This certain closed door caught Mr. K's attention the very first time he passed it and attempted to sniff under the crack. Almost immediately, he was beckoned into the living room with a treat but Mr. K knew that he was being lured away for a reason and vowed to keep a careful eye on the certain closed door during the entire trip.

Strange noises would come from behind the closed door from time to time. A knock here. A thump there. And a jiggling of the doorknob every now and again. When people would open the certain closed door and step inside, the sounds seemed to intensify. Those noises were especially strange and Mr. K could never quite make them out. If everyone who goes inside with these strange noises came out okay, Mr. K decided, then the noisemaker couldn't be of much harm.

One night, Scottie Dad and family were sitting on the couch watching TV in the living room. Scottie Mom was writing Christmas cards at the kitchen table and talking to Scottie Grandmadre on the phone. Heather was asleep by her feet and Mr. K went to make sure all in the living room were safe. He stopped at Scottie Dad's feet to let him give a good scratch behind his Scottie ear. That's when it happened: the certain closed door opened. Slowly, very slowly. There wasn't much light but Mr. K could see the dark figure approaching when suddenly, it stopped at the sight of Mr. K.

The two stood there staring at each other. Mr. K began to shake. Scottie Dad looked to his left, saw the dark shadow and leaped off the couch yelling, "Mystic!" Mr. K took off running. Scottie Mom knew what had to be going on and dropped her phone in the midst of her conversation, throwing herself on the floor so she could catch Mr. K. This cannot be happening, she thought.

Let's take a moment to explain: it is a well-known fact that Mr. K doesn't like C-A-T-S. In truth, he cannot stand them and has an uncanny way of knowing when they're around even when they are out of sight. Mystic is the family C-A-T, who apparently is so smart, he knows how to open doors even when his people have taken very good measures to make sure he can't let himself out.

Mystical Mystic.

All Mystic wanted was to get a peak at his house guests and say hello. Then, as cool-mannered as he was when he walked out the door, he turned around and casually walked himself back into his room, having accomplished his mission. It was then that something occurred to Scottie Mom and Dad: Mr. K hadn't run after Mystic...he had run away from Mystic. In fact, he had run all the way behind Scottie Mom by the time she hit the floor looking for him. He was given the ultimate opportunity to catch a C-A-T as he was nearly face-to-face with Mystic but he chose to run away.

Perhaps it was thanks to Mr. K's fear or just plain luck that curiosity didn't kill the C-A-T and Mystic got away. Mr. K had encountered dozens of C-A-T-S before and never reacted that way. He always charged at his enemy. Still, one must consider that if this C-A-T is smart enough to know how to open doors, could it be that mystical Mystic could also put Mr. K in a trance and somehow convinced him to walk away? That, my friends, is something we'll never know.